Through seven-plus decades of NFL games, through the wins and losses and one tie, there has been one constant to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rivalry with the Cleveland Browns:
The bus ride up the turnpike.
With the exception of the Browns’ three-year absence from the NFL in the 1990s, the Steelers have boarded a bus and made the two-hour journey for their annual game by the shore of Lake Erie.
Many have taken place in the fall when the leaves have turned or fallen. Another trip commenced Saturday ahead of the Halloween kickoff at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“I like it, man,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “It’s like they are right down the street. It’s like a high school game. You look forward to those high school regional games and everybody knows everybody.
“Everybody is pretty familiar with everybody, so we are going to have our work cut out for us.”
The Steelers, at 3-3, trail the third-place Browns (4-3) in the AFC North standings and can switch places with a victory Sunday. The game also could mark the last time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger faces the Browns in his home state.
“It will be fun, and it’s Halloween,” he said. “The fans are awesome. You can say what you want about the rivalry, but the fans are awesome. They are passionate. It will be exciting.”
Whether at this venue or old Municipal Stadium, the Steelers have experienced their share of good times and bad. Here is a look at a couple of each that took place in the fall. Plus, in the spirit of the season, one downright scary incident that has nothing to do with Myles Garrett and his swinging helmet:
Good
Oct. 15, 1989: Steelers 17, Browns 7: Both teams held 3-3 records after this game, which was remarkable for the Steelers given the way the season started.
The rivals opened the season at Three Rivers Stadium, and the Browns delivered the most decisive victory in the series by rolling to a 51-0 victory. The Steelers lost the next week, 41-10, at Cincinnati before finding their footing.
In this Week 6 meeting, the Steelers never trailed, taking a 10-0 lead into halftime. The Browns cut the deficit to three points midway through the fourth quarter, but a Warren Williams touchdown run with 1 minute, 56 seconds left sealed the win for the Steelers.
The quarterback that day for the Steelers was Todd Blackledge, who completed just 9 of 28 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Bernie Kosar was worse, going 15 of 41 for 162 yards, no touchdowns and four picks.
The Browns won the division title at 9-6-1, and the Steelers qualified with a 9-7 record. Both teams were knocked out of the playoffs by the Denver Broncos.
Oct. 7, 1979: Steelers 51, Browns 35: The Houston Oilers are remembered as the team that had epic AFC Central battles with the Steelers in the late 1970s, but the Browns joined the mix early in ’79. The Browns and Steelers each were 4-1 heading into what would become the highest scoring game in the series.
The game began as a rout with the Steelers taking a 27-0 lead in the second quarter. The Browns, however, wouldn’t go away and cut the deficit to nine points in the fourth. A Sidney Thornton 1-yard run capped a day in which the Steelers rushed for 361 yards, including 153 by Franco Harris, 98 by Thornton and 81 by Rocky Bleier.
While the Steelers rolled to a 12-4 record and fourth Super Bowl title in six years, vanquishing the Oilers in the AFC title game for the second year in a row, the Browns finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
Bad
Oct. 26, 1980: Browns 27, Steelers 26: The Super Bowl dynasty began to crumble in 1980, although nobody knew it when the two teams met on this day. The Steelers and Browns each had 4-3 records heading into this matchup by Lake Erie.
Despite playing without five future Hall of Famers – Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Jack Lambert – the Steelers took a 26-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Cliff Stoudt replaced Bradshaw and passed for 310 yards, and Theo Bell had 125 yards receiving.
Brian Sipe threw touchdown passes to Greg Pruitt and Ozzie Newsome to wipe out the deficit, and Don Cockroft’s extra point pushed the Browns ahead. A Stoudt interception helped end a late Steelers rally.
The loss was just the third in 16 meetings against the Browns. The Steelers finished 9-7 and out of the playoff picture for the first time since 1971, while the Browns won the division with an 11-5 record.
Nov. 25, 2012: Browns 20, Steelers 14: Two years after appearing in the Super Bowl and a year after being stunned in the first round of the playoffs by Tim Tebow, the Steelers were 6-4 and holding aspirations of returning to the postseason when they visited Cleveland.
The Browns were 2-8 and in the midst of their turnstile of coaches. Pat Shurmur was at the helm on this day, and he watched his team pull off the upset behind quarterback Brandon Weeden.
Charlie Batch was the Steelers starter, and he threw three interceptions and no touchdown passes. Still, the Steelers held a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter before a Trent Richardson 15-yard touchdown run pushed the Browns ahead for good.
The Steelers rebounded the next week, but lost three in a row and needed a win against the Browns in the finale to finish 8-8. The Browns finished 5-11, and Shurmur was shown the door after two seasons.
Scary
Oct. 10, 1976: Browns 18, Steelers 16: It would be easy to point to the Garrett helmet swing against Mason Rudolph’s cranium in 2019 as the ugliest incident in the series. But let’s dig back four decades to another scary moment, one that knocked a future Hall of Fame quarterback from the game and threatened to end his career.
This trip to Cleveland was remembered for Joe “Turkey” Jones body-slamming Terry Bradshaw to the ground in the fourth quarter. Bradshaw was taken to the locker room, where medics had to remove a door on which to place the quarterback because they didn’t have a table available.
The Browns gave up a late rushing touchdown to backup quarterback Mike Kruczek and held on for the win. The loss dropped the Steelers to 1-4, but they recovered to win nine in a row to make the playoffs, the first two wins coming with Kruczek subbing for the injured Bradshaw.
The Browns, who also were 1-3 entering the game, used the win over the Steelers as a springboard to a winning season, but fell short of the playoffs with a 9-5 record.
Jones, by the way, got his nickname by falling for a ruse in which Browns rookies were sent around Cleveland farms looking for free Thanksgiving turkey. He not only fell for it once, but it happened again the following season.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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The good, bad and scary of the Steelers' storied rivalry with the Browns - TribLIVE
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