After years of being a laughingstock, the Cleveland Browns have finally made it a rivalry in the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh, it’s on now.
It’s been a long time coming, but the Cleveland Browns have finally made the oldest rivalry in the AFC matter once again. After years of being the worst team in football, the Browns have now been able to hold their own against the division Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland won the most recent game in this rivalry series earlier this season, albeit not without controversy.
The Browns defeated the Steelers 21-7 back on Nov. 14, but it was Myles Garrett taking a swing at Mason Rudolph with Rudolph’s own helmet that caught everyone’s attention on Thursday Night Football.
That was the 135th meeting in this biannual rivalry, dating back to the 1950s when the Browns first came into the NFL. Since the Browns came back into the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, this has been pretty much a hammer vs. nail rivalry with the Steelers being the team to beat in the AFC North. Pittsburgh has won six Super Bowls and Cleveland still has never been to one.
But for the first time since the early 1990s, this rivalry, dare we say it, feels competitive. Cleveland has a shot at sweeping the season series on the road this week, as the Steelers will be rolling with third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges in this ball game.
And with both teams firmly back of the Baltimore Ravens in the division, this is a game that both teams will want to have, especially if they plan of reaching the AFC playoffs. No, neither Cleveland and Pittsburgh are catching Baltimore in the division and it’s going to be awfully hard to catch the 9-3 Buffalo Bills for the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture, so the No. 6 seed would have to do.
For Pittsburgh, the Steelers don’t want to miss the AFC playoffs for the second straight year. Last year was a quintessential year from hell for the team. But this year, this team has overachieved, given the number of injuries on the offensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh. Just getting to the AFC playoffs would be a huge deal for the Steelers, all things considered.
As for the Browns, they haven’t reached the AFC playoffs since 2002. Yes, it has been that painfully long, but here we are. The Browns had a good team back in 2007 by winning 10 games, but it wasn’t enough for them to punch a ticket into the postseason. Reaching the AFC playoffs for the second time since returning to the league would be a great accomplishment for the Browns.
In short, stakes will be high in this game on Sunday at Heinz Field. It is an opportunity for the Steelers to take back control of this rivalry game, as they hold the all-time series lead 75-59-1 over Cleveland. For the Browns, it’s an opportunity to earn the credibility it has craved for so long in the AFC North, as arguably the second-best team in football’s most physical division.
The AFC North is a black-and-blue division. It’s about playing smashmouth defense, pounding the rock and throwing a spiral that will cut through the wind behind a collapsing pocket in below-freezing temperatures. Pittsburgh has been the gold standard in the AFC North, while Cleveland had long been the division’s punching bag. But now, that all looks to be changing.
Cleveland isn’t the worst team in the division, as that would be the winless Cincinnati Bengals. Though the Browns still aren’t the best team in this fearsome foursome, they look to be doing enough to be getting out of the cellar once and for all. Pittsburgh’s reign atop the AFC North looks to be coming to a close and this is where these two teams meet, at the intersection.
Cleveland’s relative rise coincides with Pittsburgh’s perceived decline. They’re both looking up at the Ravens and down at the Bengals, but from different rungs on the AFC ladder. So it’s only natural that tensions will be high in this game on Sunday afternoon. It will be chippy and we are certain to see some extracurricular stuff happen after the whistle has blown. It’s a rivalry now.
Surely, Pittsburgh can find a way to take care of business at home and subdue the Browns’ charge of late in this rivalry series. But if Cleveland wins, then they have been the better of the two teams over the last two years. Pittsburgh will try to forget about it, while Cleveland will hold on to that fleeting moment of greatness into next season for the first of their two annual meetings then.