As if they needed an extra incentive, the Pittsburgh Steelers could get in the way of the Cleveland Browns achieving some history with a win on Sunday afternoon.
As noted by Matt Williamson of Steelers Nation Radio, Cleveland has not swept Pittsburgh since 1988. That stretch, which has spanned 32-straight seasons and technically includes two iterations of the Browns franchise, is the longest in NFL history.
The Browns also have not defeated the Steelers on the road in the regular season since 2003, which was the most recent year in which Pittsburgh finished with a losing record.
Cleveland did defeat the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in the playoffs following the 2020 campaign, however. Additionally, the Browns have a two-game win streak going against Pittsburgh, which was sustained with a 24-19 victory at Huntington Bank Field in Week 12.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin owns a 26-8-1 record versus Cleveland since he was hired ahead of the 2007 season.
Pittsburgh enters the Week 14 contest between the two sides with a 9-3 record and an outside shot at earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC, which would net them home-field advantage through the conference championship game as well as a first-round bye. It would have to bypass the Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) and Buffalo Bills (10-2) in order to do so, which is no easy task, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibility.
The Browns, on the other hand, come in at 3-9 after losing to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football last week by a score of 41-32. They are no longer in playoff contention, though quarterback Jameis Winston has suddenly made the team’s offense a bit of a headache to deal with.
The Steelers have to keep their foot on the gas pedal and avoid another trap game against Cleveland as they look to clinch the AFC North in the near future.