Bengals

Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas had five receptions for 82 yards in Cincinnati’s Week 5 loss to the Lions. Cincinnati OC Dan Pitcher praised Iosivas for his performance. 

“Really happy with Drei’s play yesterday,” Pitcher said, via Jay Morrison of Sports Illustrated. “(He) was great after the catch. Made a contested play on the slot fade.”

As for Iosivas only having two catches for six yards going into Week 5, HC Zac Taylor responded that his lack of production has to do with their game plan for him in those previous games.  

“That’s us. That’s not an Andrei thing,” Taylor said. “He has done everything he can to create an opportunity for himself whether it’s run blocking or blocking down the field on scrambles, whether that’s one on one when we were getting both guys doubled yesterday. Put them on the same side of the field and let Andrei work one on one.”

Pitcher feels Iosivas proved he deserves more opportunities. 

“Drei is about all the right stuff, doesn’t say anything,” Pitcher said. “I’m sure there’s parts of Drei that wishes he’s had more opportunity than he’s had so far this year. I’m sure if I was him, that’s how I would feel. It’s a challenge to get the opportunities to everybody that deserve them, but he proved yesterday that he deserves them. So definitely we’ve got to find ways to continue to incorporate him.” 

Browns

Browns second-round RB Quinshon Judkins has been impressive with 72 rushing attempts for 347 yards and two touchdowns, hitting the ground running in a literal sense after missing everything between minicamp and Week 1. Steelers HC Mike Tomlin highly praised the rookie back, saying he’s the type of player who can wear down a defense. 

“I can’t say enough about what I’m seeing from Judkins,” Tomlin said Jim Wexell of the team’s site. “He had absolutely no training camp to speak of, and that really highlights what it is we’re looking at. Kudos to him and kudos to them for what he and they are able to produce. He is a tough runner. He’s good inside. He’s got good patience and picking vision on interior running. He finishes off his runs with violence. He’s underrated in terms of his ability to bounce it to the perimeter and pop long ones. He had a 60-yarder or so that got called back in London last week that kind of highlights that. I’ve seen this guy a lot. Obviously, we got a couple of his teammates from O State, and so I’ve seen a lot of his video. Man, he is a complete back. He’s the type of guy that can wear a defensive unit down. Certainly fits their mold as an awesome replacement, if you will, for Nick Chubb, and I think it’s going to do nothing but get better with him and them.”

• Cleveland recently traded CB Greg Newsome II to the Jaguars. Browns CB coach Brandon Lynch is excited for Newsome to have an opportunity to be a leader in Jacksonville: “The biggest thing with Greg, I’m extremely excited for Greg. To see him have an opportunity to go somewhere else and be a leader there, I’m excited for him.” (Petrak)
• Lynch thinks CB Tyson Campbell fits their system well: “What we do, playing press man, we like guys who have 32-inch arms, like to make plays in run game. Really excited to see what he’s going to do in our defense. A physically violent player.” (Petrak)
• As for facing Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers in Week 6, Lynch said they need to “out-execute” Pittsburgh: “You’re not going to out-disguise him, you’re going to have to out-execute him.” (Petrak)
• Cleveland officially ruled out DT Mike Hall Jr. (knee) for Week 6. 
• Browns HC Kevin Stefanski announced that QB Shedeur Sanders will be their primary backup in Week 6, via Petrak. 

Steelers

The Steelers are set to square off against the Browns in Week 6, which comes into Pittsburgh with the league’s best run defense. Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said they need to block well and play physically. 

“We’d better block them,” Tomlin said, via Jim Wexell of the team’s site. “We’d better run hard, finish off runs; better have a finisher’s attitude in terms of which direction the pile falls. They’re elite in terms of run-stopping. So, what does that mean? That means we’ve got to be solid. We can’t have unblocked people. But beyond that, we’ve got to play well as a collective. We’ve got to play physical, and we’ve got to finish.”

As for facing Cleveland’s 4-3 defense, Tomlin said a reason they drafted TE Darnell Washington in 2023 was to face teams that use the 4-3 scheme. 

“We have a certain personality, particularly when we play 4-3 teams. I haven’t been bashful about that,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we drafted Darnell Washington. You can’t play 4-3 teams with 250-pound tight ends. You can’t. There are weight classes in combat sport for a reason. When the people are 300 pounds, you’d better have somebody out there that looks like that animal. That was our intention against Minnesota.”

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