Steelers answer Verse's trash talk with big win: 'Should have kept mouth shut' — SkimNews
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- Steelers defeated the Browns 27-6 on Sunday, rushed for 200 yards and extended their regular-season home win streak over Cleveland to 23 games, taking sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
- Jaquan Brisker said Verse “should have kept his mouth shut” and mocked him for finishing with zero tackles, although the report credits Verse with one tackle and a quarterback hit.
- Jared Verse began his verbal attack a month earlier after Cleveland’s 27-24 Week 4 home win, calling Pittsburgh’s offensive linemen “dirty” and saying he wanted to “get my hands on them again.”
- Cam Heyward said Verse’s comments “will be addressed,” then rejected the idea that they fueled the win: the team wanted the victory before its bye and had “bigger fish to fry.”
- Mason McCormick drew an unnecessary roughness penalty after sweeping the legs of a leaping Verse during a point-after try; McCormick said he did not know it was Verse and believed the instruction was to keep a jumper’s hands down.
Why it matters: For Pittsburgh, the 27-6 win delivered sole possession of first place in the AFC North and a 23-game home streak over Cleveland. The postgame wrinkle is that Heyward said the win was not about Verse, while McCormick’s roughness-penalty episode kept the personal friction in view.
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