Sport
Steelers answer Verse's trash talk with big win: 'Should have kept mouth shut'
Key Points
The Steelers got the last word after Browns defensive end Jared Verse's trash talk ahead of Sunday's matchup. "He should have kept his mouth shut," safety Jaquan Brisker said after the Steelers' 27-6 win. "All that talking and to come out with zero tackles, that's bad.
PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers got the last word after Browns defensive end Jared Verse's trash talk ahead of Sunday's matchup.
"He should have kept his mouth shut," safety Jaquan Brisker said after the Steelers' 27-6 win. "All that talking and to come out with zero tackles, that's bad. You didn't stand behind your words, and you didn't stand on business. So, he got to look himself in the mirror and get better."
Verse started his talking a month ago after the Browns' 27-24 home win over the Steelers in Week 4. He called out Pittsburgh's offensive linemen for being "dirty" and said he couldn't "wait to get my hands on them again."
On Tuesday, Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward told "The Rich Eisen Show" that Verse's comments "will be addressed." A day later, Verse said that he wasn't concerned about Heyward and that he planned to "make Pittsburgh ours."
On Sunday, Verse finished with one tackle and a quarterback hit as the Steelers rushed for 200 yards.
"I stand by everything I say," he said after the game. "As a man, you have to naturally do that."
Verse was frequently jawing with Steelers offensive players during the game and also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on Mason McCormick after the Pittsburgh guard swept the legs of a leaping Verse during a point-after try and slammed him to the ground.
"To do something like that, I don't have respect for anything like that," Verse said.
McCormick defended his actions after the game.
"I really had no idea who it was," he said. "Just felt somebody jump, and we're told to get jumpers' hands down, and that's really it."
The Steelers' 23rd straight regular-season home win over the Browns gave them sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Heyward, though, said the team wasn't fueled by Verse's trash talk.
"Not motivated by that," Heyward said. "We were motivated because we wanted to get this damn win before we got to the bye. So there's bigger fish to fry."
ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.