Pittsburgh Steelers guard Mason McCormick said he did not know he was blocking Jared Verse when he sent the Cleveland Browns defensive end crashing headfirst to the turf Sunday.
McCormick offered his explanation after Pittsburgh’s 27-6 victory, which settled the rematch on the scoreboard but did little to cool the tension between the two linemen. Verse again criticized McCormick’s style of play after the latest confrontation.
McCormick said he was reacting to a defender leaving his feet when he took Verse down during a kick attempt.
“I really had no idea who it was. Just felt somebody jump. I was told to get the jumpers hands down,” McCormick said plainly.
The Steelers guard was flagged for unnecessary roughness after Verse went airborne trying to block the kick and landed on his head. Verse also pulled off McCormick’s helmet during the exchange.
McCormick’s account pushed back on the idea that he had singled out Verse, whose comments about Pittsburgh had fueled a week of trash talk. The Browns pass rusher had accused the Steelers of playing dirty after their first meeting.
The two had already tangled in that earlier matchup. Verse swung at McCormick following a missed field goal by Steelers kicker Chris Boswell. It did not draw a flag.
Jared Verse Calls Out Mason McCormick Again
Verse stood by his criticism of Pittsburgh after the loss and described the latest play from his perspective.
“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 then doubled down on his opinion that the Steelers play dirty.
“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.”
Browns Fall Flat After Week of Trash Talk
The Browns could not back up Verse’s confident trash talk ahead of the matchup.
“We’re out there to go dominate. About to make Pittsburgh ours on Sunday,” Verse said before the game.
Verse finished with one tackle and one quarterback hit, remaining without a sack through eight games.
Pittsburgh sacked Deshaun Watson eight times and held Cleveland to 34 rushing yards. The Browns failed to score a touchdown and dropped to 5-3 — a game behind the Steelers in the AFC North.
Browns coach Todd Monken had a blunt response when asked about the back-and-forth.
“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,” Monken said. “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.”
Cleveland will try to regroup on the road against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.
Steelers Respond After Browns’ Jared Verse Doubles Down on Cheap-Shot Claim