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Can Cleveland extend home success vs. Pittsburgh? Browns-Steelers preview

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Can Cleveland extend home success vs. Pittsburgh? Browns-Steelers preview


CLEVELAND — There’s not been too many times where the Browns have held an advantage over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Typically, it’s the Steelers who are in the midst of some long streak of success against the Browns. That’s especially true since the expansion franchise started playing in Cleveland in 1999.

A funny thing has happened, though, and it started around 2018. The Steelers have found themselves struggling to win when they find themselves on the Ohio end of the turnpike.

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The trend started innocently enough, with the two rivals playing to a 21-21 tie in the 2018 season opener. The following season, however, started a stretch where the Browns have won five of their last six home games against Pittsburgh.

The only Steelers win in that stretch was a 15-10 Week 8 victory in 2021. That means they’ll come to Cleveland having lost their last three trips into town, needing a win to clinch the AFC North championship thanks to the Baltimore Ravens’ Dec. 27 win at the Green Bay Packers.

The Browns haven’t won four or more in a row at home against Steelers since they won 11 in a row at old Cleveland Municpal Stadium from 1982-93. If they can get four in a row at home against Pittsburgh, they would also get their fourth win of the season.

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That’s the backdrop for the 149th meeting between the Browns and Steelers. Here’s a deeper dive into what’s going into the matchup:

Cleveland Browns offensive matchup of the game: LG Joel Bitonio vs. DT Cam Heyward

This may very well be the final time you see this individual matchup in the interior. Bitonio’s in his 12th season and Heyward’s in his 15th season, and multiple things are true for both. Both could easily make a case for it being their last season. Both could easily say they’re playing as well as they’ve ever played. And both can absolutely make Hall of Fame arguments. They’re the old graybeards of this rivalry in its current incarnation, and even if both return for 2026, it’s a matchup that won’t continue for much longer. Appreciate it for what it is.

Cleveland Browns defensive matchup of the game: DE Myles Garrett vs. QB Aaron Rodgers

The Ravens beat the Packers, so Aaron Rodgers will be starting for the Steelers at quarterback. Even if the Ravens had lost, it would seem like that’s something that the veteran quarterback would at least like to do, judging by his own comments this week. Rodgers is one quarterback Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett has never sacked, including in the Week 6 meeting in Pittsburgh. The next full sack for Garrett gives him the single-season NFL sack record. The challenge won’t just be the various obstacles the Steelers throw in his way. It’ll be Rodgers’ elite ability to get rid of the ball fast. How does Garrett navigate those two things? It’s going be fascinating to watch the chess match between two future Hall of Famers, assuming Rodgers plays.

3 burning questions: Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Can the Browns play spoiler or will the Steelers celebrate in Cleveland? The Ravens’ win means the Steelers get to take the matter of clinching the AFC North championship into their own hands. They need to beat the Browns to do so. Otherwise, it comes down to a winner-takes-all game in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and Ravens in Week 18. The Browns would certainly love to force their archrivals to have to wait a week to potentially celebrate. The Steelers would certainly love the added bonus of celebrating a division championship in the home stadium of their geographically-closest division rival, especially with thousands of their own fans expected to be in the stadium.
  • Can Browns cobble together enough of a running game with no Quinshon Judkins? Dylan Sampson is trending toward playing after missing multiple games with a hand injury. That would add another back to the rotation, along with veteran Trayveon Williams and rookie Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Somehow, between those three backs, as well as even wide receivers Malachi Corley and Isaiah Bond, the Browns have to find a way to put together a running game without the injured Quinshon Judkins to keep the Steelers honest. The first time around, in Week 6 in Pittsburgh, the Browns managed just 65 net rushing yards. Some of that was game flow, but a good way to improve game flow is to establish the run early.
  • Can Shedeur Sanders avoid the rookie QB struggles against the Steelers? The Steelers’ success against rookie quarterback has been, since the 1970 merger, the best in the NFL. Their success against Browns rookie quarterbacks in that span is also well-documented, going 10-4. Sanders will be the 15th rookie quarterback the Browns have started against the Steelers since the merger, and the third different rookie in the last five meetings. The last one, Dillon Gabriel, struggled mightily in Week 6, getting sacked six times while completing 29-of-52 passes for 221 yards. However, the last rookie quarterback to start against the Steelers in Cleveland, Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Week 11 of the 2023 season, is also the last rookie quarterback to beat Pittsburgh.

3 stats and numbers: Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

49

Garrett isn’t only setting records for himself this season. His 22 sacks have helped the Browns defense record 49 sacks as a team, which is tied for the most all-time in the history of the franchise, both original or expansion. The 2023 team, which also was among the best statically in the NFL, also had 49. The next sack would give the Browns 50 on the season. It would be fitting if the next sack was also Garrett’s record-setting sack.

13

Speaking of Garrett and sacks, he’s record 13 career sacks in 15 career games against the Steelers. That includes eight in games played in Cleveland. The last two times Pittsburgh has come to Cleveland, Garrett has accumulated a combined five sacks, including three in the 2024 Browns win in the snow.

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9-16-1

The Browns’ success at home against the Steelers since 2018 doesn’t change the fact they’ve spent a large portion of the expansion era struggling against their rivals with a 9-16-1 record against them in Cleveland. Pittsburgh had won 15 of 19 in Cleveland from 1999-2017, including an eight-game win streak from 2001-08.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ



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Masontown Borough unanimously votes to reinstate police department

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Masontown Borough unanimously votes to reinstate police department


During an emergency meeting on Saturday night, Masontown borough council voted 6-0 to reinstate its police department after council initially voted on Monday to lay off the entire department, citing budgetary reasons as the leading factor for the decision.



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Pittsburgh Pirates Swap with A’s That Makes Sense For Both Clubs

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Pittsburgh Pirates Swap with A’s That Makes Sense For Both Clubs


The Pittsburgh Pirates could use some bats, and the A’s are still looking to add some pitching this winter, so how likely is it that these clubs come together on a deal?

According to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are still on the lookout for some help on the left side of the infield. Over at Roster Resource, their starters at short and third as listed as Nick Gonzales (82 wRC+ in 2025) and Jared Triolo (86).

While the A’s are having a little showdown of their own at third base this spring, they have a number of players in the mix. Perhaps they could move one of them in a deal with Pittsburgh in order to land a relief pitcher with some upside.

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The proposed deal that we have in mind is the A’s sending third baseman Brett Harris, who may be starting as the third option at the hot corner this spring. Harris has a tremendous glove at third, and statistically it appears to be at least on par with the glove what Triolo provided last season.

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In just 183 2/3 innings with the A’s in 2025, Harris put up a +5 DRS, and +2 in both OAA and FRV. Triolo, in roughly 80 extra innings finished with a +7 DRS and +4 in both OAA and FRV. Both players are solid defensively.

Triolo has had more experience in the big leagues, which does account for something, but if you’re the Pirates, do you consider making a change and taking a chance on a similar defender with more upside in the bat? Their current option hit .227 with a .311 OBP and an 86 wRC+ last season in 376 plate appearances. Harris could put together a double-digit home run season at the very least.

Harris played in just 32 games (84 plate appearances) and hit .274 with a .349 OBP and a 96 wRC+. While he certainly looked like an improved player over his initial stint in the big leagues with the A’s in 2024, there was also some luck involved in his improvement—mainly his .377 BABIP. The risk for the Pirates would be taking the chance on that bat being for real.

In exchange, the proposed piece that the Pirates would send back in 30-year-old Yohan Ramírez. The right-hander ranks in the 94th percentile in extension on top of sitting at 96.4 miles per hour with his heater, which is quite appealing. He also held a 5.40 ERA (3.80 FIP) last season, so he’s far from a finished product, and given his age, he’s a flier himself.

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This is the type of pitcher that the A’s have had success with in recent seasons—guys that can collect strikeouts but also tend to issue free passes. In 2025 with the Pirates, he struck out 29% of the batters he faced and walked 10.3%.

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There are two interesting tidbits in his profile that could cause a little worry. The first is that he’s bounced around quite a bit in recent seasons, including spending time with the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles and Red Sox in 2024. Those are all teams that love to pull extra value from guys, and if they all gave up on him, then that’s not the greatest track record.

All of those teams seemed to view him as a guy that could provide a few innings when their bullpens were gassed, which led to him having short stints with each club, totaling a 6.20 ERA (4.26 FIP) across 45 innings.

The other interesting piece here is that when he has been with the Pirates, in both 2025 and back in 2022, his velocity has ticked up considerably. In 2022, he also spent time with the Mariners, and he was sitting 94.2. But with Pittsburgh, that went up to 96.5. In 2024, he topped out at 95.3 mph with the O’s and Mets.

This past season he was back to 96.2 mph. Is there something special for him about pitching in Pittsburgh? Do their radar guns run a little hot? Is this more of a time of year situation that gets hammered out over longer stints (like with the Pirates)? It’s unclear.

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But if he’s truly a 96-mile-per-hour reliever that the A’s could add to their ‘pen, then this trade may be worth some heavy consideration.

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Of course, Ramírez is out of options which would make this a little tricky, and Harris has roughly double the amount of team control, so the value may have to be squared away by adding another piece or two to the ledger. But these two players, Harris and Ramírez, could do a lot of good for the opposite clubs.

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O’Connor vows Pittsburgh won’t cooperate with ICE

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O’Connor vows Pittsburgh won’t cooperate with ICE


Days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor reaffirmed that he will not cooperate with ICE.

Former Mayor Ed Gainey had taken the same position.

“My stance never changed,” O’Connor told TribLive on Friday. “We’re not going to cooperate.”

O’Connor said the same thing on the campaign trail, promising his administration would not partner with ICE.

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“My priority is to turn the city around and help it grow,” O’Connor said. “For us, it’s got to be focusing on public safety in the city of Pittsburgh.”

President Donald Trump has sent a surge of federal officers into Minneapolis, where tensions have escalated sharply.

O’Connor said he had spoken this week with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who heads the Democratic Mayors Association. The group has condemned ICE’s actions in the wake of Wednesday’s fatal encounter in Minneapolis, where an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Nicole Macklin Good, a U.S. citizen described as a poet and mother.

“Mayors are on the ground every day working to keep our communities safe,” the association said in a statement Thursday. “If Trump were serious about public safety, he would work with our cities, not against them. If he were serious, he would stop spreading propaganda and lies, and end the fear, the force, and the federal overreach.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has come out strongly against the Trump administration and ICE, penning an op-ed piece for the New York Times with the headline, “I’m the Mayor of Minneapolis. Trump Is Lying to You.”

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an ICE officer shot Good in self-defense. Noem described the incident as “domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers and claimed Good tried to “run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”

The circumstances of the incident are in dispute.

In December, ICE agents were involved in a scuffle in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood as they arrested a Latino man.

According to neighbors, two unmarked vehicles sandwiched a white Tacoma in the 400 block of Norton Street, broke the driver’s side window, pulled a man from the vehicle and got into a physical altercation. Pepper spray was deployed and seemed to get in the eyes of both the man being detained and at least one immigration agent.

At least some of the officers on the scene in that incident belong to ICE.

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They targeted the man, Darwin Alexander Davila-Perez, a Nicaraguan national, for claiming to be a U.S. citizen while trying to buy a gun, according to court papers.



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