Cleveland Browns‘ All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett planned on putting Aaron Rodgers in his graveyard. Little did he know what was on the menu for Sunday. To prepare for the matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ HC Mike Tomlin had already highlighted the need to shut him down before he wrecked their winning streak. For Garrett, surprisingly or not, it wasn’t the Steelers’ O-line that forced yet another loss on them.

While the Browns’ defense held ‌the Steelers to 23 points, the offense just couldn’t match up. After the Browns managed to score just 9 points through field goals without a single touchdown in rookie QB Dillon Gabriel’s second career start, Myles Garrett addressed his unhappiness after the loss.

“To lose the same way every time, it’s frustrating as hell.”

For a moment, he looked like the same Garrett who had asked for a trade this offseason, noting that the team’s vision did not align with his own. However, he accepted a 4-year, $160 million extension to stay in Cleveland. But as it looks now, the offense is even more clueless with their former team captain, QB Joe Flacco, traded away to the Cincinnati Bengals, and only rookies remaining to handle the offense.

To say the Browns’ offense struggled might not do it justice. Let’s take a look at what Pro Football Focus noted:

• The Browns had a 6-17 third-down efficiency
• They only had 220 passing yards
• They only had 65 rushing yards
• Gabriel lost 38 yards in 6 sacks
• Gabriel had 58 dropbacks
• Total pressure allowed by the Browns measured to 31 as compared to 8 by the Steelers
• Gabriel had 6 passes broken up compared to Rodgers’ 1

Already before the game, Garrett had advised the rookies on two things. One, the game would not be pretty. It’s a rivalry for a reason, with the Steelers leading 85-64-1 in all-time head-to-head. Two, not to play a clean or a perfect game.

But with what was visible, it felt like Gabriel was only being asked to play safer plays, ones that won’t get his passes intercepted, but also won’t get him any points. On the other hand, Garrett had some gleaming praise for what the Steelers were able to achieve.

“They stopped us as a D-line front. … got in chunk formations. They chipped after [Aaron Rodgers] got the ball out. … There weren’t a lot of situations where, even if I was running bu**-a** naked, I could’ve gotten there.”

The Steelers certainly complied with what their head coach asked of them. The pass rusher remained a shutout with just two total tackles (zero solo) and no sacks. Instead, he watched as the Steelers’ pass rush dominated the game, and could only add a simple post-game thought on it: “Must be nice.”

At this point, the piled-up losses of the 1-5 Browns are already affecting the Pro Bowler. After the game, Garrett was asked about Browns legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas and if he found it difficult to dig deeper and keep pressing on while losses stockpile – something Thomas struggled with mentally during his long Browns career.

“Yep,” Garrett replied bluntly.

But even as the offense petered out against the Steelers on a battered-up Acrisure Stadium, Dillon Gabriel kept throwing the ball, trying to keep the game alive. At one point, social media channels were swarming with questions of whether backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders should get a chance in this game instead. Post-game, head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked if that thought had crossed his mind.

Kevin Stefanski’s quarterback call

Dillon Gabriel visibly struggled, throwing for 221 yards, completing 29 connections out of a whopping 52 attempts. The receivers struggled to find open lanes and couldn’t put up a single point on the board. With just 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, Steelers’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey sacked Gabriel and pointed to the sideline at Shedeur Sanders. But was that even on the cards?

As Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano noted on X, “Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he did not consider putting backup QB Shedeur Sanders in today’s game, even though starter Dillon Gabriel was taking a beating and the Browns were out of it late.”

In his defense, Stefanski has previously revealed he plans to develop specific game plans for Sanders and will only put him into the field once those are created. The Steelers vs. Browns Week 6 showdown was just meant for Dillon Gabriel. The Browns have now lost three games in a row and are going 1-5 into Week 7. When they next face the Miami Dolphins, will they be able to add another win to their 2025 season, with Gabriel getting his first career win as a starter? Or will Kevin Stefanski pivot to give Shedeur Sanders that chance? The biggest question, though, will be whether the offense can finally click or keep struggling to score points. We’ll find out.