The Steelers traveled to France determined to win the line of scrimmage on both sides and have returned determined to continue dominating along the offensive and defensive lines.
"The players gotta buy in and have an understanding that this thing is set for them to be the big brothers," head coach Mike McCarthy said of his offensive and defensive linemen. "They're the big brothers of the football team. Stuff hits the fan, they're in the front, let's get it on. And what better team to do it (with) than Cleveland. This will be a great game for us to take a step forward as a team, win this game, get to 6-2 and win up front.
"We went into Paris and said that we needed to own the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. We did it, we need to build off that."
The buy-in McCarthy has been seeking up front was most recently on display throughout Sunday's 16-10 victory over New Orleans.
The Steelers rushed for 148 yards on 30 carries, a 4.9-yard average per attempt (including two game-closing kneel-downs from quarterback Aaron Rodgers that each lost 1 yard), and held the Saints to 18 rushing yards on 17 attempts, a 1.1 average per carry.
Tres bien.
They'll host the Browns on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium believing they have what it takes to continue generating more of the same.
"Our D-line and O-line, they look the way they're supposed to look," McCarthy observed.
The specifics of the two units' shared characteristics include size, length, athleticism, and the desired mix of youth and experience.
"(Defensive tackle) Cam (Heyward) and (defensive tackle) Derrick (Harmon, currently on the Reserve/Injured list) and 'K.B.' (defensive tackle Keeanu Benton), all those guys reflect that, they're big men with length," McCarthy maintained. "The profile definitely has been in place here up front.
"And you look at the offensive line, you look at the draft capital that's in place. That's why it was so important to take Max (Iheanachor) and the way that worked out with Max (on the first round). He belongs here. He's what a Pittsburgh Steeler offensive tackle looks like."
McCarthy also had high praise today for two of the assistant coaches most responsible for trench excellence, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and offensive line coach James Campen.
"First two guys I hired, 'nuff said," McCarthy offered. "No one does it better in the front.
"Patrick, his origin is defensive front, linebacker. Started off as an offensive line coach, which I loved that about him in his journey and as we talked football over time.
"And James Campen, I think, is the best O-line coach in the league. I've felt that way for decades."
Another essential component of what's been emerging along the offensive and defensive lines for the Steelers, in McCarthy's estimation, has been the veterans' willingness to lead and the younger players' eagerness to follow.
"Veterans can give back so much in just the little things that they can say in the 1-on-1 drill, that they can say in passing in the weight room, in the video component of it," McCarthy said. "It's a lot like parenting. You tell your kids something two or three times but if Aaron Rodgers or Cam Heyward or T.J. (Watt) says something to them, they act like they never heard it before, and that's real.
"I just think the give-back of our vets has been good and our young guys are responding."
That's a part of the process McCarthy doesn't take for granted.
"It's really a challenge every year that I've been doing this," he said. "You look at your veterans and your young guys and that cavern that's between them and you see it come together. It's important to do that and win, you gotta win while you do it. But our young guys are playing some snaps and they're contributing.
"The next step is it's gotta show up on special teams. That's a little bit of our challenge right now, we need to get more production out of our special teams. We'll just keep working the fundamentals, keep emphasizing it and I believe that'll get to where it needs to be."
