The Pittsburgh Steelers largely allowed their play do the talking in Week 8 after Cleveland Browns edge rusher Jared Verse had a lot to say this past week about what his team was going to do Sunday. Then after the 27-6 Steelers win, Verse had more to say.
To reporters after Sunday’s game, the Browns edge rusher didn’t express any regret over his words to the media which could have helped fuel Pittsburgh’s Week 8 victory.
“I stand by everything I say. As a man, you have to do that. We could have done more,” Verse told reporters, via ESPN Cleveland. “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.”
Verse had one combined tackle with one quarterback hit. Meanwhile, the Steelers had eight sacks on Deshaun Watson and ran for 200 yards on the ground to defeat the Browns by three touchdowns.
Jared Verse Adds Spicy to Steelers-Browns Rivalry
The trash talking between Verse and the Steelers began after the two teams met in Week 4. Verse called Cleveland’s biggest rival dirty and added he was “looking forward to seeing them again.”
Heyward responded to those remarks during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show last week, saying what Verse said will be addressed in Week 8. The Browns edge rusher then spoke out again through the media before Sunday’s game.
“I’m not worried about Cam, I’m not worried about their O-line, I’m not worried about nobody they got on their team,” Verse said. “We’re out there to go dominate. We’re about to make Pittsburgh ours on Saturday — on Sunday.”
Obviously, that didn’t happen. Verse was largely invisible while the Steelers averaged 6.1 yards on the ground with three rushing touchdowns.
Even Verse had to admit that it was an ugly game from Cleveland’s perspective.
“We didn’t do enough on our end to come away with a win. They did exactly what they needed to do,” the edge rusher told reporters. “That’s completely on us — offense, defense, special teams. Nobody did enough.”
Some Steelers players addressed Verse’s words after the Steelers blowout win Sunday. The overall message, though, was focusing on their play, rather than words in the media, and moving on to the next opponent.
“We weren’t motivated by that,” Heyward told reporters after the game. “We were motivated because we wanted to get this damn win before the bye.
“There’s bigger fish to fry.”
Todd Monken Indirectly Speaks out on Verse
Trash-talking can be a tricky thing to navigate for NFL head coaches. The last thing a head coach wants to hand bulletin board material to an upcoming opponent, and yet, it can be very important to allow young players to be themselves.
Monken didn’t specifically address Verse after Sunday’s game. But he spoke about the trash-talking between the two clubs.
“We certainly earned that; we earned that one and we’ve earned being 5-3,” Monken said. “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 Steelers moved into first place at 6-2 with their victory Sunday. However, all of their division rivals remained at least .500 or better after their Week 8 results.
Jared Verse Doesn’t Back Down Even After Steelers Dominate Browns