When the NFL schedule was released back in May, Week 4 for the Cleveland Browns was the date to circle. The league didn’t give the Browns a single prime-time game in 2025. Their last true night game came on Sunday Night Football in December of 2024.
That drought will come to an end tonight when the Browns host Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, looking to push their winning streak to three games.
Browns fans want to believe that their team stacked with young talent has closed the gap with Pittsburgh, which has a new head coach in Mike McCarthy and a 42-year-old quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.
In their last meeting, Cleveland’s defense smothered Pittsburgh’s offense and kept Rodgers out of the end zone in a 13-6 win at Huntington Bank Field.
There’s reason for Browns fans to believe that their team can do it again. The Steelers’ recent history in Cleveland hasn’t been kind — and it’s even more telling on a Thursday night.
Three stats in particular are working in Todd Monken and the Browns’ favor entering this one.
3 stats that will give Browns fans hope for a TNF win over the Steelers
1. The Steelers never won a Thursday Night Football game in Cleveland during Mike Tomlin’s 20-year tenure
This is kind of a wild stat, as Tomlin's stint in Pittsburgh ended with a 28-9-1 record against Cleveland. But his Steelers went 0-4 in road games against the Browns played on TNF.
The Browns’ quarterbacks in those games? Jameis Winston (2024), Jacoby Brissett (2022), Baker Mayfield (2019), and Brady Quinn (2009).
2. The Steelers are 0-9 all time in road divisional matchups played on Thursday night
This one is so crazy that it can only be described as a curse. Pittsburgh has never beaten a divisional opponent on a Thursday night — a streak that dates back to a 1980 special broadcast on ABC between the Steelers and Oilers inside the Houston Astrodome.
How real is the hex? Pittsburgh traveled to Cincinnati for a Thursday night game in Week 7 of 2025. Joe Burrow was on injured reserve. The Bengals had just traded for Joe Flacco and were preparing to start him, even though he barely knew the playbook. Pittsburgh even raced out to an early 10-0 lead.
Flacco got hot and passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, Ja’Marr Chase went wild with 16 receptions for 161 yards, and the Bengals won the game, 33-31 — because of course they did.
3. The Steelers haven’t won a game in Cleveland since the 2021 season
This rivalry has been surprisingly even in recent years. The Browns and Steelers met three times in 2021, including in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs, and they're 6-6 in matchups since that season.
The smart money is usually on the home team. Cleveland is 6-1 at Huntington Bank Field against Pittsburgh over the past five years.
The Steelers, meanwhile, have won 22 consecutive regular-season games against the Browns dating back to 2003; the Browns’ lone win at Pittsburgh in over two-plus decades came during the 2021 playoffs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google