The video is still fresh in the minds of the Pittsburgh Steelers, as is the frustration.
Two weeks ago, a chance to take control of the AFC North slipped away in the snow in Cleveland, when Jameis Winston and the Browns pulled off a 24-19 victory, giving them a rare bright spot in an otherwise tough season.
Now, a rematch is set for Sunday at Acrisure Stadium with high stakes.
Pittsburgh (9-3) can move closer to clinching the division with a win, while the Browns (3-9) have the chance to energize their late-season push and sweep the Steelers for the first time since 1988 if they manage to repeat the success they had in the snowy game.
“Since what year?” asked Cleveland wide receiver Elijah Moore when reminded of the 36-year drought. “Yeah, we got to change that. We got to break these chains.”
Except for a surprising win in the playoffs after the 2020 season, the Browns have had a tough time against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh has been a challenging place for most teams, especially Cleveland, who has lost 20 straight regular-season games in Pittsburgh. Their last regular-season win at Acrisure Stadium was on Oct. 5, 2003, when Tim Couch led the Browns to a 33-13 victory.
Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks, who was only 11 years old the last time Cleveland won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh, said the chance to affect an opponent’s playoff chances or seedings can really motivate a team during this part of the season.
“There’s situations where teams have aspirations, they’re trying to get whatever it may be, first-round bye, be first in the division, whatever it is,” he said. “A lot of that stuff comes within the last two, three games. But at the end of the day, any time you beat a division rival, it feels good, especially when they’re playing for something.”
But the Steelers aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
They were coming off an emotional win against Baltimore the last time they faced the Browns. After a slow start by the offense, partly due to three sacks by Cleveland’s star Myles Garrett, and a shaky finish by the defense, the momentum Pittsburgh had built against the Ravens disappeared in the snowstorm.
While they regained some of that momentum by beating Joe Burrow and the Bengals in a high-scoring game last Sunday, they know it won’t matter unless they back it up in this rivalry, where every game is tough.
“Like we just played those guys,” Pittsburgh cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said. “Not too many things could change in one game. We just got to look over what we did wrong.”
There’s plenty to review.
Nick Chubb, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the last Cleveland visit to Pittsburgh on Sept. 18, 2023, had two rushing touchdowns, including the second one at the end of a late drive led by Winston, who has brought a more open, unpredictable style of play since taking over for the injured Deshaun Watson.
“We have to be on our Ps and Qs,” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “They’ve just grown a lot with having Jameis at the helm and he is slicing and dicing.”
