The Cleveland Browns, in their current form, have been back in the league since 1999.
Over time, they have gone 6-3 – never better – in nine games on only three occasions, the other times including season 2023, 2020 and 2014.
For this team, this current success is a rare and special opportunity.
During the same span, the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone 6-3 or better 14 times in 25 years. That includes six seasons of 7-2 or better and even one 9-0 season.
Of those 11 seasons, 11 have been led by head coach Mike Tomlin – once again including the 2023 season.
What impact does this experience have on the current roster that will face the Browns on Sunday?
Maybe not much, at least aside from Tomlin’s leadership as a head coach, who knows exactly what it means to coach a team at this point in this part of the season.
Both teams were 6-3 or better in 2014 and 2020; They split the season series every time. And the Steelers won the first round this year.
And they are preparing to face a Browns team that is more united than last time. Even from a playing standpoint, when these two teams played early in the season,
Cleveland had to deal with the catastrophic injury to RB Nick Chubb, the heart and soul of their offense. Since then, they have learned to adapt.
“They’re all focused on this fight,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski described in the transcript, referring to one particular first down when the game was down by one with less than two minutes left. the end.
RB Jerome Ford looked like he was stopped after just six yards, but almost the entire offense – right in front of QB Deshaun Watson and WR Amari Cooper after another eight or nine yards.
It’s definitely a good optics, which helped them get closer to the basket and score the winning points after an unlikely comeback.
They’ve already had three fourth-quarter comebacks this season, though two were by QB PJ Walker while Watson was out.
And this is certainly a stronger Browns team than we’re used to.
They have probably the best defense in the league right now and the best defense they’ve had in the last 25 years.
However, CB Denzel Ward, who suffered a concussion and neck injury, could potentially pose an availability issue.
“You’re going to have to play hard. “You have to play 60 minutes,” Stefanski said.
“Seeing the 11 guys in the frame pushing their buddy and their brother, that’s what this team is all about.” It’s about that fight and it was just there to see it.
The Browns could potentially face the Steelers on Sunday for first place in the AFC North, assuming the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.
They certainly haven’t been able to be in that position more than once or twice in recent years, as they’ve never won a division title during that time.
There’s a lot at stake in Cleveland, including the threat of losing the tiebreaker to the Steelers, which would mean they would have to finish with a better record. Pittsburgh should definitely be ready to fight.
