Cleveland Browns: Emotions must be held in-check in Steelers rematch
The Cleveland Browns will have plenty of bad blood with the Steelers in Week 13 but can they fight through and stay alive in the playoff hunt?
No one needs a reminder of what happened the last time the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers faced off. And really, there will be very few reminders of the raucous brawl in the game at Heinz Field as they meet for a rematch in Week 13.
Myles Garrett and Maurkice Pouncey are both suspended and Mason Rudolph has been benched in favor of Devlin Hodges. Perhaps the only major player from the melee is Larry Ogunjobi, who returns Sunday from his one-game suspension.
One thing that Browns fans have surely not forgotten, though, is that the brawl came at the conclusion of a beatdown in Cleveland. Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and the Browns defense had their way with the Steelers in a 21-7 win, which is now part of a three-game winning streak.
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Despite how bleak things have looked for the much-ballyhooed Browns throughout the 2019 season, they are not out of the playoff race. Sitting at 5-6 on the year, they still have an opportunity to make a late-season run through a soft schedule to sneak into the postseason as a Wild Card team.
For that to happen though, moving to 2-0 against rival Pittsburgh on the year is pivotal. While the schedule for Cleveland is easy, they do have a rematch with the red-hot Ravens remaining. If you concede that game as a revenge loss for the Browns, Freddie Kitchens’ team needs to go 4-0 in the other games left on their schedule, which includes beating Pittsburgh.
In terms of current form, that may not seem like that difficult of a task. Mayfield has recovered from an awful start to his sophomore NFL season, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. have come alive, Chubb and Kareem Hunt have carried the rushing attack and the defense has been stepping up. Meanwhile, the Steelers are without the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner while starting a third-string quarterback and with the defense regressing a bit as of late.
However, the biggest thing that could sink the Browns in Week 13 is playing with an emotional hangover from the brawl and their first meeting. And that’s a viable concern for this Cleveland team.
It’s clear that the fight is not removed from their consciousness as they come into Sunday’s game. Sheldon Richardson had comments about hoping Rudolph played and even the head coach wore a shirt this weekend referring to the incident with the phrase “Pittsburgh started it.”
For a team that has been incredibly undisciplined for much of the season, which has manifested in many ways beyond the massive fight, these are not good signs. This sounds like a team very much in danger of going into Pittsburgh and playing with a reckless, mindless mentality. And that’s the last thing they can afford.
Sure, you could make the argument that the Browns could channel that energy into an inspired performance. But with the way this team has been coached to this point, that seems to be more wishful thinking.
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Cleveland as a whole must keep their emotions in check when they touch the grass at Heinz Field on Sunday. They have the talent and momentum to take down Pittsburgh and keep their playoff hopes alive. But if they let the lingering emotions from the brawl affect how they perform in Week 13, then it could sink their chances with a disheartening showing.