Browns–Steelers rivalry

Cleveland Browns–Pittsburgh Steelers
History
1st Meeting	October 7, 1950
Last Meeting	October 18, 2009
Next Meeting	December 10, 2009
Number of Meetings	115
All-Time Series	PIT: 60-55 CLE, 33-23 @ Cleveland PIT, 36-22 @ Pittsburgh
Regular Season Series	PIT: 58-55 CLE, 33-23 @ Cleveland PIT, 34-22 @ Pittsburgh
Largest victory	CLE: 51–0 (9/10/1989)
Current Streak	PIT: Won 12
Longest CLE Win Streak	8 (October 7, 1950- November 22, 1953)
Longest PIT Win Streak	12 (November 23, 2003-present)
Post Season Series	PIT: 2-0
January 7, 1995	Steelers won 29–9
January 5, 2003	Steelers won 36–33
Championship Success
NFL Championships (10) PIT (6) – 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008 CLE (4) – 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964 NFL Conference Championships (18) PIT (7) – 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008 CLE (11) – 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969 NFL Divisional Championships (28) PIT (19) – 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 CLE (9) – 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989

The Browns-Steelers rivalry is one of the most storied rivalries in the NFL. With over 115 meetings and counting, it is the oldest rivalry and the most storied in the American Football Conference (AFC), surpassing any other rivalry in the conference by at least 5 contests. However, the rivalry has faded in recent years due to the uncompetitiveness since Browns' rebirth in 1999 (Steelers are 19-3 since then). Nonetheless, the two divisional foes still have a natural rivalry due to the commonalities between the cities, proximity, etc. It is sometimes called the Turnpike Rivalry because the majority of driving route between the two cities is connected via the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes.

Similarities between the cities

Among reasons for the rivalry are numerous similarities between the cities. They are both Rust Belt cities known for steel manufacturing: U.S. Steel, J&L Steel, and Bethlehem Steel in Greater Pittsburgh; and Republic Steel, LTV Steel, and Timken Steel in Greater Cleveland. Each city is ethnically diverse, with heavy concentrations of African Americans, Germans, Italians, Irish, Ukrainians, and Slovaks. The fan base of each is mainly working-class blue-collar workers.

The rivalry was primarily fueled by the close proximity between the two cities, as Cleveland and Pittsburgh are roughly 135 miles apart. Many fans make the two hour drive by car to road games. Also, the city of Youngstown, Ohio is roughly located at the halfway mark between the two cities and is within the 75-mile blackout radius for both teams. The Youngstown television market has dual rights to both teams. Both teams have such strong fan bases that neither typically has blackout issues since the current rules were implemented in 1973, although the final two games of the 1995 season were blacked out in Cleveland (the last two prior to the team's move to Baltimore). The Youngstown area fan base remains roughly split 50/50 between the Steelers and Browns.

In recent times, Pittsburgh-area businesses have entered the Cleveland market by buying out local Cleveland-area competitors such as Giant Eagle, Dollar Bank, and most recently, PNC Financial Services acquisition of National City Corp., the latter of which had itself expanded into Pittsburgh in the 1990's. Among other reasons, some Clevelanders didn't like the idea of a Pittsburgh-based bank buying National City because of the rivalry between the Browns and Steelers. In addition, natural expansion has occurred with companies with Western Pennsylvania roots with Vocelli Pizza and Altoona-based Sheetz making successful expansions into the Cleveland market.

Coaches and players

The teams have also had various prominent players and coaches with roots in the other team. For instance, former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll was born in Cleveland and played linebacker for the Browns. His successor as head coach, Bill Cowher, also played linebacker and special teams for the Browns, and was an assistant coach for the Browns from 1985-1988. Former Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer is a native of Pittsburgh area suburb Canonsburg, along with his brother Kurt Schottenheimer, who was the Browns special teams coach from 1987-1988.

Steelers Hall of Famer Jack Lambert is an native Ohioan and attended Kent State University, as did Akron, Ohio native James Harrison. Former Browns fullback Tim Manoa attended Penn State. Former punter Chris Gardocki played for three years for the Steelers, including the Super Bowl XL championship team, after playing five seasons with the Browns from 1999-2003. Current Steelers Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians held the same position with the Browns from 2001-2003.

History of the rivalry

The Browns and Steelers first met in 1950, the Browns' first NFL game after dominating the AAFC. Early on during this period, the Browns were one of the NFL's elite teams and dominated the rivalry. The Steelers did not win the first game against the Browns until 1954.

The rivalry would carry over to the newly-formed American Football Conference in 1970 as the two teams and the then-Baltimore Colts joined the former American Football League (AFL) teams in the conference as part of the AFL-NFL merger. The newly-merged league needed to move three teams from the "old" NFL to the AFC so that the two conferences had 13 teams even. (The rest of the "old" NFL teams joined the newly-formed NFC.) The NFL tried to get the Steelers to the new conference, but then-Steelers owner Art Rooney initially refused. Then-Browns owner Art Modell immediately volunteered the Browns to shift to the AFC because of a potential intrastate rivalry with the Cincinnati Bengals (as well as his personal animosity with Paul Brown at the time), and was able to convince Art Rooney to join him in the AFC in order to continue their own rivalry.

However, in the 1970s the Steelers had begun to even the playing field with the Browns, led by head coach Chuck Noll, a Cleveland native and former Browns linebacker. By then, the rivalry between the two clubs was more hostile and personal, as evident in the 1976 matchup at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, when Joe "Turkey" Jones viciously sacked Terry Bradshaw after the whistle had been blown. Bradshaw would suffer a neck injury from the play, and the footage of the sack has since become immortalized in NFL Films as part of the rivalry. During this decade, the Steelers would win four Super Bowls.

While the two would exchange victories in the 1970s and 1980s, by the 1990s the Steelers would become the dominant team in the rivalry. Since the Browns' last series sweep in 1988, the Steelers have an overwhelming 29-8 mark against the Browns, enough that in 2007 the Steelers took over the lead in the all-time series (which they currently lead at 60-55) for the first time, and have won the last twelve in a row dating back to the 2003 season, the longest such streak in the rivalry to date. During most of this time, Bill Cowher was head coach of the Steelers. Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, also played linebacker for the Browns (though unlike Noll, Cowher mostly played special teams), and also served as an assistant in Cleveland under Marty Schottenheimer, himself a native of another Pittsburgh area suburb, Canonsburg.

The Steelers also have a 2-0 record against the Browns in the playoffs, with both games taking place in Pittsburgh.

The rivalry took a brief hiatus from 1996-1998 due to the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy. Partially due to the rivalry and partially out of respect, Pittsburgh was one of the few cities alongside Cleveland to protest the move. While Browns fans still consider the Steelers as their main archrival, a small number of Steeler fans consider their rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens the "spiritual" successor to this rivalry due to Art Modell moving the his franchise to Baltimore and establish the expansion Ravens, even though the recent one-sidedness of this rivalry in favor of the Steelers has influenced this thinking as well. Nevertheless, it is still heated between both teams and one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL.

1950s (Browns 16-4)

Year	Date	Result	Location
1950	October 7	Browns 30-17	Forbes Field
	October 29	Browns  45-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1951	October 21	Browns  17-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 9	Browns  28-0	Forbes Field
1952	October 4	Browns  21-20	Forbes Field	Browns' Otto Graham rallies from 13 point deficit, Pittsburgh loses game on missed PAT.
	November 16	Browns  29-28	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1953	November 8	Browns  34-16	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 22	Browns  20-16	Forbes Field
1954	October 17	Steelers  55-27	Forbes Field	Steelers' first win of the series.
	December 12	Browns  42-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1955	November 20	Browns  41-14	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 4	Browns  30-7	Forbes Field
1956	October 6	Browns  14-10	Forbes Field
	November 28	Steelers  24-16	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Steelers' first win in Cleveland.
1957	October 5	Browns  23-12	Forbes Field
	November 10	Browns  24-0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1958	October 5	Browns  45-12	Pitt Stadium
	October 19	Browns  27-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1959	September 26	Steelers  17-7	Forbes Field
	November 22	Steelers  21-20	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	With less than 2 minutes remaining Bobby Layne takes the Steelers 72 yards (this after his running back tells him he is too hurt to catch or rush, he can only block) for the winning TD. Lou Groza misses an FG as the clock runs out.

1960s (Browns 15-5)

Year	Date	Result	Location	Notes
1960	October 2	Browns  28-20	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 20	Steelers  14-10	Forbes Field
1961	October 22	Browns  30-28	Forbes Field	Pittsburgh's Buddy Dial sets a franchise record 235 receiving yards, along with an 88-yard reception for touchdown, game turns on a Lou Groza field goal after a John Henry Johnson fumble in the final two minutes.
	November 5	Steelers  17-13	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1962	October 28	Browns  41-14	Pitt Stadium
	November 25	Browns  35-14	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1963	October 5	Browns  35-23	Pitt Stadium
	November 10	Steelers  9-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1964	October 10	Steelers  23-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Another "Saturday Night Classic" Steeler John Henry Johnson at 35, beats Jim Brown in his prime, outgaining him 200 to 59 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns in Pittsburgh's romp.
	November 1	Browns  30-17	Pitt Stadium
1965	October 9	Browns  24-19	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 28	Browns  42-21	Pitt Stadium
1966	October 8	Browns  41-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 6	Steelers  16-6	Pitt Stadium
1967	October 7	Browns  21-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 5	Browns  34-14	Pitt Stadium
1968	October 5	Browns  31-24	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 17	Browns  45-24	Pitt Stadium
1969	October 18	Browns  42-31	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 16	Browns  24-3	Pitt Stadium

1970s (Steelers 15-5)

Year	Date	Result	Location	Notes
1970	October 3	Browns  15-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Last of the memorable "Saturday Night Games" between the two clubs, fans will remember more action in the stands than on the fields during most of those contests.
	November 29	Steelers  28-9	Three Rivers Stadium
1971	October 10	Browns  27-17	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 7	Steelers  26-9	Three Rivers Stadium
1972	November 19	Browns  26-24	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 3	Steelers  30-0	Three Rivers Stadium
1973	September 23	Steelers  33-6	Three Rivers Stadium
	November 25	Browns  21-16	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1974	October 20	Steelers  20-16	Three Rivers Stadium
	November 17	Steelers  26-16	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Steelers' first sweep of Browns since 1959.
1975	October 5	Steelers  42-6	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Steelers defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene repeatedly kicked Browns lineman Bob McKay in the groin during this game while McKay was on the ground.
	December 7	Steelers  31-17	Three Rivers Stadium
1976	September 19	Steelers  31-14	Three Rivers Stadium
	October 10	Browns  18-16	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Third string QB Dave Mays leads the Browns to victory after both teams' starters were injured. Terry Bradshaw's neck was injured on a tackle by Joe "Turkey" Jones.
1977	October 2	Steelers  28-14	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 13	Steelers  35-31	Three Rivers Stadium
1978	September 24	Steelers  15-9 (OT)	Three Rivers Stadium	Overtime toss won by Pittsburgh only to be fumbled on kick return. Browns with the ball in FG range were interrupted by ref calling fumble play dead with claim that whistle blew before the fumble. Bradshaw leads Pittsburgh down the field and calls a Blier-Swann-Bradshaw double reverse for the winning TD.
	October 15	Steelers 34-14	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1979	October 7	Steelers  51-35	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Steelers up 27-0 at one point before Cleveland's Brian Sipe threw five TDs to eventually cut the deficit to nine points, despite being the apex of the Steel Curtain. The Steelers then sealed the victory with a long clock-eating drive ending with Sidney Thornton's TD in the final minute. Steelers maintain division lead of a single game with the win. Highest scoring game in the series to date.
	November 25	Steelers  33-30 (OT)	Three Rivers Stadium	Matt Bahr kicks a last minute FG to tie it, then with :09 left in OT kicks a 37 yarder to win it. Game lasted over 4 hours. Franco Harris with 232 total yards and L.C. Greenwood with five of the seven sacks on Brian Sipe stand out. Steelers came back from being down by 14 points twice, never leading until the very end.

1980s (Browns 12-8)

Year	Date	Result	Location	Notes
1980	October 26	Browns  27-26	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Brian Sipe rallies the Kardiac Kids from a 26-14 4th quarter deficit over an injury riddled Steelers team.
	November 16	Steelers  16-13	Three Rivers Stadium	Terry Bradshaw's TD pass to Lynn Swann with eleven seconds left keeps the Browns winless at Three Rivers Stadium.
1981	October 11	Steelers  13-7	Three Rivers Stadium
	November 22	Steelers  32-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1982	December 19	Browns  10-9	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	January 2, '83	Steelers  37-21	Three Rivers Stadium
1983	October 16	Steelers  44-17	Three Rivers Stadium
	December 18	Browns  30-17	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
1984	September 23	Browns  20-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 9	Steelers  23-20	Three Rivers Stadium
1985	September 16	Browns  17-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	November 3	Steelers  10-9	Three Rivers Stadium	Gary Anderson's kick wins it in final seconds, after the Steelers hold Kosar to just 96 total yards during a driving rain storm. The AFC Central is all tied up with every team at 4-5 after this game.
1986	October 5	Browns  27-24	Three Rivers Stadium	Browns' first win ever at Three Rivers Stadium.
	November 23	Browns  37-31 (OT)	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Gary Anderson kicks a 40 yard FG with 7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it at 31. Bernie Kosar sets Steeler franchise records for most passing yrds. given (414) and the Browns set other Steeler records in total yrds and 1st downs allowed (536 and 35). Steelers eliminated from Playoffs with the loss, earlier than in any season since '69. It does take Kosar 2 possessions in OT to win though. Browns' first sweep of Steelers since 1969.
1987	September 20	Browns  34-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 26	Browns  19-13	Three Rivers Stadium	The Browns clinch the AFC Central Division title by holding the Steelers to one offensive play in the 4th quarter.
1988	October 2	Browns  23-9	Three Rivers Stadium
	November 20	Browns  27-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Browns' last sweep of Steelers to date.
1989	September 10	Browns  51-0	Three Rivers Stadium	Biggest margin of victory within the rivalry to date. Also the worst loss for the Steelers in franchise history.
	October 15	Steelers  17-7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium

1990s (Steelers 10-5)

Year	Date	Result	Location	Notes
1990	September 9	Browns  13-3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 23	Steelers  35-0	Three Rivers Stadium
1991	October 27	Browns  17-14	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Bernie Kosar has his own Immaculate Reception after a 90 degree deflected pass ends up on top of a knocked down Brown in the Steelers endzone, giving Cleveland the lead. Gary Anderson's last minute FG hits the goal post.
	December 22	Steelers  17-10	Three Rivers Stadium	Steelers head coach Chuck Noll's final game. He retired four days later after 23 seasons.
1992	October 11	Browns  17-9	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 27	Steelers  23-13	Three Rivers Stadium
1993	October 24	Browns  28-23	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	The Metcalf Game. Eric Metcalf returns two punts for TDs, including one in the final three minutes for the winning score.
1994	January 2	Steelers  16-9	Three Rivers Stadium	1993 season extended into January 1994 due to use of an extra bye week.
	September 11	Steelers  17-10	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
	December 18	Steelers  17-7	Three Rivers Stadium	Steelers dominate Browns from start to finish in clinching the AFC Central Division title.
1995	January 7	Steelers  29-9	Three Rivers Stadium	Divisional Playoff game following the 1994 season.
	November 13	Steelers  20-3	Three Rivers Stadium	Steelers fans wore orange arm bands in tribute to the Browns. Art Modell had announced plans to move the team to Baltimore. (The team officially suspended operations until being returned in 1999. Officially, the Baltimore Ravens are a 1996 expansion team.)
	November 26	Steelers  20-17	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Final meeting at Cleveland Stadium. Cleveland officially suspended operations 1996-1998.
1999	September 12	Steelers  43-0	Cleveland Browns Stadium	First game in history of Cleveland Browns Stadium and Browns' first game back after a three year hiatus. Sunday Night Football.
	November 14	Browns  16-15	Three Rivers Stadium	Browns gain revenge for season opening humiliation on Phil Dawson's FG as time expires. Their first win in Pittsburgh since 1989.

2000s (Steelers 18-2)

Year	Date	Result	Location	Notes
2000	September 17	Browns  23-20	Cleveland Browns Stadium
	October 22	Steelers  22-0	Three Rivers Stadium	Final meeting at Three Rivers Stadium.
2001	November 11	Steelers  15-12 (OT)	Cleveland Browns Stadium
2002	January 6	Steelers  28-7	Heinz Field	Game was intended to be first game at new stadium, played September 16, 2001. Because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, all Week 2 games were moved to the first Sunday or Monday of January 2002.
	September 29	Steelers  16-13 (OT)	Heinz Field
	November 3	Steelers  23-20	Cleveland Browns Stadium
	December 29	Steelers  36-33	Heinz Field	Wild Card Playoff game. Steelers rally from 24-7 third quarter deficit.
2003	October 5	Browns  33-13	Heinz Field
	November 23	Steelers  13-6	Cleveland Browns Stadium
2004	October 10	Steelers  34-23	Heinz Field
	November 14	Steelers  24-10	Cleveland Browns Stadium	Browns running back William Green and Steelers linebacker Joey Porter were both ejected prior to kickoff due to a pregame fight. Akron native James Harrison would get his first NFL start in place of Porter.
2005	November 13	Steelers  34-21	Heinz Field
	December 24	Steelers  41-0	Cleveland Browns Stadium	Steelers linebacker James Harrison would bodyslam a drunken Browns fan after the fan ran onto the field. The incident, which later became a YouTube sensation, would become the highlight of Harrison's career before his breakout 2007 season.
2006	November 19	Steelers  24-20	Cleveland Browns Stadium	Ben Roethlisberger throws a 4-yard shovel pass to Willie Parker in the final minute to lead the Steelers to a comeback win.
	December 7	Steelers  27-7	Heinz Field	Willie Parker sets the all-time Steelers single-game rushing record with a 223 yard performance.
2007	September 9	Steelers  34-7	Cleveland Browns Stadium	The Browns would trade starting quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks two days after his horrible performance in this game, making him the first QB in NFL history to start a season opener then be traded before Week 2. Mike Tomlin's debut as Steelers head coach.
	November 11	Steelers  31-28	Heinz Field	Steelers come back from being down 21-6. Browns' Phil Dawson misses a 52 yard field goal attempt to tie with 6 seconds left.
2008	September 14	Steelers  10-6	Cleveland Browns Stadium	The Steelers defeated the Browns as remnants of Hurricane Ike hit Cleveland with rain and winds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The game's only touchdown was a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Hines Ward.
	December 28	Steelers  31-0	Heinz Field
2009	October 18	Steelers  27-14	Heinz Field

Trivia

• The Three Rivers Jinx. When the Steelers moved to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970, they defeated the Browns 16 straight times before the Browns finally broke through with a win in 1986. The Browns eventually went on to post a miserable all-time mark (5-24, .172) at the stadium from 1970-2000. At Heinz Field (opened 2001), the Steelers lead 7-1. Since the 1970 merger, the Browns are 6-31 at Pittsburgh. Before that, they had won 16 of their first 20 visits (1950-1969).

• Likewise, the Steelers posted a less-than-spectacular record (14-32, .304) at the Browns' old facility, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, from 1950-1995. At Cleveland Browns Stadium (opened 1999), the Steelers lead 9-1, winning the last eight games. Since 1974 (their first Super Bowl season), the Steelers lead 18-14 in Cleveland. Beforehand, the Steelers had lost 19 of 24 on the road (1950-1973).

• The greatest defeat in Steelers history occurred on the season opener (September 10) of the 1989 NFL Season in Pittsburgh when the Browns won 51-0. Nearly ten years to the day (September 12), when the Browns returned to the league in the 1999 NFL Season, the Steelers defeated them in their first game back 43-0, still the revived Browns' worst loss as well as the Steelers' most lopsided defeat ever of the Browns.

• When the league was voting on the Browns relocation, Steelers owner Dan Rooney was one of only two owners to vote against the move. In tribute of Cleveland losing the Browns, Steeler fans wore orange arm bands to the final game at Three Rivers Stadium as a sign of mutual respect and sorrow for losing a great rivalry.

• The game is the most played rivalry in the AFC and fifth most played in the NFL. Among the top 5 NFL rivalries however the win-loss difference of 5 games (3 regular season games) arguably makes it the most contested in the league.

References

• http://www.afc-north.com/rivalry/clepit.html