Chase Winovich's first sack for the Browns against Washington -- his first NFL sack in two years -- set him up for an exciting finish against his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. (Cleveland Browns)
Second thoughts: Browns’ chance to oust the Steelers from playoffs is as good as it gets at end of a frustrating season
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Second thoughts on Browns’ 24-10 win over Washington Commanders …
1. The reason the Browns-Steelers game was scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday is because the NFL wants all three teams vying for the AFC seventh seed – Pittsburgh, New England and Miami – to play at the same time so that no team has an advantage in knowing the results of the other contenders. Pittsburgh can complete an amazing turnaround from a 2-6 start and make the playoffs with a win over the Browns and losses by New England (at Buffalo) and Miami (home v. Jets). Because they’re all playing at the same time, the Browns can take pride in being the team that eliminates the Steelers by beating them. In the history of the Browns-Steelers rivalry that dates to 1950 and spans 138 regular-season games, that has never happened before. The closest the Browns came to destroying the Steelers’ season was the strike-interrupted season of 1987. A Browns 19-13 win in the final game dropped the Steelers to 8-7 – one game short of the 9-6 record that made the final wild-card spot. But the Steelers would have lost a tie-breaker to division rival Houston, anyway. Yes, the Browns ousted the Steelers in the 2020 AFC wild-card game. That remains the sweetest Cleveland victory ever over Pittsburgh. But a Browns win in Pittsburgh on Sunday would be a close second and as good as it gets at the conclusion of one of the most frustrating Browns seasons of the expansion era.
2. A Browns win also would end coach Mike Tomlin’s phenomenal streak of 15 consecutive years without a losing season. Tomlin’s streak includes 8-8 .500 seasons in 2012, 2013 and 2019. From 2001 through 2019, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots went 19 years in a row without a losing season and were never worse than 9-7. A Browns win also would leave the Browns at 8-9 – same as last year – and staunch the stigma of a 10-loss season. Further, it would mark the first time since 1988 the Browns swept the season series over Pittsburgh. What’s more, it would leave the Browns at 4-2 in AFC North games – their best division record since the AFC North was created in 2002.
3. All of which is why Kevin Stefanski said in his opening remarks on Monday, “We know what is at stake, and we are excited about it.” Asked to elaborate, Stefanski said, “I guess when I say, ‘I know what is at stake,’ you know that they are fighting for the playoffs and you know that a lot of eyeballs are going to be glued to the TV watching this one. That is what is the exciting part for us to be in a meaningful game. We understand that it is our last one, but we are excited about going against a division opponent. We know how tight these games have been so that is the exciting part to be able to compete for 60 minutes.”
4. The Browns’ competitiveness in division games is evidence that the disparity between them and the division champion – Cincinnati or Baltimore – is slim. The Browns beat Pittsburgh, 29-17; lost to Baltimore, 23-20; beat Cincinnati, 32-13; lost to Cincinnati, 23-10; and beat Baltimore, 13-3. They have outscored their rivals, 104 to 79. That is important. The problem is the Browns are 4-7 outside the division and were outscored, 274 to 243. Overall, the Browns are minus-6 in point differential. They were minus-22 in 2021 and even minus-11 in their 11-5 2020 season in Stefanski’s first year. The Browns were plus-9 in scoring differential in compiling a 3-3 division record last year. Catching up to their division rivals is probably the greatest accomplishment of the Stefanski regime, next to winning a playoff game. It should not be minimized.
5. For the record, the Browns have concluded their season in Pittsburgh eight times in the expansion era. They have lost each time by the scores of 28-24 (2017), 27-24 (2016), 28-12 (2015), 20-7 (2013), 24-10 (2012), 41-9 (2010), 31-0 (2008) and 28-7 (2001). The sitting Browns coach was fired following the losses in 2008 (Romeo Crennel), 2010 (Eric Mangini), 2012 (Pat Shurmur), 2013 (Rob Chudzinski), and 2015 (Mike Pettine). A loss in Pittsburgh on Sunday will not cost Stefanski his job.
6. Browns defensive end Chase Winovich had a sack of Carson Wentz in the Washington game, his first in two years. It’s been a long time coming since he compiled 11 sacks in his first two seasons with New England in 2019-20. It turns out that Winovich was raised in Jefferson Hills, PA, just about 14 miles south of Acrisure Stadium (nee Heinz Field). Strangely, Winovich said he grew up a fan of Marshall Faulk and never really aspired to play for the Steelers. “Honestly, I didn’t really have the idea of me making the NFL. I just wanted to play football,” he said. “It was maybe in middle school when I began thinking, ‘Hey why not, why not do this? I’m gonna play in the NFL.’ I don’t know if it was necessarily [dreaming to play] for the Steelers. I’ve always kind of been a rebel, always beat to my own drum.” In high school, Winovich’s teams never made it to the state district championship, which is played in Acrisure, and his only NFL game against the Steelers was his very first with New England – in Foxboro, MA, not in Pittsburgh. “So this my first time actually playing at the field so this is really exciting for a couple of different reasons. On the Browns note, as a Browns player – I don’t want to say I am contractually obligated – I definitely feel some sort of obligation as a Browns player to try to win this game with everything that is on the line. I really look forward to that opportunity.” Winovich said he is going to have a lot of family and friends at the game – Steelers fans. “People who want me to do well, but not maybe our team. But we’re a package deal,” he said.
