3 reasons the Cleveland Browns will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers again
By John Suchan
This has been another disappointing season for the Cleveland Browns. It was one of high hopes and expectations that went by the wayside. The team sits at 7-9 record-wise and plays their arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Pittsburgh. You might be surprised though to learn that the Browns have a 3-3 record on Kevin Stefanski’s watch over the past three seasons against their rival. That includes Week 3 on a Thursday Night Football Game 29-17.
The situation at that time was a bit different being that it was so early in the year. Mitch Trubisky and Jacoby Brissett were the quarterbacks. Now, the quarterbacks are Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson. Pickett has played with poise as a rookie and has them in playoff contention.
Cleveland, on the other hand, doesn’t have a postseason date planned and is simply playing out the year. With the latest news this week that Jadeveon Clowney was sent home after blasting the Browns on several fronts publicly, it adds to the always dramatic Berea soap opera.
Despite all these distractions, Cleveland is still playing the Steelers Sunday and they should still beat the Steelers. Let’s dive into why that’s likely to happen.
3. The Browns beat them once already
Cleveland beat the Steelers 29-17 in Week 3. It wasn’t a blowout, but Cleveland did enough in that game to control the outcome. Pittsburgh had Mitch Trubisky as quarterback back then and a lot has changed for the Steelers since then, but it won’t be enough to prevent the Browns from beating them twice in a row.
Back in 2020, Cleveland beat the Steelers two times on back-to-back weeks. They had to beat them in the final game of the regular season, which they did when Baker Mayfield ran a quarterback sneak and got the first down to put an end to a Steelers rally late in that game. Cleveland followed that up with a masterpiece where they rolled past Pittsburgh in the opening round of the postseason 47-39.
This year, they have nothing to lose because they’ve already been eliminated from the playoff picture. Look for them to play fast and loose, leading to the win.