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How Browns offensive line put together its best game against Steelers
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- How Browns offensive line put together its best game against Steelers
CLEVELAND ― The task was daunting for the Browns offensive line .
There was the challenge of going up against one of the NFL's best defensive fronts . There was the challenge of their own continued growth and cohesion.
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Then, on top of all of that, there was a curveball thrown at them three days before the game when it was announced one of their most experienced players, and the literal center of the line, was not going to play because of injury .
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Turns out, the line was up to the challenge. It turned that into arguably its best performance of the season in the Browns ' 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Yeah, I think it starts with [offensive line] Coach [George] Warhop, [assistant offensive line] Coach [Bobby] Johnson and [offensive assistant] Coach Sanders [Davis]," center Luke Wypler said after the game. "I think they every week get us prepared to play. Those five guys up front, we go in there and try to do our best and execute. And tonight we did a lot of good things, so we're able to get the win."
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Wypler was a central piece to that story. The Browns discovered Sept. 28, the day after a Week 3 win over the Carolina Panthers, that veteran center Elgton Jenkins had sustained a concussion, and was unlikely to play against the Steelers.
That put the fourth-year pro from Ohio State in the position to have to fill those shoes. However, Wypler had two things going for him in the assignment.
One, he had started five games in 2025 in place of an injured Ethan Pocic. Two, he had faced this same Pittsburgh defense while starting last December in a Week 17 Browns win.
"Yeah, same faces, same players," Wypler said of the Steelers. "New defensive coordinator, scheme changed a little bit, but same identity. And I think we went out there as an offensive line and battled to all 60 minutes of the game and came out with a win, and couldn't be prouder of the guys that fought through the adversity and came out in fourth quarter and went and got the win."
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Wypler was just one piece of that line, though. As a whole, the Browns were credited with allowing just eight combined pressures to the Steelers, according to Pro Football Focus, with Pittsburgh sacking quarterback Deshaun Watson twice.
Oct 1, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
However, none of those sacks and none of that pressure came from the left side of the Browns offensive line. Neither left guard Zion Johnson nor left tackle Spencer Fano were credited with having allowed a single pressure against Pittsburgh.
"Well, the circumstances and the adversity, that's just part of it," Johnson said. "But the real sweet thing about it is anytime you can get a division win, you win twice. You win in your division and you win in the win column. So it was a great opportunity for us to come out here, short week, really just focus on what's ahead of us, focus on this game. And we executed down the stretch, was able to pull out the victory."
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It wasn't just the pass protection, however, that indicated the growth in the offensive line. It was the continued improvement in the run game.
That started to show in the win over the Panthers earlier in the week, when the Browns rushed for 132 yards, one more than they had in the first two games combined. They only ran for 114 yards on 27 attempts against the Steelers, but it was another game of averaging more than four yards a carry.
The interior of the line, specifically Wypler and right guard Austin Barber, was where much of the success occurred. It was off right tackle Tytus Howard where both of the touchdown runs ― Jaleel McLaughlin's 38-yard run and Quinshon Judkins' 2-yard run ― came from, with the latter also involving Fano pulling.
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"Again, we're always under construction, all of us, the older guys and then the younger players that are in there, that are just going to continue to get better," Browns coach Todd Monken said. "Certainly, there's some things we do schematically to help them but, no, I mean, I think they're going to continue to get better, because the way they work, like all the players we have, with the way they work, they're going to continue to get better. There's no way you can't. There's absolutely no way you can't. But get out there and work."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How Browns offensive line put together its best game against Steelers
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