BEREA, Ohio — As the Cleveland Browns prepare for the prime time lights and another tough divisional matchup, they have a chance to break some streaks along the way. While that's not their focus, it's certainly something the fans are looking forward to, as it would mean early success for Cleveland this season.
Monday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers is one the Browns are entering trying to stay even-keeled for. Coming off a dominating win against the Cincinnati Bengals, and with the Steelers coming off a big loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it would be easy for the Browns to get ahead of themselves.
But players are entering their preparations understanding it likely won't be easy in Pittsburgh.
"It's definitely a big game. It's definitely a division rival, and we understand what we're going into," said running back Nick Chubb. "We understand it's going to be a hostile environment, so we're preparing every day to go up there and be ready for them.”
That hostile environment is something that the Browns will have to work through on Monday. As quarterback Deshaun Watson said on Sunday, "They hate us, we hate them."
The rivalry is fierce, but when it comes to regular season games in the Iron City, it's been pretty one-sided. The last time the Browns beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season was back in 2003. It's been 20 years—a long streak, but not one that is weighing on the Browns.
"You’ve just got to go out there and win. You got to go out there and earn it. They're not going to give it to us. That's a very impressive stat for them. But when we go in there, we can't think about that stat," Watson said. "It's 2023, we can't focus on the past, and we’ve got to try to break that tradition that they have going. But it's not going to be easy. It's definitely going to be a tough task, and I think we have the team that can go in there and do it."
It's not like the Browns haven't recently won in Pittsburgh. They beat them in the postseason in 2020, their first playoff win in 27 years. The Browns were able to break that negative streak. Three seasons later, they're looking to get back to breaking streaks.
With a win on Monday, the Browns would not only break a 20-year streak of losing in Pittsburgh, they'd also start their season 2-0 for the first time since 1993.
Turning the page on decades of the same results is what Browns fans are hoping for. But again, the Browns aren't focused on that particularly. For them, it's about taking it one week and one game at a time.
"You don't want to put too much into Week 1. First time everybody's back on the field playing a full game together, so you never want to, like I said, put too much emphasis on it," said linebacker Anthony Walker. "We don't want to look at our film and think too highly of ourselves and look at their film and think too lowly of them. We have to go and approach this week as its own week, and it's them versus us this week."
In their first full practice to prepare for the Steelers, some players were sidelined from participation. There was some normal veteran rest for players like Myles Garrett, Joel Bitonio, Anthony Walker Jr. and Amari Cooper—but a few are dealing with some injuries.
Defensive tackle Shelby Harris worked to the side at practice, listed with an Achilles injury. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst and safety Juan Thornhill entered practice, not expected to participate with a hamstring and calf injury, respectively. Defensive tackle Siaki Ika was absent from practice, dealing with a foot injury, and tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. was limited with a foot injury.
For the Steelers, offensive linemen Chukwuma Okorafor and James Daniels were limited at practice with a concussion and ankle injury, respectively. Tight end Pat Freiermuth was limited with a chest injury, and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi was limited with a foot injury.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Anthony McFarland Jr. didn't practice, Johnson with a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out of Monday's game, and McFarland with a knee injury. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward will miss the game after having groin surgery and being placed on IR.
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