Every team in the AFC North has a 2-1 record, and that includes the club quarterbacked by Deshaun Watson.
Four days after being jubilantly serenaded by the home crowd, Watson and the Browns will be back at the stadium on the lakefront when Cleveland hosts the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
Long-suffering Browns fans have regularly admonished Watson for failing to live up to his five-year, $230 million contract. But a happy truce was found Sunday when Watson tossed the decisive touchdown pass in a 21-18 victory over the visiting Carolina Panthers.
And he’s excited to be going up against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers on Thursday.
“It’s huge. It’s major,” Watson said Tuesday. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase what we’re about on a big national stage. And yeah, we’re super excited. Ultimately, as a locker room, we just stay locked in.”
Watson received a new opportunity when Todd Monken became head coach and he won the quarterback gig over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders.
He has passed for 587 yards in three games, but more impressive is his five touchdown passes against just one interception.
And topping that off, Watson has led Cleveland to back-to-back wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Panthers.
“I’m just really happy for him,” Monken said of Watson. “Again, the work he’s put in, certainly he knows he can play better. We can certainly coach better around him. And all we’re trying to do is this week, clean up what we can clean up in a short week and be ready to go and be as fresh as we can be for Thursday night, to better put our best foot forward.”
Defensive tackle Mason Graham is tied for second in the NFL with four sacks for Cleveland after the club traded star pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason.
“There’s no weaknesses on their defense,” Rodgers said while dissecting the Browns. “The d-line is stout, the linebackers are really solid, they drafted well, obviously.”
The Steelers are coming off a 30-27 home victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rodgers had his best game of the season, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
The 22-year veteran and four-time NFL MVP is also highly familiar with operating during a short week.
“It’s really just survival the first three days, you try and get your body feeling OK, and then you go try to ball out,” Rodgers said. “And then you get a nice weekend off.”
“I’m old. I remember the ‘70s,” the 62-year-old McCarthy said. “I remember the Steelers and the Browns from those days, and I can identify with that. So, yeah, it’s AFC North. We have three rival opponents to go through this. We look for this to be a knock-down, drag-out type of game.”
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren rushed for 127 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 49 yards in an all-around stellar effort against the Bengals.
Warren has a team-high 216 yards and is averaging an impressive 5.7 yards per carry. He is expected to see the ball a lot Thursday, as Rico Dowdle (toe) is expected to miss his second straight game.
Pittsburgh cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (conditioning) was listed as a full participant on Monday and Tuesday and could make his season debut. He has been recovering from a back injury.
For Cleveland, receiver Tylan Wallace (knee) and center Elgton Jenkins (concussion) missed both practices.
Pittsburgh star linebacker T.J. Watt is tied for fourth in the NFL with 3.5 sacks.
The teams split two games last season and the Browns have won three of the past five matchups.
