Cleveland eliminate Pittsburgh
The Cleveland Browns finally ended a 17-year playoff drought this year when they booked their place in the postseason in the final week of the campaign against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers had already sealed the AFC North title though and opted to rest many of their starters in anticipation of the playoffs beginning.
The Steelers hosted Cleveland in a re-match on Sunday night and despite Pittsburgh fielding a full squad, the Browns dominated their hosts for most of the game. It was Cleveland’s first playoff victory since 1994 and their first one on the road since 1969.
“I want to congratulate our fans — I grew up one of them,” said Browns special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer – a Cleveland native, via ESPN. “I know what this means.”
The Browns shocked the football world by getting off to a 28=0 start in the first quarter, without even receiving the opening kickoff. While Pittsburgh did attempt to mount a comeback, ultimately the Browns prevailed with a crucial 48-37 victory at Heinz Field to set up a date next Sunday with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We believe in the people in this room no matter what is going on,” said star quarterback Baker Mayfield following the victory, via ESPN. “We knew that everybody was counting us out. We knew what mentality we were going to have, and it’s just to cut it loose … because no one believed in us besides us.”
The Steelers were favored by 6.5 points heading into Sunday’s contest, but looked completely overwhelmed by the moment. The Chiefs are even bigger favorites against the Browns next weekend, with the opening line set at 9.5 points. That won’t stop the Browns in their belief that they can still get the job done.
“We’re a team, we stick together, and to have those guys there in our celebration was great,” Mayfield said. “But the best thing about it was the mentality of everybody saying, we didn’t want to just win this game. It’s a stepping stone to where we want to go. Nobody here is satisfied yet.”
Kansas City was off this past weekend as they earned a bye by topping the AFC during the regular season. They finished with a 14-2 record, but have not played Cleveland yet this season.
The Browns are one of four remaining teams in the AFC, with the Baltimore Ravens travelling to Buffalo to take on the Bills in the other AFC divisional round matchup. The winners of the two games will square off to see who advances to the Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh on the other hand, have months to think about Sunday’s brutal loss. Questions will be asked as to whether the team should start to focus on the future and begin the re-building process with Ben Roethlisberger turning 39-years-old in March. He still has a year left on his contract though and has already stated he would like to return next season.
“I still have a year left on my contract,” said Roethlisberger following the loss. “I hope the Steelers want me back if that’s the way we go.”
