There has been a bit of a war of words going on between the Browns and the Steelers in the wake of the teams’ tense meeting in Week 4, on a Thursday night in Cleveland. After that game, Browns star Jared Verse suggested that the Steelers do things that aren’t quite legal, accusing them of playing “too dirty.” That registered in Pittsburgh, where veteran Cam Heyward was not pleased.
He responded to the “dirty” accusation on “The Rich Eisen Show”: “Double teaming, sliding, chipping, are those not allowed in our game? Yeah, I got the bruises to prove it. But we don’t whine about it, baby. It’s part of the game. And so, I’m looking forward to this game. … But those are words that were said and they will be addressed.”
Denzel Ward: ‘They Do a Few Things a Little Differently’
Now, Verse tends to be a talker and perhaps something of a hothead for the Browns. The cooler veteran head is cornerback Denzel Ward, who is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his stellar career. Ward was asked about the back-and-forth between the teams.
“I don’t know, that’s on them, whatever Cam Heyward and those guys address. I’m trying to get a win. Whatever comes with getting a win, that is where I am going to be at,” Ward said.
Asked directly if the Steelers are a dirty team, Ward deflected: “They do a few things a little differently, but they’ve been playing very well since our last game and been improving each week. We’re competing for that No. 1 spot, so we are looking to go in there and try to get the win.”
Browns Should Keep History in the Past
The Steelers and Browns are, of course, one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in the NFL, and there has been outright fisticuffs between the teams in the recent past. Ward, of course, knows that, but said it will be important to file history away when they go to Pittsburgh.
Said Ward: “For me, this is a new game. I don’t look at the history or look at what happened. This is two different teams, different people. We just gotta go in and it’s the same thing, try to go 1-0 this weekend, try to get this win.
“It would be a huge win for sure, for our team. Just trying to stack on wins each week. A division matchup and being able to get a win against those guys will always do well for us. You can talk about the history and everything, but it would do well for us just to get a win and keep stacking.”
Browns’ Denzel Ward Responds to Steelers Star’s ‘Dirty’ Talk