The Cleveland Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Thursday night and will do so with a lead quarterback who is unlikely to be their starting quarterback for the entire 2022 season.
Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley appeared on Wednesday’s 93.7 The Fan’s Cook and Joe Show with hosts Joe Starkey and Ron Cook and commented on Pittsburgh’s upcoming matchup with the Cleveland Browns and specifically their signal caller QB Jacoby Brissett.
“I like the fit of Jacoby Brissett,” Haley told Starkey and Cook, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “As long as they play how they have to play, which is very similar to the Steelers in a slightly different way. Play really good defense, run out of football, don’t make mistakes. Jacoby Brissett is not that type. I mean, he’s not careless about football. They have a good kicking game. So I see this as a hard-fought match between two teams that play similar football. And as a Steeler fan, hopefully the Browns have some backend glitches and they get some easy pitch-and-catches for big games.
Brissett has been in the league since 2016 when he was drafted in the third round by the New England Patriots. He has since seen action with the Patriots, Colts, Dolphins and Browns, having appeared in 62 games and starting 39 of them. He currently holds a 15-24 record as the starting QB, having completed 60.4% of his passes for 8,118 yards and 38 TDs to 18 INTs. He has also run the ball 188 times for 706 yards and 13 TDs.
Haley is right when she says Brissett isn’t slacking with football as he has a TD to INT ratio of over 2:1. He doesn’t impress you as a passer, though, having averaged 130 career yards per game and averaging just under one TD pass per regular season start. So far in 2022, Brissett is 1-1 in two starts and averaging 200 YPG on point, passing two TD and one INT. He was often described as an overwhelming starter but a quality assurance during his NFL tenure, and his role has peaked due to Deshaun Watson’s 11-game suspension.
Rather than let Brissett try to win the game Thursday by tossing the ball around the court to Amari Cooper and David Njoku, the Browns will be more intent on playing a similar game the Steelers are trying to implement this season: themselves leave a good defense Generate takeaways and have dynamic running game leading offense to eat clock and maintain successful drives. The Pittsburgh defense has mostly kept their end of the bargain, but the running game still needs to take a step forward to lessen the stress placed on the passing game to keep up the drives.
While Brissett and Mitch Trubisky may not be fighting for Pro Bowl honors this season, Thursday night’s matchup could very well come down to which of the two signal callers makes a big play to give their side an advantage in this divisional matchup. Considering each QB’s history, anyone can guess who will win this QB duel to take the lead in the AFC North race after Thursday’s game ends.
