The Pittsburgh Steelers are set for their first of two annual meetings with the Cleveland Browns. As is often the case, most fans, analysts, and experts expect Pittsburgh to pick up the win in the historically one-sided rivalry.
But it isn’t just history that should skew the public perception of this AFC North matchup. It’s not even that Cleveland is (once again) starting a rookie quarterback against the vaunted Steelers defense.
No, this time around, the Browns carry an even more distinct disadvantage than usual.
Scheduling quirks tilt AFC North showdown toward Pittsburgh Steelers
This Sunday, as pointed out by CBS Sports, Cleveland is set to do something that only one other team has ever done in the NFL: play a game on American soil against a team coming off its bye week just one week after playing overseas themselves. The last time a team did so was in 2021, when the Miami Dolphins faced the Atlanta Falcons, coming off a Week 6 BYE, after having played in London the week prior. Miami lost to Atlanta 30-28 on a last-second field goal.
Cleveland does carry one further disadvantage in this scenario that Miami didn’t have. The Browns are playing on the road, whereas the Dolphins at least played Atlanta at home.
There’s no denying that Cleveland is at a disadvantage given the circumstances. Typically, the NFL puts a team’s BYE Week after their international game if they are scheduled to play one. The Steelers were on BYE last week after their trip to Dublin, and the Vikings are on BYE this week after playing the past two games in Europe.
On a broader scale, the NFL clearly made a scheduling mistake here that would be difficult for the top teams in the league to manage. Of course, Pittsburgh fans are the last to carry sympathy for the Browns in these trying times.
After all, the Browns found ways to make it harder on themselves anyway. Leave it to Cleveland to start a rookie quarterback, who is now backed up by another rookie after the trade of Joe Flacco to Cincinnati, of all places, amidst this scheduling nightmare.
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As they say, though, defense travels. And Cleveland’s is among the best in the NFL despite their record.
Sure, Pittsburgh has plenty of scheduling advantages in this matchup, but this is still an AFC North rivalry game, and for all their flaws, Cleveland will put up a fight as they have all season.