Mark Madden: Steelers played major role in Browns struggles

The Steelers and Cleveland Browns have a rivalry akin to windshield vs. bug.

The real rivalry moved with the real Browns to Baltimore in 1996. Oh, how we laughed.

The real Browns have won two Super Bowls in Baltimore. Would they have won those had the real Browns remained in Cleveland?

No. The key phrase: “in Cleveland.” LeBron James doesn’t play football.

The not-really-the Browns have played one playoff game since NFL football reconvened in Cleveland in 1999. That was against the Steelers on Jan. 5, 2003. The Browns blew a 17-point lead on the way to a 36-33 loss. Oh, how we laughed.

That wasn’t exactly a vintage Steelers team. Tommy Maddox was at quarterback, Amos Zereoue at running back. Remember Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala? Me, neither. But he scored the winning touchdown with 54 seconds left. Mike Logan (McKeesport’s own!) got an interception.

The Steelers had some key components in place: Alan Faneca. James Farrior. Casey Hampton. Joey Porter. Aaron Smith. Hines Ward. Jerome Bettis was in the first season of his career’s extended twilight. He split time with Zereoue, getting slightly fewer carries. The Steelers won a Super Bowl three seasons later.

From 1999-2003, the Steelers went 8-3 vs. Cleveland. Their first game back in the NFL was a 43-0 home loss to Pittsburgh. The Dawg Pound got spayed and neutered. Oh, how we laughed.

In 2004, Ben Roethlisberger showed up at the playground. For the Browns, things went from bad to worse.

Roethlisberger is 24-2-1 against the Browns. That doesn’t include a win in 2015 where Roethlisberger, recovering from an injury, came off the bench when starter Landry Jones got hurt and threw three touchdowns in a typically lopsided 30-9 victory. Oh, how we laughed.

Roethlisberger’s 11 wins at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy stadium were the most by any QB till Baker Mayfield topped it this year. It took Mayfield over two seasons to catch and pass Roethlisberger. That’s Mayfield’s home stadium. Not Roethlisberger’s. Well, perhaps it is metaphorically.

Roethlisberger can’t gain ground on Mayfield on Sunday when the Steelers visit Cleveland. The Steelers have zero to benefit beyond seeding, so several key Steelers will be idle with an eye toward the playoffs: Roethlisberger, Cameron Heyward, Maurkice Pouncey, T.J. Watt, maybe more.

But the Steelers might win anyway. When Bill Belichick coached the real Browns from 1991-94, he was 3-8 against Pittsburgh. (He since has gained revenge while coaching New England.)

All told, the Steelers are 36-7-1 against Cleveland since the Browns reappeared. “Duck” Hodges even beat them last year. Oh, how we laughed.

Sunday’s game, however, is a non-game. The Steelers don’t need to win. The Browns do. Roethlisberger isn’t playing. Mayfield is.

Will Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett play nice? That’s the game’s only compelling storyline besides covid.

The Browns got five players off the covid list Thursday, including four wide receivers. But they put two players on the covid list, including cornerback Denzel Ward. Ward doesn’t stink, a useful and rare commodity in Cleveland. Not just the team. The town, too.

Covid shut down the Browns practice facility. Panic circulated: Will the game be postponed to Monday? If that happens, should the Steelers forfeit by way of avoiding a short week before a playoff game? Are the NFL’s teams using covid to stage a conspiracy against the Steelers? Tennessee, Baltimore, now this.

But the game won’t be postponed. If it were, you can’t opt to forfeit. The only conspiracy against the Steelers has been an inside job: Until the second half against Indianapolis this past Sunday, their offense hadn’t been worth a darn for over a month and can’t run the ball at all. The Steelers averaged 1.4 yards per carry against the Colts. Dead people fall forward further.

The Browns will probably beat the Steelers handily. Their fans will crow loudly because they’re too stupid to know it’s an enhancement match.

There won’t be a rematch in the playoffs. That would be a blessing for the Steelers.

Here’s betting the Steelers play Baltimore. That won’t be a blessing.

The Browns enjoy one huge advantage: Mayfield’s big-money corporate branding vs. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s nickel-dime DIY branding. Primanti Bros. is not the enemy.