PITTSBURGH — On the surface, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason decision to flip outside linebackers Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt looked a little bit of a reach.

While Watt was steady and occasionally spectacular as a rookie in 2017 for a team that led the NFL in sacks, Dupree has spent much of his first three years in the NFL searching for consistency to justify the first-round pick the Steelers used on him in 2015.

So much for that narrative. Combining for four sacks in five quarters has a way of doing that.

Dupree and Watt looked every bit as aggressive as coach Mike Tomlin envisioned during a season-opening tie in Cleveland. Working almost exclusively from the left side, Watt chased down Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor three times. Dupree, now attacking from the blind side against right-handed quarterbacks such as Taylor, dropped him once.

“We did a lot of stuff to maximize our potential and opportunities outside and we still had more opportunities to make more sacks we didn’t capitalize on,” Dupree said. “It should have been more than that.”

Dupree estimated he and Watt could have had three or four more if not for Taylor’s mobility.