If Browns fans have seen it once, they’ve seen it a million times: Their team walked into Heinz Field and got stomped.
After watching the Browns jump out to a 4-1 start for the first time since 1994, it felt like this might be finally be the year where Cleveland was able to end its 16-year run of misery in Pittsburgh, but instead, the Browns went full Browns in a 38-7 blowout loss to the Steelers that might actually have been worse than the score indicates, if that’s even possible.
This game felt like a mismatch almost as soon as it began and that’s mostly because the Browns were starting a hobbled quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who was questionable for the game after spending the entire week in practice dealing with a rib injury. As soon as the Browns offense stepped on the field for the first time, it seemed pretty clear that Mayfield wasn’t going to have any chance against a Steelers defense that smelled blood in the water.
On Cleveland’s first offensive possession, Mayfield threw a pick-six to Minkah Fitzpatrick and at that point, the route was on.
The Browns quarterback never seemed like he was able to get comfortable while going up against a Steelers defense that had him running for his life for nearly three full quarters before he was finally benched in favor of Case Keenum. By the time he was sent to the bench, Mayfield had been sacked four times while also throwing two picks. During his time on the field, he was only able to complete 10 of 19 passes for 119 yards.
Heinz Field has been a “House of Horrors” for the Cleveland Browns for most of the past 20 years. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns are now just 1-20 in Pittsburgh, including this loss. The Browns haven’t won a game at Heinz Field since 2003 and they’ve never beaten Mike Tomlin in the Steelers’ stadium (0-17).
This game was supposed to be a chance for the Browns to make a statement, but instead, it felt more like the Steelers reminding us why the Steelers are the Steelers and the Browns are the Browns. As Tomlin loves to say, “The standard is the standard,” and the Browns just aren’t playing up to the standard yet.
Alright, let’s get to the grades for every game from Week 6 that’s been played so far.
Pittsburgh 38-7 over Cleveland
Browns-Steelers grades by Josh Edwards (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Indianapolis 31-27 over Cincinnati
Tennessee 42-36 over Houston
Atlanta 40-23 over Minnesota
Detroit 34-16 over Jacksonville
Denver 18-12 over New England
Broncos-Patriots grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Baltimore 30-28 over Philadelphia
Ravens-Eagles grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Chicago 23-16 over Carolina
Bears-Panthers grades by Patrik Walker (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
N.Y. Giants 20-19 over Washington
WFT-Giants grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Miami 24-0 over N.Y. Jets
Jets-Dolphins grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tampa Bay 38-10 over Green Bay
San Francisco 24-16 over L.A. Rams
Rams-49ers grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
