Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field has certainly lived up to its nickname of The Factory of Sadness for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers have lost three games in a row and five of their last six to the lowly Browns in Cleveland. It has made for sad bus trips across the turnpike from Cleveland to Pittsburgh for the Steelers.
So, why do the Steelers have such a hard time winning in a stadium where the Browns have little success? Steelers coach Mike Tomlin attributes it to Browns defensive end Myles Garrett as the teams get ready to meet on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.
“He had five sacks the last two times we've been there,” Tomlin said. “He's a game-wrecker. He provides the wave that others ride. And particularly in that environment when you're working on silent counts and one-dimensional passing circumstances, etc., it is significant."
The Steelers (9-6) will clinch the AFC North title by beating the Browns (3-12).
Regardless of the standings, the Steelers are fixated on trying to stop Garrett, who has an NFL-leading 22 sacks and is one away from breaking the league single-season record that was set by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan in 2001 and matched by Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt in 2021.
The Steelers are down to their fourth-string left offensive tackle in Dylan Cook, who made his NFL debut on Dec. 7 after spending four seasons on the practice squads of the Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cook gave up a sack to Aidan Hutchinson in last week’s win over the Detroit Lions, but Pro Football Focus gives him a solid 72.2 grade for his limited work.
Cook won’t have to face Garrett alone. Like every other team, the Steelers will often double-team Garrett.
"Everybody gets help against Myles Garrett," Tomlin said on Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "I just finished watching San Francisco tape: Trent Williams got help. And so certainly (Cook)'s going to get help, but certainly everybody has gotten help, and it hadn't slowed down the train. He still has got 22 sacks. I imagine most of those are not one-on-one plays.
"We're going to do our due diligence, but we're not going to act like or pretend that we're reinventing the wheel here. We better put schematics around him. He better play well. And we better stay out of one-dimensional passing circumstances. And you still might not stop the bomb from going off. That's been how impactful this guy's play has been this year."