The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Team has unfinished business with Steelers
The Browns have lost 24 straight road games
When the Browns exit Heinz Field around 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28, they will either be back in the AFC North race or searching for lifejackets again as another season continues to sink.
The Browns carry a 2-4-1 record into their 1 p.m. showdown with Pittsburgh. The Steelers are 3-2-1 - good enough to be on top of the every other team in the division.
The Browns are in last place, but they are 1-0-1 in the division and feel good about that, though not so good about tying the Steelers, 21-21, in the season opener because they are still convinced they should have won.
“For our season and our momentum, we have to come back and punch them in the mouth,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said on Oct. 26. “Things will change before the bye week (Nov. 18), so go into it with our head up. It’s definitely a big game for us as it is for them. All division games are.
“We have to be on our p’s and q’s. You don’t know who the better out of the two is yet. We have to finish it off and see who wins Round 2.”
The Browns have lost 24 straight road games. They have lost 14 straight in Heinz Field.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield was in third grade when Tim Couch completed 20 of 25 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns in 2003 in a shocking 33-13 stomping of the Steelers in a Sunday night game at Heinz Field. Couch also rushed for a touchdown in what he said was his best game as a Browns quarterback.
Hue Jackson is 0-2 as Browns head coach at Heinz Field. He also experienced how intimidating the place can be as an assistant coach with the Ravens and Bengals earlier in his career.
It is not an ideal situation for a team trying to snap a two-game losing streak.
“I think that [the public perception is] ‘the sky is falling’ here because we’ve been in so many games,” Jackson said. “We’re so close. If you can win a couple of those, nobody would be feeling that way. It doesn’t matter what the reasons are. We just haven’t done it.
“When we become that team that starts winning games consecutively, week in and week out – regardless of where it is, on the road, at home, wherever – then I think that the narrative will change. We will change it, but it is not going to change until then.”
Since tying the Steelers in the first of four overtime games played by the Browns this season, Mayfield has replaced Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Josh Gordon have been traded. Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (knee), starting linebacker Joe Schobert (hamstring) and starting cornerback Terrance Mitchell (wrist) plus Mitchell’s backup E.J. Gaines (concussion) have been sidelined by injuries.
The Steelers, as they customarily do, are playing well after a slow start.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw one touchdown pass and three interceptions at FirstEnergy Stadium in the opener. He has thrown 11 touchdown passes and three interceptions since then.
Running back Le’Veon Bell continues to sit out in a contract dispute while his replacement, James Conner, has rushed for 453 yards and seven touchdowns.
Wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown have a combined 82 catches for 1,039 yards and eight touchdowns in just six games.
“I just know both guys from being a student of the game,” said defensive back Damarious Randall, in his first season with the Browns after three seasons playing for the Packers. “I’ve been studying them the entire offseason, obviously because I’m a part of this division now, and I’m going to see them twice a year, hopefully, for years to come.
“Antonio is a do-it-all receiver – short routes, screen routes and deep routes. Big Ben has a lot of trust in him, and you can start to see Big Ben having a lot of trust in Juju Smith-Schuster because he’ll throw him a lot of one-on-one, tight, 50-50 balls.”
Randall is a key player to any chance the Browns have at upsetting the Steelers. Normally a safety, Randall played cornerback against Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans last week because Gaines was out with a concussion.
Randall could line up on Schuster in the rematch with the Steelers.
Ankle and groin injuries prevented Randall from practicing Oct. 24 and 25, but he practiced on a limited basis later in the week and is listed as questionable.
“For our season and our momentum, we have to come back and punch them in the mouth.”
— Myles Garrett, Browns defensive end