As some of the leaders in the Cleveland Browns locker room stated on Sunday, there is no such thing as a meaningless game in the NFL. Joel Bitonio called every game a “resume-builder,” especially for younger players. Myles Garrett took it a step further, saying he would never allow one of his teammates to “lay down to a team or man that’s in front of us” on the field.
It’s safe to say that, while the 2026 draft order will always be top-of-mind for Browns fans at the end of a lost season, the coaches and players are solely focused on establishing a winning culture in Cleveland. We saw that firsthand on Sunday when the Browns went toe-to-toe — and led wire-to-wire — against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 13-6 home victory that could help ruin their bitter rivals’ playoff hopes.
At 9-7, the Steelers will now have to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 to secure the AFC North title. They could’ve clinched the division with a win over the Browns on Sunday, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t lead a single scoring drive in the second half, and Cleveland got the final defensive stop it needed to finish the game late.
The Browns, amazingly, improved to 5-1 in home games against Pittsburgh during Kevin Stefanski’s tenure. They’ve now split the season series in five of the last six seasons, and have not lost at home to a Steelers team without Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback since 2003.
The Dawg Pound has become a house of horrors for Mike Tomlin’s team over the years, and according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Cleveland’s latest upset win could lead to some major discussions among Pittsburgh's brain trust in the coming weeks.
Browns’ upset over Steelers could push Pittsburgh to hit the reset button this offseason
The final game of the 2025 regular season will have massive stakes — thanks to the Cleveland Browns.
The NFL announced its Week 18 schedule after Sunday’s wild Bears-49ers game, and the Steelers will be hosting the Ravens on Sunday Night Football next week with the winner clinching the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs, and the loser getting eliminated.
During his regular appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Schefter seemed to hint that Tomlin’s 19-year run in Pittsburgh could come to a close if the Steelers lose Sunday night’s game at Acrisure Stadium.
“I think where it’s interesting is that Sunday night game, because somebody’s gonna lose that game. And when somebody loses that game… we heard the Steelers fans chanting to fire Mike Tomlin earlier in the year; we heard Ravens fans saying that there should be conversations about John Harbaugh after the season. Somebody, one of those two teams, is going to come up short. One of those fanbases is going to be unhappy. One of those owners is gonna want to have some conversations about what went wrong. …
I also think that both of these coaches, Mike Tomilin and John Harbaugh, for all they’ve done, for all they’ve meant to their respective organizations, for all they’ve meant to the National Football League — they will have a big say. … One of them may go (to ownership) and say, it’s been a great run, might be time to go try something else, whether that’s TV, or another job somewhere else. Like, those things are possible. They’re always in the realm of possibility for the wide range of outcomes after Week 18.”
Schefter may just be spit-balling here, but NFL insiders tend to have informed opinions. Tomlin’s 12 career playoff appearances and 192-114-2 overall record in the regular season is nothing short of elite. His Steelers teams, however, haven’t advanced in the playoffs since 2016, and haven't reached a Super Bowl since the heart of the Roethlisberger era in 2010.
At some point, Pittsburgh’s going to have to hit the reset button and find its next franchise QB, as the team’s succession plan for Roethlisberger has widely missed the mark. If the Steelers miss the playoffs entirely after controlling their own destiny against a three-win Browns team in Week 17, everything could be on the table.
This wouldn’t even be a topic of conversation if the Steelers had won Sunday’s game and busted out the AFC North champion hats and T-shirts. The Browns just sent Pittsburgh's season to the brink, and the damage could end up being much more than just a failed run at the postseason.