It was the 144th time that the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers matched wits and locked horns when the two teams met on Monday, Sept. 18 at Acrisure Stadium. The team from the east took down their long-standing rivals by a score of 26-22.
The Browns and Steelers have the oldest rivalry in the American Football Conference by at least five games. These two divisional foes have been going after each other since 1950, when the Browns joined the National Football League and battled with the Steel City on Oct. 7. Since their first matchup, close proximity and infamous brutality have brought these teams to despise one another — and although some may claim the rivalry has died out, others say it is alive and strong.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say it is because Pittsburgh and Cleveland are the same city, just in two different states,” Steelers fan Isabel Loch, ’24, said. “I just grew up in Pittsburgh and we hate the Cleveland teams so that’s just how it is.”
Both teams have had their fair share of moments to be forgotten. This century alone has brought plenty of entertainment to fans, including when former Steeler Antonio Brown kicked Browns punter Spencer Lanning in the face during a kick return, or when Cleveland’s Myles Garrett smashed Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph on the head with his helmet a couple of years ago.
The passion between these two bitter foes does not just begin in this century. One of the NFL’s most immortalized plays includes Browns defender Joe Jones going after Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw. When Jones was in the midst of completing the sack, he pulled a wrestling move out of his sleeve and performed a pile drive on Bradshaw. The Black and Yellow quarterback suffered a neck injury from the impact of the hit.
But why have these two blue-collared cities shown such animosity towards each other? While similarities in both cities play a role, the history of these two teams is also a pivotal factor.
The Browns and Steelers have battled back and forth within their respective division for over 70 years. Each city has shared moments of jealousy towards the other when their own team is not performing well. And the cherry on top — they are only separated by 135 miles.
Both franchises are tagged with die-hard fans who love their team more than they love their own families. They travel well and have fan clubs across the entire world, which means that making the two-and-a-half-hour drive to see an arch-rival game is no problem.
My first glimpse of the NFL experience came during one of these brutal matchups. Upon my arrival to FirstEnergy Stadium (formerly known as Cleveland Browns Stadium) back in 2008, I was greeted with loud chants from intellectuals who were boozed and screaming their heads off while getting ready for football.
Of the many profane phrases in chant to leave their tongues, “F— you Steelers” was at the top of the list, and was sung in a harmony that echoed the streets of Euclid Avenue. There were also many shirts, banners and posters that slandered against Pittsburgh.
When I told my dad I was going to root for the Steelers that day because they were better than the Browns, he told me I was lucky nobody else heard what I had said, otherwise there would be a news story of a little boy being thrown into Lake Erie for blasphemous claims.
However, during that experience I saw a lot of fans wearing black instead of brown. It seemed as though there were an equal number of people who made the trek from across the state border as there were who came from The Land. These games always turn out to be electric, and I am not the only one to think so.
“It’s been one of the most exciting football games of my childhood growing up,” said Cleveland native Jonathan Sharp, ’24. “Now they are awesome games to watch and it’s a Browns staple game each year because we’re always striving to beat the Steelers.”
While Monday’s game did not entail any fights, it was a seesaw battle that featured classic smash mouth football and field position control. There was sloppy play from both sides, but ultimately it came down to the Steelers scoring 17 points off the Browns’ four turnovers, including from the first play of scrimmage when Alex Highsmith picked off Deshaun Watson and took it to the house to give the Steelers an early lead.
The most devastating moment came when Browns running back Nick Chubb had his knee taken out on a tackle by Minkah Fitzpatrick. The best pure rusher in the league endured a gruesome shot that turned his leg to a 90-degree bend — it was too disturbing to show on national television, and Chubb was carted off while screaming in agonizing pain. All fans, including Steelers, were on their feet to give him a standing ovation.
“He’s, in my opinion, the best running back in the league, even as a Steelers fan,” said Cade Moffatt, ’25. “A few years ago when Big Ben (Roethlisberger) went down for the season with his UCL injury, losing someone like that who’s just a big driving factor in your offense, it’s really just disheartening. I know how it can be for Browns fans.”
It was a huge knockdown to Cleveland, as now they will be without one of their best players and leaders for the rest of the season. But Jerome Ford came in to take over duties and put up impressive numbers, including a 69-yard run to set up the Browns at the one-yard line, which at the time would lead to the go-ahead score. The Browns also re-signed Kareem Hunt on Wednesday, Sept 20. The Toledo native spent the previous four seasons with Cleveland after signing with the team in 2019, but did not begin this year with the Browns.
Ford’s production on Monday was not enough, though, and Watson looked terrible registering an interception, two fumbles and a pair of facemask penalties on just 235 yards.
The offensive line gave up six sacks, one of which went to T.J. Watt. Watt was able to break the Steelers franchise record in that department on Monday, as he now sits with 81.5 for his career. His moment of the night came when Highsmith stripped Watson of the football in Browns territory, and Watt went for the scoop-and-score — the final points put on the scoreboard.
“The only reason we won that game was because of defense,” Loch said.
While the Steelers offense did not look good either, their defense carried them to victory. The Browns missed out on a chance to start the year 2-0 for the first time since 1993, and Pittsburgh avoided going 0-2.
These two teams will meet one final time in the regular season on Nov. 19, in Cleveland. While there is no telling how both teams will fare in between that time and now, one can only hope the game is as close and as entertaining as it was on Monday.
