When Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin previewed Thursday night’s game against the Browns, he spoke of the need to minimize the impact that Browns running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt had on the contest.
The Steelers fell short in that regard. Chubb ran 23 times for 113 yards and a third quarter touchdown while Hunt chipped in 47 yards on 13 carries during the 29-17 Cleveland win.
In his postgame press conference, Tomlin revisited his previous comments while discussing the impact that the Browns running game had on the final result.
“I thought they controlled the line of scrimmage, particularly in the second half,” Tomlin said, via the team’s website. “If you can’t slow down Chubb, you can’t beat this group. And we knew that, and we didn’t get it done. So, we got to own the outcome, and we will. There’s not a lot really to talk about. We got to look at this tape and learn and get better and get better very fast. . . . I thought they controlled the game, and they possessed the ball. Nick Chubb controlled the game.”
The Browns’ 171 rushing yards are the most the Steelers have given up this season, but both the Bengals and Patriots also crossed the 100-yard mark in the first two weeks of the season. Clamping down on that front will be essential to the Steelers continuing to wind up on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the weeks to come.