No. 2: Stopping the Browns’ Carlos Hyde

At some point, the Browns ground game is going to revolve around the rookie, Nick Chubb. For now, however, the prime ball-carrying duties fall on Cleveland’s offseason free-agent pickup, Carlos Hyde, who never quite found his fit with the San Francisco 49ers since being drafted back in 2014.

In Cleveland, however, Hyde will see the lion’s share of snaps early this season. He’s listed as the Browns’ No. 1 runner on their depth chart, and he poses some serious problems for the Steelers defense.

Hyde has only faced Pittsburgh once in his career, back in 2015 when the Niners boasted one of the worst run-blocking offensive lines in the NFL. In that game, Hyde rushed for a mere 3.31 yards per carry on 13 attempts. It’s not enough to gauge a trend, but an upgraded Browns O-line should mean Hyde’s efforts in Week 1 should be better.

And if Browns head coach Hue Jackson knows what’s best, he’ll run the ball early and often too.

Even without James Conner, Pittsburgh’s offense is lethal enough to wear down an upgraded-but-still-suspect Browns defense. The best way to keep Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and Co. off the field is to run the ball and control the clock.

So it’s not a good thing knowing Pro Football Focus ranked the Steelers’ 2018 run defense 25th in the league heading into Week 1.

One can only think what the situation would look like with linebacker Ryan Shazier (back) in the picture. But he’s not there, and Pittsburgh’s run defense will face a serious and elongated threat over the course of four quarters Sunday.