CLEVELAND, OH – How did this happen?
The Pittsburgh Steelers started the season with a 2-6 record and a raw rookie QB. They were bothered by the Browns, 29-17, in week three of the season.
The Steelers didn’t just lose to Cleveland, they looked lost. The Browns were 2-1 at that time.
We are now heading into the last week of the season and which team is still in the playoff hunt?
Browns fans know the painful answer to that question, and it’s not their orange-helmeted guys.
Yes, Pittsburgh has gone from 2-6 in the bye week to 6-2 in its last eight games. This coincided with the return of star pass rusher TJ Watt.
But it’s still the Steelers with a raw rookie QB in Kenny Pickett, a Pittsburgh team with just 11 TD assists all season. To put this in context, tthe 11 pipe TDs are the fewest in the NFL -greatly.
The fewest TD assists per team is 15, and five different franchises have that many.
In what’s supposed to be a pass-obsessed league, the Steelers are on the edge of the playoffs with a ratio of 11 TDs to 14 steals.
The brown ones? They have 17 assists TD, 10 interceptions. Nonetheless, they were knocked out of the playoffs two weeks ago.
THE TOMLIN FACTOR
Pittsburgh continually finds a way to win games and stay in playoff contention. If the Steelers beat the Browns on Sunday, coach Mike Tomlin will complete its 16th seasonn Pittsburgh with no losing record.
Tomlin has critics. They’ll point out that his teams are never bad, but what did they do in the playoffs later? Pittsburgh lost to Cleveland in 2020 — the Browns’ only playoff win since the franchise returned in 1999.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. They’re on a four-game playoff losing streak.
All true.
But it’s also true that the Steelers are like gum on the sole of your shoe. They are boring. It feels like you can’t get rid of it. And just when you think they’re gone — especially in the regular season — they can still make your life miserable as they push for the playoffs.
I want the Browns to be a team like that – a team that constantly keeps the fans engaged and finds ways to win games when it seems like it shouldn’t be happening.
It goes back to what general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have described as their vision for the Browns: smart, tough, responsible. Since the 11-5 record in 2020 and their first season together, that diet is 15-18.
PITTTSBURG’S DREADED TRIP
Since the team’s return in 1999, this is the ninth time the Browns have ended their season in Pittsburgh.
The record of these first eight games? You got it. The Browns are 0-8 in the Pittsburgh final.
These games also ended the Cleveland head coaching careers of the following individuals: Mike Pettine (2015), Rob Chudzinski (2013), Pat Shurmur (2012), Eric Mangini (2010), and Romeo Crennel (2008).
This time around, there’s no reason to expect Berry or Stefanski to be fired after the game, regardless of the outcome.
But it’s the Browns. Things can always change. That said, it looks like they’ll be back with the idea that Stefanski deserves a full season with Deshaun Watson.
The Browns opened the season with a 2-1 record. They lost six of their next seven games.
They hit rock bottom at 3-7. Since then, they are 4-2.
But it’s still a 7-9 record. They need to win on Sunday to tie last season’s disappointing 8-9 mark.
The Browns head into Sunday’s game with a chance to ruin Pittsburgh’s season. The Steelers take the field with an opportunity to make the playoffs if they win with a few other things falling Pittsburgh’s direction.
And that’s the difference between these two franchises.
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