It's been a different Steelers' defense since the Steelers lost in Cleveland.
A turning point for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was the bus ride back from Cleveland.
Graham sat staring out the window into the night back on the trip back to Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, trying to process a 27-24 loss, listening to Amy Winehouse and, eventually, reminding himself of an important part of the communication process with the players upon which Graham so fervently depends.
"Listen."
The Steelers had surrendered 21 unanswered points in the second quarter in their first meeting with Cleveland, and then eventually a drive for the field goal that won the game with 10 seconds left in regulation.
In their second crack at the Browns on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers amassed more sacks (eight) than points allowed (six) and never conceded a touchdown, even in the closing seconds with the Browns running a couple of plays from the Steelers' 1-yard line and the outcome having long since been decided.
Sunday's 27-6 victory over Cleveland was the Steelers' fourth consecutive win.
"I said this from jump, the best thing I learned from Coach (Bill) Belichick, just being the quality control coach, being a position coach, he was the best listener I've been around, by far," Graham explained today. "Best football coach ever, but best listener, by far.
"There's a reason why something is getting said and I'm like, 'OK, get out of your feelings, why is it being said? And how can I do better?' It was just going through that, because I have emotions, too. I'm sitting there like, 'No, I don't think that's right, but OK, why did somebody say that? Think about it.'
"I'm trying to be the example. I talk to them all the time, Whether it's in the game, try to have poise. Whether it's learning from mistakes, try to show poise. I'll be the example. I think that's a big part of being a good leader, so I'm trying to do that."
The players appreciate the open lines of communication and Graham's willingness to listen.
That's helped translate into the Steelers having allowed three touchdowns in four games since they first played the Browns and just 12 points in the second halves of their last four games, including back-to-back second-half shutouts.
So has Graham's growing relationship with his on-field play-caller, inside linebacker Patrick Queen.
"It's huge," Graham maintained. "I would say the last two weeks I felt it becoming like how I want it. I told him when we first met, I said, 'Dude, I'm gonna spend more time with you than anybody else. In terms of in your ear, texting you stuff, going over stuff, we're gonna spend a lot of time together. It's gonna get to a point when we have meetings, I'm really just talking to you.'
"That's how I was with 'Spill' (inside linebacker Robert Spillane) when I was with the Raiders. We'd be in the defensive meeting and I'm really just talking to 'Spill,' because I know "Spill' will get it out to everybody. I'm making points for different positions but I'm like, 'You got this 'Spill?'
"These past two weeks it's been funny, I said, 'Oh, it feels like that again.' If you sat in the meeting, you're like, 'Is he just talking to Patrick? That's how I want it, because he'll get the information out."
Graham considers such a relationship nothing less than essential.
"I love it," he said. "I need that as a play-caller. When I don't have that, it's broken for me."
