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The meeting between the Browns (4-3) and Steelers (3-3) is their
first since Cleveland recorded a 48-37 victory in Pittsburgh in
an AFC wild-card game on Jan. 10.
Mayfield, who threw three touchdowns in that game, sat out the
Browns' 17-14 victory over the Denver Broncos last Thursday with
a left-shoulder injury. Chubb, who had 145 scrimmage yards in
that playoff encounter, has missed two games due to a calf
injury.
"I'm completely confident in (playing on Sunday)," said
Mayfield, who took first-team reps on Wednesday. "If you go out
there (and) you're scared, you're timid, that's how you really
get hurt seriously, so I can't do that.
"So like I said, trying to get the strength back and be able to
go as close to 100 percent as possible, and if that's not the
case, then we trust the guys we have out there. You guys saw
that. We came out with a win with kind of a manufactured team,
and Case (Keenum, backup QB) did a great job."
Chubb, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, would like to follow
Mayfield's path back to the starting lineup. "I hope so," Chubb
told Cleveland.com before practice Wednesday. "We'll see how
this week goes, see how practice goes and make a decision later
on."
D'Ernest Johnson erupted for 146 yards with a touchdown in his
first career start on Thursday. He was voted the FedEx NFL
Ground Player of the Week for his performance. Veteran right
tackle Jack Conklin told reporters he intends to return from a
two-game absence due to a knee injury.
Jarvis Landry sat out Wednesday's practice with an ailing knee,
although Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said it's not an
aggravation of the sprained MCL that caused the wideout to miss
four straight games this season.
Fellow wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin), cornerback
Denzel Ward (hamstring) and defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney
(ankle, groin, knee) and Malik Jackson (knee) also sat out
practice on Wednesday.
Sunday's game also will feature two of the NFL's best in terms
of chasing down the quarterback. Cleveland's Myles Garrett leads
the league with 9.5 sacks, 2.5 more than Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt.
The Steelers answered a sluggish start to the season by winning
their last two games before heading into the bye week. The
Pittsburgh players appeared to show a bit of pep in their step
in the eyes of onlookers at Wednesday's practice, and wide
receiver Chase Claypool had a hunch as to why.
"It might be because of the bye week that we have more energy
and more fun, or it's because we're playing the Browns,"
Claypool said. "Either way, we're having more fun out there."
Claypool (hamstring) joined quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
(pectoral, hip) and linebacker Melvin Ingram (groin) in being
listed as limited in practice.
Roethlisberger threw for 501 yards and four touchdowns in the
playoff meeting with Cleveland; however, he also threw four
interceptions.
This season, rookie Najee Harris controls the backfield with a
team-leading 388 yards. His 34 receptions are tied with Diontae
Johnson for the club lead.
--Field Level Media
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