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Steelers Continue Trash Talk With Browns' Jared Verse After Win
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- Steelers Continue Trash Talk With Browns' Jared Verse After Win
Jared Verse had plenty to say about the Pittsburgh Steelers following the Cleveland Browns 27-24 win over their division rival back in Week 4.
That war on words continued when the two AFC North foes prepared for their regular-season rematch in Week 8. Steelers' veteran DT Cam Heyward asserted early in the week that they'd address Verse's initial comments on the field. Verse then fired back saying he wasn't worried about Heyward or anyone on the Steelers roster.
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Then Sunday arrived, and with a golden opportunity to back up his comments with a breakout performance for Cleveland, Verse and his team seemed more prepared to talk than to play. Cleveland was flagged for more taunting penalties than Verse had tackles. He finished with one, and a single QB hit.
The Steelers took notice of his disappointing stat line.
"He should have kept his mouth shut," Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker said. "All that talk, and then to come out with 0 tackles, that's bad."
His inflammatory remarks didn't stop there.
"He's gotta look at himself in the mirror and get better," he added.
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There were multiple moments throughout the game where Verse was seen jawing with members of the Steelers. At one point, on a Pittsburgh PAT attempt, Verse got body slammed on his head by gaurd Mason McCormick. It was a play Verse took exception to afterwards, echoing his comments from the first matchup that it felt like another dirty play.
Verse owned the fact that his performance didn't live up to the smack talk he had provided in the weeks and days prior to this AFC North rematch.
"I stand by everything I said, and as a man you have to naturally do that," he explained. "I don't know who the hell that team was that walked out there [today]. We didn't do enough across the board from the first quarter to the last quarter."
Verse certainly wasn't the only player who put together a forgettable performance in Week 8. But one of the most vocal players on the Browns roster, he put a bit of a target on his back and exposed himself to plenty of criticism when he fell short.
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While Brisker chose to stoke the flames afterwards, Heyward kept it more professional, expressing that the Steelers have 'bigger fish to fry' than a verbal spat with a division rival.
Verse's personality is part of what made him valuable to Cleveland when he came back as a key piece of the blockbuster Myles Garrett trade over the summer and no one is telling the two-time Pro Bowler not to be a vocal leader for the franchise.
The Browns also expected him to perform on the field, though, and his first eight games have been underwhelming to say the least. Verse has yet to register a sack so far this season and he trails rotational players like Sam Williams and Derek Barnett in pressures.
Verse has time to turn it around, but Sunday was undoubtedly a tough reality check for the Browns new star and the Steelers let him know it.
