Labriola on the win against the Browns

With their 23-9 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers are 4-1 and atop the AFC North. They have a 3 1/2 game lead over the preseason favorite to win the division, and a 2 1/2 game lead over the team that has won the division twice in the last 4 seasons. They have improved steadily over the first six weeks of this particular season, and their offense is not up to par for the first time since Ben Roethlisberger retired.

None of the above would be true without Aaron Rodgers.

In the win over the Browns, Rodgers completed 21 of 30 (70%) for 235 yards, with 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a rating of 115.3. But as I’ve written before about Aaron Rodgers, it goes beyond the numbers. That’s because there aren’t any hard statistical measures for how he’s handled a Browns defense that has arrived with enough good faith to justify its reputation as one of the best defenses — if not the best — in the league so far in 2025.

To put some numbers to that, the Browns entered the game ranked first in the NFL in total passing yards allowed, first in rushing yards per game allowed, and fourth in average gain per carry. They were fourth in sacks per pass attempt and second in first downs allowed per game. Additionally, the coordinator of this unit is Jim Schwartz, who is experienced, successful and savvy.

“Schwartz has been around a long time, and this guy does a great job working to exploit his strengths and covering up potential weaknesses on all units,” coach Mike Tomlin said the Tuesday before the game. “You see that in his schemes. He’s deliberately aggressive. You feel the game planning. He follows his plan week to week based on the things his opponents do. He’s able to go big with five defensive linemen against running plays that he respects. I saw a lot of that against Baltimore. He’s multiple in terms of dime packages and so on against teams that throw the ball a lot. I saw a lot of this against Cincinnati. “

That’s why Schwartz is near the top in his field, as can also be said about the challenge posed to this offense by Minnesota’s Brian Flores on the other side of last weekend’s bye. The advantage for the Steelers in both situations was that Schwartz and Flores had to deal with Rodgers on the path to success, because he is as good as there is currently in the league at finding the weaknesses of every defensive unit since the sport was invented.

Rodgers knows the principles of the NFL offense in general and the Steelers offense in particular to such a level that he has never had to wear one of these wristband tricks during his time here. Add to that an ability to recognize and diagnose defenses that he developed and perfected over 21 seasons in the NFL, then top it all off with a quick release to go along with an accurate arm, and the Steelers have themselves a quarterback who can correct mistakes before they happen or simply deter opposing defensive coordinators from trying to be too creative in the effort to force those errors.

“I think his reputation (of using pace and going late in the game before getting the ball) was the most helpful,” coach Mike Tomlin said of how the offense succeeded against Flores’ defense in a 24-21 win over the Vikings. “I think schematically, Coach Flores was less aggressive than he normally is. And there’s no doubt that Aaron’s ability was a big reason why. Aaron has a reputation for handling a lot of stuff at the line of scrimmage, timing weapons, getting in and out of plays, etc. And I think a lot of it was Coach Flores not wanting to test that, and so he was less schematically aggressive than many weeks in which you see his units play. “

Against the Browns, the challenge for Schwartz’s unit was that it is stingy against the run, which creates situations where it can unleash pressure packages that either put the passer on the ground, create errors that end in turnovers or force a punt to get his unit off the field.

Rodgers was not sacked, and his ability to diagnose and get the ball out quickly and on target left the Browns’ sack total at zero, their quarterback hits at 3, their pass breakups at 3, and their takeaways at zero. Meanwhile, he completed 70 percent with touchdown passes of 12 and 25 yards, leading the offense to points on 5 of 8 non-kneeling possessions with a 6th ending in a missed field goal. Chris Waitman threw twice, and only one of them came after a three-and-out. This is because Rodgers has the ability to “run on time”.

“He moves very fluidly throughout his progression, sometimes deciphering the elements of the progression before the snap, before putting the ball in his hands,” Tomlin said. “And all of that leads to fluidity in running time. He gets the ball out quickly. There’s a thing we call in this business – TTT – throwing time. His throwing time is elite, and that usually means his ability to process the defense and then throw the ball and get it to the right target. And it’s not just a matter of pure progression for him. It’s his ability to eliminate potential throws or options before the ball even gets is broken, because he is simply good at collecting information in a variety of fields. ways.”

Granted, Rodgers doesn’t win these games himself, as he works in tandem with a pretty dynamic defensive unit. The Steelers entered the game ranked second in the NFL in sacks per pass and had 14 sacks and 10 takeaways in 4 games. And they went after rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the tune of 6 sacks and 16 quarterback hits, but for the first time this season, there was nothing to hold back. And too many penalties.

There were several near misses on interceptions, but no short field was provided to the offense. Of their 8 non-kneeling possessions, 7 started inside their own 30 yard line. Without Aaron Rodgers, the Oct. 12 version of Steelers vs. Browns will likely play out like one of those typical, ugly, suspenseful AFC North rock fights with an outcome that could trigger the final snap of the game.

But the difference between 3 field goals each before the final snaps of the ball, the Steelers had a 2 score lead because Rodgers completed 4 of 6 for 43 yards and a 12 yard touchdown pass to Connor Heyward on a 10 play, 79 yard drive, then on the next possession he completed 3 of 3 for 51 yards and a 25 yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on a 7 plays, 72 yard drive.

Maybe without Rodgers, the Steelers will go from 9-9 to a win over what was a 1-4 Browns team starting with a rookie quarterback. But maybe not. I’ve seen these kinds of games end up both ways. But what’s so promising about the rest of this season is that in 2025, they won’t always have to try.