Steelers LT Dan Moore preps for challenge of Browns' Myles Garrett

Myles Garrett earned first-team AP All-Pro honors last season. But his résumé wasn’t necessarily built on the back of games against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And credit for that, in large part, goes to Dan Moore Jr.

The Steelers’ starting left tackle Thursday will be tasked for the third time in his career with stopping Garrett, the former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick who has 28 sacks the past two seasons.

“Obviously, I am playing against a good player, so studying him (this week),” said Moore, whose Steelers play at Garrett’s Cleveland Browns at 8:15 p.m. Thursday. “But you can’t think of it too much, you can’t make it too much. You can’t think about it like that. You have to think of it (as) me vs. me, me executing my technique against him.”

Garrett, though, did not practice Tuesday, and Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said “we’ll see” when asked whether Garrett or guard Joel Bitonio will be available to face the Steelers (1-1).

LT Dan Moore Jr is prepping to face Myles Garrett pic.twitter.com/wzqGhG0B5Y

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 20, 2022

Moore executed his technique well last season in two meetings against the Browns, both of which the Steelers won. Garrett was limited to one sack, five tackles (one solo, two for loss) and four QB hits.

While Garrett at times has been moved to the left side of the defense — the Browns will move him around during games, too — he stayed exclusively on the right side of the defense for both games against the Steelers last season. Moore was a rookie starting left tackle in 2021.

Garrett has begun this season with three sacks in two games.

“He’s really explosive, he’s really fast off the ball, he knows what he does well, has really good bend — I think that’s the most impressive thing about him is (Garrett’s route to the quarterback),” Moore said. “Just knowing what you have and knowing how you are going to attack him.”

Moore said Garrett doesn’t trash talk much, but the two have chatted at times about Texas A&M, where both played.

“The way he picked up on the cadence, how early he picked up on the cadence in the game, it was almost like he knew,” Moore said. “That was probably the most unexpected thing that I noticed about him.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Moore ranks tied for second among all NFL tackles in pass blocking efficiency over the first two weeks of the season. He’s allowed only one pressure in 77 dropbacks over two games.

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