CLEVELAND -- In their first meeting in 2020, the Steelers spanked the Browns, 38-7, at Heinz Field, hitting Baker Mayfield so often Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski pulled Mayfield -- who was dealing with a chest injury -- out of the game in the third quarter rather than risk further damage.
In their second meeting in the regular season finale at Cleveland, the Steelers, who had wrapped up the AFC North title, rested a number of starters and the Browns held on to beat Mason Rudolph and a skeleton crew of Steelers, 24-22, to secure a spot in the playoffs.
That earned Cleveland a rubber match against the Steelers in the opening round of the playoffs, and the Browns took advantage of two first-quarter turnovers to build a 28-0 lead and routed the Steelers, 48-37.
At the time, there was a question whether that would be the final game of Ben Roethlisberger's career. He and center Maurkice Pouncey sat on the bench long after everyone else had departed the field, where a tearful Roethlisberger apologized to his longtime teammate about not being able to win that game.
As it turned out, it was Pouncey who retired, while Roethlisberger returned for a team-record 18th season.
Roethlisberger threw for 500 yards in that game with three touchdown passes. But he also threw three interceptions, losing for the first time in his career to the Browns at Heinz Field.
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Ben Roethlisberger throws a pass around Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
"I never like to lose a game. In the year, only one team ever ends the way they want to, but I wouldn’t say that they're the reason I came back," said Roethlisberger, who is 23-3-1 against the Browns as a starter including that playoff game. "As a competitor, you use lots of things to motivate you to go out and play. But I'm not really sure if that's my leading factor this week."
No, this is more about just winning a game, and an important AFC North game at that.
At 3-3, the Steelers have recovered from a 1-3 start to keep themselves in the early-season playoff race in the topsy turvy AFC. The Browns, picked by many to win the AFC North this season, have stumbled a bit themselves. They're 4-3, and have yet to beat a team with a winning record.
The loser of this game will have last place in the division all to their lonesome. But both teams enter only a game in the loss column out of first place. That's how tight things are right now.
"It's a gauntlet," said Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward. "It's the best division in football right now. Every team is vying for a spot and we'll see where it ends up."
The Steelers are the defending champions. The Browns think they're the team to knock them from that throne based off last season's playoff win.
Should make things interesting in what is typically a heated game -- even if the Steelers have had the upper hand since Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999.
"You can feel the difference. It is that smash-mouth football," said Browns offensive tackle Jack Conklin. "You know it is going to be a tough game. They have a great defense, as we all know. It will be a great challenge. You can definitely feel the rivalry here. It is fun to have that. It means so much to the city and to us.”
It should be an interesting atmosphere. Seldom have fans -- even the most fervent in Cleveland felt like they have the upper hand on the Steelers. It's also Halloween weekend and what could be the final game for Roethlisberger -- the Browns killer -- in Cleveland.
Until last season, Roethlisberger was the winningest quarterback at FirstEnergy Stadium with 11 career wins. Mayfield has since passed him, but it took some time.
"It will be fun. And it’s Halloween. The fans are awesome," Roethlisberger said. "You can say what you want about the rivalry, but the fans are awesome. They're passionate. It'll be exciting."
Only for the Steelers if they win.
That might also quiet some of the silliness going on outside the team, as well, such as the ridiculous talk that Mike Tomlin might be a candidate for some open college jobs.
Tomlin's resounding denial of any interest in any job other than that as head coach of the Steelers resonated in the team's locker room.
"Was I (pumped)?" said Steelers cornerback Joe Haden. "Like I always tell everyone, the team meetings, everything, he just knows how to carry himself, be a man, address issues, shut stuff down. That's just another reason I was watching that interview just smiling from ear to ear. I am like, look at coach handling business.
"When your coach carries himself like. He is just a leader of men. He does everything the right way. I just love Coach Tomlin and everything he stands for and that's just another reason right there."
So, win one for Roethlisberger? Win one for Tomlin? Win one to erase the stench of last year's playoff loss? Win one to keep pace in the AFC North?
The Steelers have a lot of reasons to want this game. the playoff loss is a factor, but not the main one.
"That's not really a huge motivating factor," safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said of last year's playoff game. "It's the next game on our schedule. It's a division game. That's why we want to win it."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: Steelers (3-3) vs. Browns (4-3)
• When: 1:02 p.m. Sunday
• Where: FirstEnergy Stadium
• Forecast: 57°, 35% rain, 10-20 mph wind
• TV: KDKA, CBS (national)
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Streaming: Steelers Nation Radio
• Satellite: Sirius XM 388, online 826
• Media notes: Steelers | Browns
THE INJURY REPORT
Steelers: TE Eric Ebron (hamstring, out), LB Melvin Ingram (groin, out)
Browns: S Richard LeCounte (not injury related, out), WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin, out), CB Denzel Ward (hamstring, out), WR Odell Beckham (shoulder, questionable), DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle, groin, knee, questionable), CB A.J. Green (groin, questionable), DE Malik Jackson (ankle, questionable), DE Tak McKinley (groin, questionable), FB Johnny Stanton (calf, questionable)
THE KEY VARIABLE
Most games, the Steelers have a big advantage with their defense up front, particularly when it comes to their edge rushers. T.J. Watt is one of the best in the game, while Alex Highsmith and Melvin Ingram give them a nice pair of complimentary players opposite Watt -- though Ingram won't play in this game because of a groin injury. And that doesn't take defensive tackle Cam Heyward into consideration.
But one team that might be able to match the Steelers in terms of pressure up front is the Browns. Myles Garrett is in the same class with Watt when it comes to disrupting opposing offenses, while the Browns also added former No. 1-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney to their defensive front along with some other pieces that have beefed up their pass rush.
Since the start of last season, Watt leads the NFL with 22 sacks, while Garrett (21.5) is second over that span.
Garrett leads the NFL this season with nine sacks in the first seven games, while Clowney has 3.5. No other Browns player has more than 1.5. Clowney, however, is questionable to play in this game with groin, knee and ankle injuries.
So, for the Steelers, the key might simply be identifying where Garrett lines up and make sure they've got help there. Trouble is, the Browns move Garrett all over their front.
"You definitely know where he is. It's not like he's hard to miss," Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada said of the 6-foot-4, 271-pound Garrett. "He's a tremendous talent. They do a really good job of just moving him and getting him on different guys. You have to have a good plan, which we're going to try to do, but everybody else has tried to do too. It's not like you don't watch tape and see guys doubling him and chipping him and all the things you mentioned. He's a great player, and then they’ve got a bunch of other good players up front too so it's not like you can just send everybody at him. We'll know where he is, but there are a lot of guys over there that are a threat and a problem as well."
The Browns could say the same thing about Watt, who has nine sacks and 13 tackles for a loss in seven career games against Cleveland. In fact, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt did just that.
"He is an elite pass rusher. He can definitely ruin a game," Van Pelt said. "He is (Chargers LB Joey) Bosa. He is (Bears DE Khalil) Mack. He is all of those guys who can do that. Luckily, we have faced those type of players before. We have done well, I think, in our scheme and in our plan so we continue to see that moving forward. He is a really elite player, one of the top guys in the league to rush the passer, and he plays the run really well. Definitely aware where he is at all times.”
That's been a mixed bag. Mack had two sacks against the Browns, but Chicago's offense was so bad in the game -- the Bears had one passing yard -- that it didn't matter. Bosa, meanwhile, only had three tackles and no sacks, but the Browns allowed more than 500 total yards in a 47-42 loss.
It's not a stretch, however, to think that whichever team's star defender affects the game the most will have a say in which team wins, even though there are other players about which to be concerned.
"He's the man. There's no doubt about it. He's one of the best in the NFL at what he does," Roethlisberger said of Garrett. "But the additions that they have from D-line to secondary. They don't try to complicate or confuse you. It's like, 'We're just better than you. We're gonna line up and beat you and show you that we can do that.' That's where the challenge is going to come."
The Browns, meanwhile, are aware the Steelers have more than just Watt who can wreck a game, even without defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu.
"They are still pretty stout. Those are two great players to your point, but I really think that their depth is pretty impressive," said head coach Kevin Stefanski. "Just the way they attack blocks and how they really get penetration on the offensive line, and I think (Heyward) is a great, great player.”
THE HISTORY LESSON
The last time the Browns won two games in a row against the Steelers came over the course of the 1999 and 2000 seasons. And so, we'll take the wayback machine back to the 2000 season to see what happened the third time those two teams met in less than a year with Cleveland having won the first two meetings.
The Browns stunned the Steelers, 16-15, on a last-second Phil Dawson field goal in their second meeting of their first season back in the NFL, Nov. 14, 1999.
Then, they beat the Steelers again, 23-20, Sept. 17, 2000, giving them two-straight wins over their former bitter rivals. Cleveland thought things were going to be easy in its return to the NFL.
But Bill Cowher's team had different ideas on their second meeting in the 2000 season, which came Oct. 22 at Heinz Field.
While the Steelers had just one touchdown in the game, a 1-yard run in the second quarter by Jerome Bettis, that would really be the they would need in this game. But they also got five field goals from Kris Brown, as they built a 13-0 halftime lead and won the game, 22-0.
This was a dominating defensive performance, as the Browns managed just five first downs in the game and 104 total yards. Doug Pederson and Spergon Wynn combined to complete just 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards and three interceptions, all by Pederson.
Travis Prentice posted half of Cleveland's total yards, rushing for 48 yards and catching three passes for eight more.
Bettis outgained the Browns by himself, grinding out 105 yards on 33 carries, which was good because Kordell Stewart and Kent Graham combined to throw for just 110 yards in the game.
Levon Kirkland had seven tackles and an interception, while Brent Alexander and Chad Scott also both had interceptions for the Pittsburgh defense.
The win came in the middle of perhaps the Steelers' greatest defensive stretch since the 1976 Steelers finished off the regular season by allowing 30 points over their final nine games.
After the Steelers started the 2000 season 0-3, they allowed 31 points over their next six games, including shutouts over the Bengals and Browns in back-to-back weeks.
The shutout win over the Browns ran their streak of consecutive quarters without allowing a point to 10. And they would extend that to 11 quarters the following week before the Ravens posted six points in the second quarter in a 9-6 loss to the Steelers in Baltimore.
The offensively challenged Steelers would finish that season 9-7, but with young stars such as Aaron Smith and Joey Porter starting to get more playing time, it set the stage for a bounce back season in 2001.
The Steelers would go on to beat the Browns in 17 of their next 18 meetings after this game, establishing the fact the Steelers were clearly the big brother in this rivalry.
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Steelers defensive lineman Chris Wormley hits Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield during a 2020 game.
THE MAIN MATCHUP
There's no ifs and or buts that the Browns are going to attempt to establish their running game against the Steelers. It's what they do.
Only the Titans, with 229, have run the ball more this season than Cleveland's 227 rushing attempts. And that's with just 27 rushing attempts coming from the quarterback position.
The Browns also average 5.3 yards per carry, meaning they get a first down every two carries on average. So, how are they 4-3?
Turnovers have been a determining factor. When the Browns are even or on the plus side of the turnover ratio, they've won. In the three games they've lost the turnover battle, they've also lost the game.
That's not unusual. The same could be said of the Steelers this season. But because of the way the Browns want to play, turnover ratio might be even more important for them.
In games they've won, the Browns have run the ball an average of 36.75 times and dropped back to pass 32.75 times. In games they've lost, they've averaged 26.67 runs and 33 passes.
The pass attempts aren't that much different, but the runs are 10 fewer per game. Turnovers typically lead to points and the Browns aren't necessarily a team that is built to play from behind.
The Steelers, however, aren't necessarily a shutdown defense against the run without Alualu and Tuitt. While they had a league-high 103 tackles for a loss last season (6.4 per game), they're at 34 this season (5.7). The Steelers' run-stopping is more about being opportunistic rather than straight up dominance.
Get the opposing team behind the chains and then unleash the pass rush, especially with Mayfield dealing with a torn labrum and fractured humerus in his left shoulder.
"You’ve got to play eight-man fronts against these guys to make sure they’re not effective. They’re going to get some. We’ve got to win some ourselves," defensive coordinator Keith Butler said.
"Their whole offense is geared around them running the ball. We always look at offenses and try to take away what they do best, and that's what they do best. There's no doubt about that. They do a lot of that. They do play-action pass, they do boots, they do a lot of short passing in terms of trying not to get behind on the sticks. They do a real good job of that. And, in turn, they feed off their running game. So, we’ve got to stop the running game. We’ve got to do that first and foremost."
The Browns will get star running back Nick Chubb back for this game after he missed the previous two games with a knee injury. Chubb is one of just two running backs -- Derrick Henry is the other -- averaging more than 100 yards per game on the ground.
The Steelers are well aware of the damage Chubb can do. He had 108 rushing yards against them in last year's regular season finale in Cleveland on just 14 carries when the Steelers were resting a number of starters for the playoffs, then had 78 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards in the Browns' 48-37 playoff win over the Steelers.
"His contact," said linebacker Devin Bush of what makes Chubb so tough. "Him being able to absorb contact, run through contact and keep his feet moving. He is a tough back to get down and that is the challenge he presents."
The key might be not allowing Chubb to get rolling. The Steelers have to get defenders into the backfield and either force Chubb to stop his feet or make the tackle. It's a task easier said than done against what is one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
"Their offensive line, collectively, is probably as good as we've seen in terms of run blocking," Butler said. "They always get a body on a body, and it's hard to get off them sometimes, so you're left trying to reach for them with the arm or something like that and then they just run right through it. So, we’ve got to get off blocks and put bodies on the ball carriers in order to stop the run. That's gonna be the key to this game. Everything else is going to develop around that."
THE TEN DATA POINTS
• The Steelers are 12-5 all-time under Tomlin coming off a bye week, including the postseason. They're 10-4 in the regular season in those situations.
• The Browns have won their past four Thursday night games after last week's win over the Broncos. They're 2-1 in their next game following those Thursday night wins.
• The Browns are allowing an NFL-low 4.6 yards per play on first down. The Steelers are averaging an NFL-worst 4.0 yards per play on first down. The Steelers throw on first down just 31.1 percent of the time, the lowest in the league.
• Diontae Johnson had 14 receptions for 213 yards in two games against the Browns last season.
• The Browns average time of possession of 33:43 leads the league by nearly a minute. As a result, Cleveland's opponents are running just 58.6 plays per game, the second-fewest in the NFL.
• The Browns utilize three tight ends on the field together (13 personnel) 21 percent of the time offensively. No other team in the league is above 10 percent.
• The Browns have allowed 16 touchdown passes this season, an average of 2.3 per game. Only the Falcons and and Washington have allowed more. Over the past three games, the Browns have given up nine touchdown passes.
• Only three teams have been more penalized than the Browns. Cleveland averages seven penalties per game, the seventh-most in the NFL. The Browns 69.7 penalty yards per game, third-most in the league. The Steelers average 6.3 penalties per game for 46.5 yards.
• Shaun Hochuli's crew will work the game. Hochuli's crew has called 100 penalties in seven games this season, an average of 14.3 per game. That's one penalty behind Carl Cheffers' crew for the most in the NFL. Offensive holding is far and away the most common penalty called by Hochuli's crew. They've called holding 28 times overall, with 21 being accepted and seven declined.
• The Browns are tied for fourth in the league with six passing plays of 40 or more yards. The Steelers are tied for fifth in that same statistic with five.
THE FANTASY CORNER
My bye week lineup finished just out of the money last week with more than 150 points. It's been that kind of year. Maybe I'm entering the contests with all of the people playing off algorithms. We'll keep trying. As I did last year, I'm going to build a fantasy lineup using Draft Kings and a $50,000 salary cap.
Quarterback: Daniel Jones, Giants ($5,600) -- The Chiefs are allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in fantasy football.
Running back: Joe Mixon, Bengals ($6,900), Jonathan Taylor, Colts ($7,100) -- Mixon has a juicy matchup against the Jets, while Taylor has the same against the Titans. Both should rush for 100 yards and at least one score.
Wide receiver: Emmanuel Sanders, Bills ($5,400), Marvin Jones, Jaguars ($5,900), Michael Pittman, Colts ($5,300) -- Sanders should have plenty of success against Miami's secondary. Jones could get free behind the Seattle defense. Pittman is still undervalued for a guy who is the clear No. 1 receiver on his team.
Tight end: Tyler Conklin, Vikings ($3,200) -- I'm paying down at tight end and taking Conklin against the Cowboys, who are 25th in the league defending opposing tight ends.
Flex: Diontae Johnson, Steelers ($6,700) -- Johnson should feast on a Cleveland secondary that is banged up and has allowed nine touchdown passes the past three games.
Defense: Bengals ($3,300) -- The Bengals defense? Yep. They get the Jets this week in what should be a rout.
