PITTSBURGH — The screen goes black. A buzz goes over the crowd.
That’s when the song begins, “Oh Mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law …,” and the stadium formerly known as Heinz Field loses its mind. Tens of thousands of Terrible Towels twirling in a cacophony of cheers and late-70s hair band music.
The Browns have experienced that moment for decades. In fact, the whole Pittsburgh tradition of playing “Renegade” before a big fourth-quarter defensive series started with Cleveland’s AFC wild card loss there in January 2003.
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Some 10 months later, on Oct. 5, 2003, the Browns went back into that stadium and beat the Steelers 33-13. They haven’t won a regular-season game there — they have won a playoff game there in an empty stadium after the 2020 season — since, stretching over a 21-game losing streak.
The longest road regular-season losing streak by one team to another is the Detroit Lions’ 26-game skid to the Green Bay Packers. Maybe it’s something about the color yellow (or gold, whatever you want to call that) that impacts the visitors.
Can the Browns avoid getting another step closer to that Lions’ ignominious streak? Here’s a preview of the latest in the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry from a variety of angles:
Cleveland Browns offensive matchup of the game vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: LT Cam Robinson vs. OLBs Nick Herbig/Alex Highsmith
You don’t go out and trade for a veteran left tackle like Cam Robinson and relegate him to spot work. You certainly don’t after you’ve seen what the last two games of mostly KT Leveston at left tackle has provided. Finally, when you’re looking at pressure from the right side of the Steelers defense featuring a now-healthy Alex Highsmith and, more important, Nick Herbig, you want as good as you can get over there. Look, right tackle Jack Conklin is a veteran, so what he does against T.J. Watt will absolutely be important, but there’s a level of trust there. The left tackle situation has been troublesome all season, and now the issue is either Herbig, who leads Pittsburgh with 14 total pressures, or Highsmith, who’s back from injury and a potential game-wrecker himself when healthy.
Cleveland Browns defensive matchup of the game vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: CB Denzel Ward vs. WR D.K. Metcalf
George Pickens may be in Dallas and Calvin Austin III may be out because of injury, but D.K. Metcalf is now here after the offseason trade from the Seattle Seahawks to give the Steelers a big-play target in the passing game. In fact, considering the fact that, despite Aaron Rodgers being the quarterback, Pittsburgh’s passing game is 27th in the league in average yards per game, Metcalf takes on an even more oversized role in the game. Rodgers is going to want to take his shots downfield to the big wide receiver. Considering cornerback Tyson Campbell has only been with the Browns for a few days, it wouldn’t be a stunner to see Denzel Ward follow Metcalf around the formation, at least on the perimeter. The last time the Browns played in Pittsburgh, the Steelers legitimately never threw Ward’s way. Rodgers is going to at least try.
3 burning questions for Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
3 key numbers for Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
263.5 yards
That is not the Browns’ total yards per game. That’s actually what the Steelers offense is averaging through four games this season. That total ranks 29th in the league, two spots behind the Browns and their average of 288.2 yards.
13 sacks
Garrett has recorded 13 sacks in 14 career games against the Steelers. The only team he’s recorded more sacks against is the Cincinnati Bengals, against whom he has 15 sacks.
16-15
That was the final score the last and only time a Browns rookie quarterback won in Pittsburgh. The year was 1999, the first year of the expansion Browns. Tim Couch overcame six sacks to throw for 199 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception, against the Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium. Cleveland scored nine points in the final 5:12 of the game, including Phil Dawson’s 39-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How does Cleveland end its regular-season skid in Pittsburgh? Browns vs. Steelers preview
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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