Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Hurdles to Clear in Week 1 vs. Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers open up their 2018 regular-season campaign with a road contest against the Cleveland Browns and will need to overcome some challenges to start off 1-0.

They may be easy favorites to win the AFC North this year, but simply handing the Pittsburgh Steelers a victory in Week 1 over the once-hapless Cleveland Browns won’t necessarily be easy.

Pittsburgh starts off its 2018 campaign with a road bout in Cleveland, which is coming off a winless 2017 season and the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, which it subsequently used on quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield won’t start up against the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and Co. That job goes to Tyrod Taylor, who’ll look to take advantages of whatever weaknesses the Steelers have on the defensive side of the ball.

That’s one of a number of hurdles head coach Mike Tomlin’s squad will have to deal with in its season opener.

There’s more, however. Among the biggest, of course, deals with the ramifications stemming from running back Le’Veon Bell’s ongoing holdout. He has yet to show up to play on his one-year franchise tender. Even if he does between now and Sunday, Tomlin is all but guaranteed not to start him.

So let’s start there, as we break down three challenges the Steelers have to face in their 2018 debut.

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Peter Panacy

Peter Panacy

Peter is a widely published writer, having first started with Bleacher Report in 2011, rising up the ranks to become B/R's 49ers lead columnist. He still contributes to B/R and, more recently, 49ers Webzone and NFL Analysis Network. His work has included exclusive interviews with Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice, as well as current players Solomon Thomas and Richard Sherman. He has also made appearances on Albert Lea Radio in Minnesota, Southern Oregon's 96.1 The Game, 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and the Bay Area's KNBR 680.

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