Cleveland Browns next game | 1 p.m. Dec. 8 vs Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh

Although a 41-32 loss the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football” guaranteed the Browns season will end without a playoff game, the team has at least become more competitive and entertaining since Jameis Winston replaced the injured Deshaun Watson as its starting quarterback.

Winston’s boom-or-bust nature was perfectly encapsulated against the Broncos on Monday when he passed for a personal- and franchise-record 497 yards and four touchdowns but also threw three costly interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.

Maximizing the “good” Winston and minimizing the “bad” one will go a long way to determining if the Browns (3-9) can snap a 20-game regular-season losing streak to the Steelers in Pittsburgh when the teams play at 1 p.m. Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The losing skid, which dates back to a 33-13 Browns win on Oct. 5, 2003, doesn’t include a 48-37 playoff win on Jan. 10, 2021.

The Steelers (9-3) are coming off a 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals behind Russell Wilson’s 414 yards and three touchdowns passing.

What gives the Browns hope Winston can rise to the occasion against the AFC North-leading Steelers is the fact he did just that on Nov. 21, when he led Cleveland to a 24-19 win over Pittsburgh on “Thursday Night Football.”

That victory narrowed the Steelers’ lead in the all-time series to 81-64-1, but Pittsburgh has still dominated 41-12 since the Browns returned to the NFL.

Each team has a regular contributor who previously played for the other team. Browns linebacker Devin Bush played four seasons with the Steelers after he was their first-round pick in 2019. And Steelers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is in his third season in Pittsburgh after playing four seasons for the Browns, who made him a third-round pick in 2017.

In addition, Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth is a Cleveland native, a St. Ignatius and John Carroll graduate, and was University of Akron head coach from 2018 to 2021.