The Cleveland Browns as they currently exist have been back in the league since 1999. Over that course of time, they have only posted a 6-3—never better—record through nine games three times, including the 2023 season, the other times being 2020 and 2014. For that roster, this current success is a rare and special occasion.
During the same span of time, the Pittsburgh Steelers have posted a record of 6-3 or better 14 times in 25 years. That includes six seasons of 7-2 or better, and even one season of 9-0. Of those 11 seasons, 11 have come under head coach Mike Tomlin—again, including the 2023 season.
How much does that experience play into this current roster, set to take on the Browns on Sunday? Perhaps not too much, at least beyond Tomlin’s leadership as a head coach who knows exactly what it’s like to coach a team at that stage through this portion of the season. Both teams were 6-3 or better in 2014 and 2020; they split the season series each time. And the Steelers won the first round this year.
And they’re preparing to face a Browns team that has it more together than last time around. Even from an in-game perspective, when these two teams played early in the season, Cleveland had to wade through the catastrophic in-game injury suffered by RB Nick Chubb, who was the heart and soul of their offense. They’ve since learned to adapt.
“They’re all about that fight”, described Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, via transcript, highlighting one particular first-down run trailing by one point with under two minutes to go. RB Jerome Ford appeared to have been stopped after just six yards, but nearly the entire offense—short of QB Deshaun Watson and WR Amari Cooper another eight or nine yards.
It’s good optics, surely, and it helped them get into field goal range to score the game-winning points after mounting an improbable comeback. Indeed, they have three fourth-quarter comebacks already this season, though two were by QB P.J. Walker while Watson was out.
And this certainly is a tougher Browns team than we’re used to. They have arguably the best defense in the league right now and the best defense that they have had in the past 25 years. CB Denzel Ward, who suffered a concussion and neck injury, could potentially be an availability issue, however.
“You’re going to have to play hard. You’re going to have to play for 60 minutes”, Stefanski said. “To see all 11 guys in the frame, pushing their buddy, pushing their brother, that’s what this team is about. They’re about that fight, and that was on display right there”.
The Browns could potentially be playing for first place in the AFC North against the Steelers on Sunday provided that the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. They surely can’t have been in that position more than once or twice in the intervening years, having never even won a divisional title in that span.
A lot is on the line in Cleveland, including the threat of losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Steelers, which would mean they would need to finish with a better record. Pittsburgh should certainly be ready for a fight.
