Adversity. That’s a word that Baker Mayfield and the 2020 Cleveland Browns have gotten used to. From being one of the most injured teams all season to dealing with COVID issues weekly, the Browns have been through it all. Despite all of that, they still finished 11–5 and clinched their first playoff berth since 2002.
Playoffs finally, right? Browns fans had about a day to enjoy it until news broke that head coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive for COVID and would not be able to coach the game. Along with Stefanski, a few other coaches and players tested positive throughout the week and Cleveland didn’t get one practice until the Friday before their travel day to the Steel City. Adversity.
No one was giving the Browns a chance. Why would they? Most people live in the past and bring up stats and narratives from Browns teams that are absolutely nothing like this one. And that’s fine. Baker Mayfield continues to rewrite the story of who the Browns are. First playoff win since 1994. First road playoff win since 1964. Baker’s playoff debut was a casual 115.2 rating, 3 TD passes, 263 yards, and an elite 90.5 Pro Football Focus grade. The defense played their hearts out, forced turnovers and Chubb/Hunt put their heart into every run. All of this without their head coach and several key starters. It was clear they were playing motivated.
A lot of Steelers players love to talk. None more than Tik Tok star JuJu Smith-Schuster. Leading up to the game, he said that the “Browns is the Browns” and that they were “nameless gray faces.” Comments like that combined with his dances on logos all season only fuel the fire to opposing teams, and the Browns took that personally. While Juju had big stats in the box score, most of it came in garbage time during a soft defense that had the game won after the 1st quarter. Nameless gray faces, huh? You can bet that Tik Tok boy will remember those faces for years to come.
The Steelers have owned the Browns for over 15 years. I hope they enjoyed it because times have changed and this Cleveland team is only going to get better. Perhaps the long time rivalry is renewed. All we know is that beating Pittsburgh at Heinz Field to knock them out of the playoffs is one of the best feelings ever. Enjoy it, Browns fans. We’ve earned this. Not one fan base deserved last night’s dominant win more than us. Put some respect on Cleveland. We’re not going anywhere.
