The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense is finally playing up to its potential, and that meant the Cleveland Browns' feeble offense and rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel didn't have much of a chance on Sunday.

The Steelers sacked Gabriel six times and held the Browns to three field goals in a 23-9 victory at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers won their third straight game and improved their record to an AFC North-best 4-1.

Safety Jalen Ramsey and outside linebacker Nick Herbig had two sacks each. Rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon added one.

Herbig also had four quarterback hits, and outside linebacker T.J. Watt added three. In all, Gabriel was hit on 16 of his 58 drop-backs while completing 29 of 52 passes for 221 yards.

Earlier in the week, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that processing defensive sets was Gabriel's superpower. However, Gabriel never looked comfortable on Sunday.

"We did a nice job with our pre-snap looks, but I think that's aided, again, by having our secondary intact and some of the things that we developed (during training camp)," Tomlin said. "Are you able to execute when you have a full complement of guys? I thought they did a nice job with their pre-snap disguise. They didn't allow him to digest information prior to getting the ball in his hands. That's the first component of slowing down the process."

The Steelers' defense is indeed getting healthier.

Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. returned after a three-game absence, and outside linebacker Alex Highsmith was back in action after missing two games. Ramsey played despite being listed as questionable after hurting a hamstring in the Steelers' previous game two weeks ago, a win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin.

"I just think we're getting a full complement of our weapons back," Tomlin said. "Everybody goes through injuries. I'm not seeking comfort in the lack of availability, but if you are asking me, why is (the defense) starting to look the way that we desire, we got a full complement of talent. When we put this band together, we feel like we can do things like you saw today."