The AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers progressed toward full health during their bye week while multiple fellow contenders suffered defeats.
Pittsburgh (3-1) will aim to keep moving forward when the struggling Cleveland Browns (1-4) visit on Sunday.
All the better with the reinforcements the Steelers are hopeful to have in tow.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this week that he expects cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring), linebacker Alex Highsmith (ankle) and running back Jaylen Warren (knee) to return against the Browns.
Tomlin added that cornerback Jalen Ramsey (hamstring) and wide receiver Calvin Austin III (shoulder) also could be in line to play.
Ostensibly, the open week afforded Pittsburgh more time to prepare for Browns standout defensive end Myles Garrett, who has four sacks through five games.
Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones, however, knows the drill in his third season facing Cleveland.
“Just coming in with the right mindset,” Jones said. “I feel that’s 90 percent of the battle. Just not getting in your own head before it’s time and just going out there and playing your game.”
Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers considers Garrett a future Hall of Famer and “one of the few players in the league over my 21 years that you game plan for.”
Still, he knows the Steelers boast their own defensive gamebreaker in linebacker T.J. Watt, who has a team-best three sacks.
“When we played the Steelers last year (with the New York Jets),” Rodgers said, “our plan was to get four hands on T.J. Watt every single play.”
Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel is set to make his second career start for the Browns, who enter Week 6 with the NFL’s fourth-worst point differential, at minus-50.
Cleveland on Tuesday traded veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, 40, and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Flacco started the Browns’ first four games before yielding to Gabriel, a third-round selection in April.
Gabriel went 19-for-33 from 190 yards and a pair of touchdown passes in a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London.
“Lot to clean up,” Gabriel said. “There’s always going to be good and bad.”
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski would not say initially whether rookie Shedeur Sanders or practice squad player Bailey Zappe would serve as Gabriel’s backup against the Steelers.
“All roster type of things, I always have to be mindful of our players and our players’ development,” Stefanski said. “And I want to make sure that I’m always doing what’s best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I’m always thinking about — last week, making the change to Dillon, you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you are so invested in their development. So, I’ll let the decision play out (and) make a decision later.”
Sunday marks the 148th meeting between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The Steelers lead the series 82-64-1 and enter with a four-game home winning streak against the Browns.
“We’re highly familiar with those guys, but they’re highly familiar with us,” Tomlin said. “I just think that’s the fun and excitement of divisional play — that intimacy, those relationships.”