Browns-Steelers rivalry

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The Browns-Steelers rivalry is one of the most storied rivalries in the NFL. The rivalry has been called locally the Turnpike Rivalry^[1], due to the two cities being connected via the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes. The Browns and Steelers first met in 1950.

Early on, the Browns, one of the NFL's best teams during this period, dominated the rivalry. The Steelers didn't even get their first win against the Browns until 1954. As a result, the rivalry was mainly fueled by the proximity between the two cities, only 112 miles apart. The cities are so close that the Youngstown, Ohio television market has dual rights to both teams, as Youngstown is roughly located at the halfway mark between the two cities and is within the 75-mile blackout radius for both teams. (It should be noted that both teams have strong fan bases and haven't had a blackout since the current blackout rules were implemented in 1973.) The fan base in that area is roughly split 50/50 between the Steelers and Browns.

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 26-8 mark against the Browns, enough that the Steelers took over the lead in the all-time series for the first time in 2007, which they currently lead at 57-55. 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 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. Many Steelers fans consider their rivalry with the Ravens the "spiritual" successor to this rivalry due to this, even though the one-sidedness of this rivalry has influenced this thinking as well. Nevertheless, it is still heated between both teams and one of the more heated rivalries in the NFL.

[edit] 1950s (Browns 16-4)

[edit] 1960s (Browns 15-5)

[edit] 1970s (Steelers 15-5)

[edit] 1980s (Browns 12-8)

[edit] 1990s (Steelers 10-5)

[edit] 2000s (Steelers 15-2)

*time subject to change (flexible scheduling)

[edit] 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. The Browns have also been having trouble gaining victories at Heinz Field with the Steelers winning 7 out of the 8 times they have met in Pittsburgh's current stadium. The Steelers have likewise dominated at Cleveland Browns Stadium, currently sporting an 8-1 record. The Steelers had posted a less-than-spectacular record (14-32, .304) at the Browns' old facility, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, from 1950-1995.

• The greatest defeat in Steelers history occurred on the season opener of the 1989 NFL Season in Pittsburgh when the Browns won 51-0, nearly ten years to the day when the Browns returned to the league the Steelers defeated them in their season opener (and first game of the new franchise) 43-0. It is the worst loss of the new Browns.

• When the league was voting on the Browns relocation the 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 (at least for the following three seasons, that is).

[edit] References

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