Mark Madden: Steelers 'D' dominant against Browns, but replacing Devin Bush will be a challenge

The Pittsburgh Steelers still haven’t beaten a good team.

Cleveland certainly isn’t a good team.

The Browns are 0-2 against Baltimore and the Steelers, losing those games by a combined 76-13.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield (aka Johnny Manziel Jr.) is a bust and certainly won’t get better via the teaching tool of humility. He can make commercials, but not plays. Perhaps Case Keenum could replace Mayfield in the middle of filming his next ad.

Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is all hat (hair?) and no cattle. OBJ could be seen on the sidelines with his shoes off, arguing with Steelers fans. When you lose 38-7, you should zip it.

Steelers backup QB Mason Rudolph got in at garbage time and was 1 for 1 for 6 yards. He made more impact than Browns pretend superstar Myles Garrett, the noted lie-a-betic.

The Browns entered Sunday leading the NFL in rushing (188 yards per game). They got just 75 yards on the ground against the Steelers.

In other words, they’re still the Browns: punks, pretenders and losers. Same as it ever was. Their stooge media will have difficulty putting lipstick on this pig.

Visiting Tennessee this coming Sunday finally will be a true test, bubonic plague permitting. The Titans are 4-0 after a 42-36 victory over Houston. Ryan Tannehill (364 yards in the air) and Derrick Henry (212 yards on the ground) became the first QB/running back combo in NFL history to top 350 yards passing and 200 yards rushing in the same game.

Stopping those two should be more challenging than stopping Mayfield and Kareem Hunt. (“This one’s for Myles.”)

Then again, maybe it won’t be.

The Steelers defense is overwhelming, fast as a shark and almost as nasty. Against Cleveland, it had four sacks, seven QB hits, six tackles for loss, stuffed the run and had two interceptions, including Minkah Fitzpatrick’s pick-six.

Philadelphia was 10 of 14 on third down the game prior, but Cleveland was 1 for 12 in that situation Sunday and 0 for 3 on fourth down. When the Steelers defense has a problem, that problem gets fixed.

But it will be difficult to fix inside linebacker now that Devin Bush is out for the season with a knee injury. Undrafted second-year pro Robert Spillane did fine deputizing after Bush got hurt Sunday. But now his adrenaline dials down, and foes can game plan to exploit Spillane. Two-time second-team all-MAC at Western Michigan is the extent of Spillane’s meager pedigree.

Should the Steelers trade to get a more capable replacement? They probably won’t. Wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster is surplus to requirements thanks to the emergence of Chase Claypool, but swapping Smith-Schuster would be risky because of Diontae Johnson’s recent injury woes.

Spillane will get snaps. Perhaps the Steelers pack the field with defensive backs in Bush’s absence, but that won’t happen at Nashville when they face Henry. Bush’s absence will be felt at Baltimore, when his speed would be of great use vs. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.

The rescheduling of the visit to Tennessee from Week 4 to this coming Sunday helped the Steelers in the short term. They’re 5-0. That generates a lot of confidence, credibility and momentum regardless of the opposition’s caliber. That was made possible by beating teams the Steelers should, which has been no guarantee under coach Mike Tomlin.

Now the bill comes due: The Steelers play seven of their last 11 games on the road, including consecutive visits to Nashville, Baltimore and Dallas in the next three weeks.

The Titans are obviously healthier on the covid front than in Week 4. Otherwise, they break even: A.J. Brown, their top receiver last season, since has returned from a knee problem. But left tackle Taylor Lewan went down with a torn ACL in Sunday’s win over Houston. (Lots of that going around: Get well soon, Virgil van Dijk. #LFC #YNWA)

After going to Tennessee, the Steelers visit Baltimore. The Ravens will be coming off a bye. With the original schedule, the same would have been true for the Steelers.

But 5-0 downgrades such problems to mere annoyances.

Being 5-0 is rarefied air. The Steelers have only done it once before, in 1978 when they started 7-0 and wound up winning their third Super Bowl. Draw your own conclusions.

It’s tough to draw conclusions just yet when it comes to Ben Roethlisberger’s performance. Roethlisberger’s stats haven’t often risen too far above average: Witness Sunday, when he was 14 for 22 for 162 yards. Meh.

But Roethlisberger made big throws, like his 36-yard dime to Claypool that set up a score and a couple great tosses to James Washington, including a 28-yard touchdown. Most important, he threw zero interceptions and has thrown only one pick on the year.

Has Roethlisberger gone from gunslinger to game manager? Not quite. Perhaps a hybrid of the two, and that’s fine.

Roethlisberger has said he lacks confidence in the deep ball. Maybe that’s made his short game that much sharper.

One thing is certain: He’s reading blitzes to perfection, making life much easier for his banged-up offensive line.

One suggestion: No more run-pass options. Too much risk, too little reward.