The Cleveland Browns sit alone in first place in the AFC North, and the loudest voice explaining why belongs to a defensive end who did not play a down for them a year ago. Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 27-24 on Thursday night in Week 4, improved to 3-1, and then let Jared Verse talk.
Andre Szmyt ended it with a 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. Browns teams of the last decade lose that game. This one did not, and Verse wanted everybody to understand the difference.
What Verse Actually Said About Pittsburgh
“They were talking crazy, I’m like y’all double-teaming, y’all sliding, y’all garbage,” Verse said of the Steelers offensive line. “I don’t got no respect for anybody that plays too dirty.” He also objected to what he described as extra activity after the whistle.
Then he turned to his own team. “This ain’t the old Browns. It’s got new swag. We’re a lot more aggressive. We’re getting after it a lot more.” He finished by looking ahead to the Week 9 rematch in Pittsburgh: “I can’t wait to see them again.”
Be clear about what that is and what it is not. Verse is describing blocking technique and postgame needling, not an infraction. No fine, no league review and no disciplinary action against any Pittsburgh player has been reported, and the Steelers have not issued a response.
The Browns Won This In The Trenches
Cleveland sacked Aaron Rodgers five times and hit him 10 times. A defense that can do that to Rodgers is not a fluke, and it is the best single reason to take this 3-1 team seriously.
The Browns also committed 14 penalties for 88 yards, which complicates Verse’s sermon about discipline. Verse himself jumped offsides late and gave Pittsburgh a two-point attempt from the one-yard line. Rodgers converted it on a sneak to tie the game inside two minutes. Cleveland bailed him out.
Verse’s personal box score stayed quiet: two tackles, one for a loss. Through four games he has 10 combined tackles and zero sacks, a long way from the 7.5 he posted for the Rams in 2025. Cleveland acquired him on June 1 by sending Myles Garrett to Los Angeles, getting back Verse plus a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second and a 2029 third. The Browns also lost defensive tackle Mason Graham in the first half, with an MCL sprain and an ankle sprain expected to cost him a few weeks.
Todd Monken Owns The Division Lead
First-year head coach Todd Monken has Cleveland on a three-game winning streak and alone atop the AFC North. Pittsburgh dropped to 2-2 under its own first-year coach, Mike McCarthy, with Rodgers getting hammered behind a line that could not hold up.
Verse has not earned the right to lecture anybody on sack production yet. He has absolutely earned the right to talk about the standings. The Browns have won three in a row, they hold the head-to-head over Pittsburgh, and they get the rematch in five weeks on the road with a division lead to defend.
If Cleveland is still leading this division in November, nobody will care who said what about blocking technique. If the Browns fade, this is the clip that follows Verse all year. He picked his side at full volume, and now he has to go back to Pittsburgh and back it up.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.