Pittsburgh Steelers 7
at
Cleveland Browns 21
Cleveland 21, Pittsburgh 7
Yes, it as a big divisional rivalry last night in Cleveland, as the Browns tried to beat their longtime division rivals, and, if we’re honest, tormentors, in the black and gold from Pittsburgh.
Indeed, through many years, and really decades, the Browns have perhaps best epitomized the sports futility of the city of Cleveland better than any other franchise, until the Cavaliers finally managed to snap that bad streak by winning the NBA Championship in 2015. Prior to that, however, the city of Cleveland had gone around half a century without any major sports titles to it’s name, and came to be seen as a city of jinxes and bad luck – almost curses – in terms of sports. This coincided with the economic downfall of the city, and both of these things came to ultimately hurt the image of the city of Cleveland for decades.
And perhaps that dismal luck was best epitomized by the Browns, the professional football team for Cleveland. The Browns used to have a glorious team that regularly made history for the right reasons, winning multiple championships in the 1940’s and 1950’s, into the 1960’s. But they fell upon hard times, and lost some major games in such heartbreaking fashion, that many began to feel that this franchise was cursed. There was the “Red Right 88” playoff game against the Raiders, when a seemingly sure win ended with a surprise interception by the eventual Super Bowl champion Raiders. This was almost like the Seahawks infamous “2nd and 1” call that lost them the Super Bowl. Then, there was “The Drive” by John Elway in the 1986 AFC title game, which forced overtime against all odds, and which Denver ultimately won. Then, the next year, there was “The Fumble” which ended a strong rally by Cleveland that almost saw them win the game against the Broncos in the rematch. The Browns would lose yet again to the Broncos in the 1989 AFC Championship Game. And, of course, who could forget how the Browns actually left town, leaving for greener pastures when they relocated to Baltimore and became the Ravens, who have won two Super Bowls since the move and change in franchise name.
Maybe the Ravens could be said to epitomize the Browns failures. But if you ask me, it would actually be the Steelers, a division rival n a city just a couple of hours or so drive away from Cleveland. While both cities struggled with decline, the city of Pittsburgh managed to turn their image around in large part because of the enormous success of their sports franchises, and no team in Pittaburgh has had as much success as the Steelers. They were the Team of the Decade in the 1970’s, winning four Super Bowls in a six year span. They continued going to Super Bowls every now and then since, reaching it in 1995, and then reaching three Super Bowls in the 21st century, winning two of them in a four year span. During that time, the Steelers have completely overshadowed the formerly proud Browns, who often have come to be viewed as a cursed franchise. If there is one team that seems to torment the Browns more than any other, a team that always seems to have their number when it counts the most, it would be the Steelers.
When this season opened, the Browns were a highly regarded team, and there was a lot of hype about them with their big name offense, and an overhaul in talent. But a dismal 2-6 start seemed to underscore just how cursed this team seems to be. The Steelers, meanwhile, had begun the season 0-3, but had turned it around almost completely, entering yesterday’s game with a 5-4 record, and in position to qualify for the playoffs at this point in the season. For the 3-6 Browns, any chance at avoiding another disastrous and disappointing season for what had once been regarded as a very promising team relied on their beating the Steelers last night.
Perhaps it is a sign that they are finally turning the corner, because the Browns did exactly that, and convincingly.
Yet, there is a dark cloud with this win, because it is actually itself overshadowed by an incident that surely will be the thing that this particular game is best remembered for. It came right at the end, when defensive end Myles Garrett hit Steelers Rudolph Mason to the ground after Mason had released the ball. Mason took exception and seemed to show his displeasure. But Garrett then violently ripped the helmet off from Mason’s head, and then hit him with that helmet. Mason immediately turned, likely to attract the attention of the referees, before he was shoved to the ground by another Browns defender, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. There was a brawl as tempers flared, and it took a while for the chaos to subside enough to resume the game. At the time, only eight seconds were left in a game where the final result was no longer in question.
Both of those Cleveland defenders were thrown out of the game, as was safety Damarious Randall for a helmet to helmet hit earlier in the game. All of that kind of left the Browns and their fans with a sour taste after what should have been a solid win that left them feeling much better about the season and their team. The fact that the incident happened so late in the game, and after all suspense had long been extinguished, really leaves this game with a sour note. Myles Garrett faces a suspension, although specific details are yet to emerge as the league investigates and decides what to do. Commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman both expressed shock and mentioned that this ranked as one of the ugliest incidents that they had ever witnessed in pro football.
It was a very ugly incident in a game that, in fact, had been good news for Cleveland prior to that. The win allowed them to improve to 4-6, one game behind Pittsburgh, and to keep them relavant in the playoff picture, and with a much easier schedule remaining for them then the rough schedule that they were forced to start the season with, which included road games at San Francisco and New England, among some other very tough games.
The Steelers and Browns are set to meet again in less than three weeks, and we have to wonder just how heated emotions will be at that time, and how much this brawl, and the ugly incident which caused it. One thing for sure, it should be interesting.
Cleveland manages to win a big game, and at least in part, they get the monkey off their backs for the time being. But that also depends on what happens in the rematch, which will be in Pittsburgh. And many of the good feelings from this particular win will be erased by the ejections and suspensions from an incident which really should not have happened, period.
My prediction: Inaccurate
Indeed, through many years, and really decades, the Browns have perhaps best epitomized the sports futility of the city of Cleveland better than any other franchise, until the Cavaliers finally managed to snap that bad streak by winning the NBA Championship in 2015. Prior to that, however, the city of Cleveland had gone around half a century without any major sports titles to it’s name, and came to be seen as a city of jinxes and bad luck – almost curses – in terms of sports. This coincided with the economic downfall of the city, and both of these things came to ultimately hurt the image of the city of Cleveland for decades.
And perhaps that dismal luck was best epitomized by the Browns, the professional football team for Cleveland. The Browns used to have a glorious team that regularly made history for the right reasons, winning multiple championships in the 1940’s and 1950’s, into the 1960’s. But they fell upon hard times, and lost some major games in such heartbreaking fashion, that many began to feel that this franchise was cursed. There was the “Red Right 88” playoff game against the Raiders, when a seemingly sure win ended with a surprise interception by the eventual Super Bowl champion Raiders. This was almost like the Seahawks infamous “2nd and 1” call that lost them the Super Bowl. Then, there was “The Drive” by John Elway in the 1986 AFC title game, which forced overtime against all odds, and which Denver ultimately won. Then, the next year, there was “The Fumble” which ended a strong rally by Cleveland that almost saw them win the game against the Broncos in the rematch. The Browns would lose yet again to the Broncos in the 1989 AFC Championship Game. And, of course, who could forget how the Browns actually left town, leaving for greener pastures when they relocated to Baltimore and became the Ravens, who have won two Super Bowls since the move and change in franchise name.
Maybe the Ravens could be said to epitomize the Browns failures. But if you ask me, it would actually be the Steelers, a division rival n a city just a couple of hours or so drive away from Cleveland. While both cities struggled with decline, the city of Pittsburgh managed to turn their image around in large part because of the enormous success of their sports franchises, and no team in Pittaburgh has had as much success as the Steelers. They were the Team of the Decade in the 1970’s, winning four Super Bowls in a six year span. They continued going to Super Bowls every now and then since, reaching it in 1995, and then reaching three Super Bowls in the 21st century, winning two of them in a four year span. During that time, the Steelers have completely overshadowed the formerly proud Browns, who often have come to be viewed as a cursed franchise. If there is one team that seems to torment the Browns more than any other, a team that always seems to have their number when it counts the most, it would be the Steelers.
When this season opened, the Browns were a highly regarded team, and there was a lot of hype about them with their big name offense, and an overhaul in talent. But a dismal 2-6 start seemed to underscore just how cursed this team seems to be. The Steelers, meanwhile, had begun the season 0-3, but had turned it around almost completely, entering yesterday’s game with a 5-4 record, and in position to qualify for the playoffs at this point in the season. For the 3-6 Browns, any chance at avoiding another disastrous and disappointing season for what had once been regarded as a very promising team relied on their beating the Steelers last night.
Perhaps it is a sign that they are finally turning the corner, because the Browns did exactly that, and convincingly.
Yet, there is a dark cloud with this win, because it is actually itself overshadowed by an incident that surely will be the thing that this particular game is best remembered for. It came right at the end, when defensive end Myles Garrett hit Steelers Rudolph Mason to the ground after Mason had released the ball. Mason took exception and seemed to show his displeasure. But Garrett then violently ripped the helmet off from Mason’s head, and then hit him with that helmet. Mason immediately turned, likely to attract the attention of the referees, before he was shoved to the ground by another Browns defender, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. There was a brawl as tempers flared, and it took a while for the chaos to subside enough to resume the game. At the time, only eight seconds were left in a game where the final result was no longer in question.
Both of those Cleveland defenders were thrown out of the game, as was safety Damarious Randall for a helmet to helmet hit earlier in the game. All of that kind of left the Browns and their fans with a sour taste after what should have been a solid win that left them feeling much better about the season and their team. The fact that the incident happened so late in the game, and after all suspense had long been extinguished, really leaves this game with a sour note. Myles Garrett faces a suspension, although specific details are yet to emerge as the league investigates and decides what to do. Commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman both expressed shock and mentioned that this ranked as one of the ugliest incidents that they had ever witnessed in pro football.
It was a very ugly incident in a game that, in fact, had been good news for Cleveland prior to that. The win allowed them to improve to 4-6, one game behind Pittsburgh, and to keep them relavant in the playoff picture, and with a much easier schedule remaining for them then the rough schedule that they were forced to start the season with, which included road games at San Francisco and New England, among some other very tough games.
The Steelers and Browns are set to meet again in less than three weeks, and we have to wonder just how heated emotions will be at that time, and how much this brawl, and the ugly incident which caused it. One thing for sure, it should be interesting.
Cleveland manages to win a big game, and at least in part, they get the monkey off their backs for the time being. But that also depends on what happens in the rematch, which will be in Pittsburgh. And many of the good feelings from this particular win will be erased by the ejections and suspensions from an incident which really should not have happened, period.
My prediction: Inaccurate
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