PITTSBURGH — That was some old-school, violent, destructive stuff you saw from the Steelers defense Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium. The only thing that looked more torn up than the turf was the Browns' offense and their poor little quarterback, Dillon Gabriel.

It was vintage Steelers, is what it was.

At one point, four defenders — Payton Wilson, T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Derrick Harmon, if I'm not mistaken — converged on Gabriel and nearly tore him limb to limb. It was impossible to tell who actually got the sack.

"Can you give sacks as a third?" wondered CBS play-by-play man Ian Eagle.

How about as a fourth?

Anybody who believes intimidating, vicious defense is dead need only flick on the tape from this one. They'll see Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen flat-out bury running back Jerome Ford with a brutal fourth-quarter hit, then come back for more on the next play. They'll see legal shots mixed with a few illegal shots on the quarterback and his receivers. They'll see all kinds of angry men meeting at the ball carrier on nearly every play.

As a result, they'll see receivers such as Cleveland's Jerry Jeudy go full alligator-arms on an alleged catch attempt, which is what happened late in the first half.

With safety Juan Thornhill taking aim, Jeudy extended his arms about as far as a sportswriter picking up a bar tab. Analyst J.J. Watt charitably described the play as Jeudy "taking a peek at the safety."

With a fully healthy group, finally, the Steelers present therapy-inducing problems for coordinators, linemen and quarterbacks. In any given passing situation, they'll see some combination of Watt, Alex Highsmith, Herbig, Cam Heyward, Harmon, Keeanu Benton and whoever might be blitzing from anywhere (Jalen Ramsey had two sacks Sunday; Queen was disruptive).

What are they going to do to Joe Flacco on Thursday night?

OK, let's not get out over our skis. We still need to see this group play a real quarterback and play like this into the winter to fully buy in, but these past two games have at least lent some credence to the big preseason words from head coach and de facto defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin.

After the 23-9 victory Sunday raised the Steelers' record to 4-1, Tomlin told reporters this: "When we put this band together, we feel like we can do things like you saw today."

We'll see. But how could you watch that and not wonder if he's right?

Meanwhile ...

— Herbig was a phenomenal draft pick at 132nd overall in 2023. He's becoming an absolute game wrecker and one of the great fourth-round picks in recent Steelers history (since the year 2000, the best have been Ike Taylor, Larry Foote, Willie Colon and probably Martavis Bryant). Herbig, who sacked Gabriel twice, also still has a chance to be the best pass rusher from the 2023 NFL draft.

Despite being a part-time player through his first two-plus seasons — starting just seven games — Herbig has racked up 13 sacks, seven forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and an interception. He had that second interception in his grasp Sunday. He is a pass-rushing machine.

Look at the '23 draft and consider that the only players ahead of Herbig on the sack list have all started at least 20 games. All were drafted ahead of him. Here's the list:

— Byron Young (Rams, third round, 77th overall): 23 sacks

— Will Anderson (Texans, first round, third): 21 sacks

— Kobie Turner (Rams, third round, 89th): 18.5 sacks

— Tuli Tuipulotu (Chargers, second round, 54th): 18 sacks

— Will McDonald IV (Jets, first round, 15th): 15.5 sacks

That's it. That's the list. Herbig has nearly as many forced fumbles as the entire group combined. His career really hasn't even gotten rolling yet. I'm betting he finishes with more sacks (and certainly more forced fumbles) than any of them. The Cincinnati Bengals, by the way, took a receiver named Charlie Jones right before the Steelers took Herbig.

One more note: The greatest fourth-round pick in Steelers history was Hall of Famer John Stallworth in 1974.

— Speaking of fourth-round picks, guard Mason McCormick (Class of '24) has quietly acquitted himself well on what appears to be a rapidly improving offensive line. And by quiet, I mean the attention given to McCormick, certainly not his playing style. He plays every snap like he just downed a keg of espresso. He's constantly running after plays to protect teammates and excitedly signal first downs. He generally goes about his job like it's a backyard game in the snow. I don't think anybody's ever going to question whether he loves football.

To McCormick's right, tackle Troy Fautanu is showing people why the Steelers were so high on him. He's a people mover. And his compatriot on the other side, Broderick Jones, deserves credit for ignoring the noise and settling into his position. Jones got a ton of help against Myles Garrett on Sunday, but he did his share in contributing to Garrett's paltry final line: two tackles, zero sacks, zero quarterback hits.

— While we're handing out compliments, Tomlin and GM Omar Khan are looking very right about DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey. For minimal cost, the Steelers added two bona fide stars at positions of critical need.

The Ramsey trade was an easy call as a win the minute it happened. The Steelers got two good players (Ramsey and Jonnu Smith) for a fading one in Minkah Fitzpatrick. Ramsey is looking like his prime self these days, racking up two sacks Sunday.

Metcalf came from Seattle for a second-round pick. He has a touchdown in four straight games, and you get the feeling plenty more are coming.

—The Steelers appeared to catch a break on a game-turning play in the third quarter, leading 9-3 when Cleveland's Cameron Thomas was called for running into the kicker on a Corliss Waitman punt. As officiating analyst Gene Steratore explained, Thomas was engaged with Kenneth Gainwell at the time, which should have exempted him. Bad call. Good break. And the Steelers took advantage.

— How about a little love for Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith? First of all, that was a beautiful play to start the game. It's not easy to sneak Darnell Washington anywhere, let alone through the line into a wide-open space. But a nice design made it happen on the Steelers' first snap, leading to a 36-yard gain. It came out of a jumbo package where you figured they'd run.

Going against a good defense, the Steelers featured a balanced attack in compiling 235 yards passing and 100 rushing. After the running-into-the-kicker call, Metcalf broke open for what should have been an easy touchdown. Rodgers under-threw him but came right back with a beautiful rollout and dart on the next play to Metcalf, who again was running free. It says something about the coordinator when you have your best player wide open on consecutive plays.

The touchdown to finish that drive exemplified the Steelers' plan to not let Garrett ruin the game. Rodgers rolled right, far away from Garrett — who still had to deal with two blockers on the play — and made a vintage Rodgers throw to Connor Heyward in the end zone. Great catch by Heyward, too.

— Rodgers seems to be settling in more each week. He has been far better than some of us predicted. He's efficient, intelligent with the ball and precise in some of the biggest moments. If he starts making more rollout throws against the grain for touchdowns, look out. He's completing nearly 70% of his passes for 10 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 104.5 rating, which would be his best since 2021.

— Mt. Washington is becoming a problem for opposing defenses. He's also a guy you don't want to take off the field. We know he's a great blocker. Now he's becoming a viable receiver. After he caught a little stick route, J.J. Watt was gushing.

"He's like an offensive lineman, but he moves like a receiver," Watt said.

Watt then laughed when Eagle noted that Washington is listed at 264 pounds.

"Yeah," Watt said. "That's not correct."

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