Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse stood by his words after the Pittsburgh Steelers handed his team a 27-6 beating Sunday.
Verse had brushed aside Pittsburgh’s response to his trash talk during the week, predicting Cleveland would dominate the rematch. Instead, the Browns failed to score a touchdown and fell a game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North.
Afterward, Verse had criticism for both his own team and Steelers guard Mason McCormick, who sent him crashing headfirst to the turf during a kick attempt.
Jared Verse Takes Aim at Browns’ Performance
Verse offered no excuses for a performance that left Cleveland at 5-3. He credited Pittsburgh with handling its business and spread the responsibility across all three phases.
“We didn’t do enough on our end to come away with a win. They did exactly what they needed to do. That’s completely on us — offense, defense, special teams. Nobody did enough,” Verse said after the game.
The result also did little to change his opinion of the Steelers after a week of back-and-forth that put his comments under a spotlight.
“I stand by everything I say. As a man, you have to do that. We could have done more,” Verse said. “I don’t know who the hell that team was that walked out there and presented themselves. We didn’t do enough across the board from the first quarter to the last quarter.”
Jared Verse Calls Out Mason McCormick After Hit
Verse’s frustration extended to his latest confrontation with McCormick. The Steelers guard was penalized for unnecessary roughness after taking Verse down while the Browns defender tried to block a kick.
“I jumped in the air, tried to block the kick. He swept my legs in the air, ended up landing on my head. That’s football,” Verse said. “I’m very upset about it and if this wasn’t football I’d be acting a different way. He got a flag; we were able to walk away with a yellow penalty on them.”
Verse took particular issue with McCormick, calling him a cheap player and suggesting he should have anticipated the contact.
“That’s just the way that they are. Him specifically, that’s how he plays. It was a lack of awareness on my part,” Verse said. “I should have had a better grasp for the type of player I was going up against.”
The two already had history. During the teams’ first meeting, Verse swung at McCormick after Steelers kicker Chris Boswell missed a field goal. The exchange did not draw a flag.
Todd Monken Responds to Browns’ Trash Talk
Verse’s criticism of Pittsburgh began after Cleveland won the first meeting. He accused the Steelers of playing dirty, prompting Cam Heyward to defend his teammates and promise the comments would be addressed.
He finished with one tackle and one quarterback hit, remaining without a sack through eight games with Cleveland. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, sacked Deshaun Watson eight times and held the Browns to 34 rushing yards.
Asked about the trash talk after the loss, Browns coach Todd Monken said Cleveland had earned the result.
“We certainly earned that. We earned that one and we’ve earned being 5-3. We are certainly capable of a hell of a lot better than that. It’s a good learning lesson for this young team that it’s week-to-week and the bottom line is in this league is you speak with your play.”
The Browns travel to New Orleans next Sunday at 5-3 and looking for a rebound performance.
Browns DE Jared Verse Breaks Silence After Steelers Beatdown