STEELERS BLACK -N- GOLD POST A Pittsburgh Steelers Blog from the heart of Steelers Nation.

by Ramona Dye


One hundred and fourteen times -- that's how many times the Browns have dared to play our beloved Steelers.  

Since the American Division in 1950, the Browns have managed to stay in our division no matter how the NFL has sliced up the league. The Browns were with us in the East Division beginning 1953, the Century Division beginning 1967, the AFC Central beginning 1970 right up until Browns' owner Art Modell ripped the hearts from Browns fans and moved the team to Baltimore in 1996.

In tribute to the departing Browns, for the last game of the 1995 season, Steelers' fans wore orange arm bands both as a sign of respect and to express sorrow over losing our rival.

In 1999, the NFL awarded an expansion franchise to Cleveland, which took on the name the Browns and re-heated our rivalry. As of now, our Browns-Steelers rivalry features the most played games in the AFC and the fifth most played in the NFL. With a win-loss difference of a mere 4 games (2 regular season games), the Browns are keeping this rivalry close.

The first time the Browns stepped up to play us happened in 1950, on October 7, when the Browns beat us soundly, 30-17. We lost to them every game until 1954, when our Steelers exacted revenge, trouncing the Browns, 55-27.

From 1950-1973, our Steelers lost 19 of 24 games in Cleveland against our most played rival, the Browns. We did not fare much better at home, losing 15 of 25.

Once our Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium, we would take the lead in the rivalry with 16 straight wins through 1986. Moving to Heinz Field has been as good, as our Steelers have won the last eight games.

Our four-time Super Bowl winning head coach Chuck Noll, a Cleveland native and a former Browns linebacker, lead our Steel Curtain-era Steelers to enough wins to even out the Browns domination in our rivalry. During the 1970s, the rivalry became hostile and personal as can be seen in the after-whistle play by Joe "Turkey" Jones of the Browns on a sack of Terry Bradshaw (see the video below).

During the 1980's, the teams would exchange wins and losses. Yet by the 1990's, our Steelers became dominant in the rivalry.

Since the last time the Browns swept us in a season (1988), our Steelers have gone on to win 28 of 36.

For some Browns fans, their most memorable game happened in 1989, when the Browns defeated us 51-0. Almost 10 years later, our Steelers returned the favor by defeating the Browns 43-0.

In 2007, the Steelers took over the lead with a 59-55 win over the Browns.

Our Steelers have won 11 straight games since the 2003 season During this streak, Bill Cowher, also a former Browns linebacker, coached our Steelers to victory.

While the Browns have made it to two AFC Championship games, suffering losses both times, we can smile at our rivals, reminding them of our six Super Bowl wins.

Turkey Jones Greatest Sack

We storm into Cleveland on October 18 (1:00 P.M. CBS) and let the Clowns come challenge us on December 10 (8:20 P.M. NFL Network).

As always, Here We Go!