As usual on NFL schedule release day, social media teams come up with creative ways to reveal the opponents on their team’s schedule. The full NFL schedule will officially be released tonight at 8 p.m.
To hype up the Cleveland Browns schedule, the Browns social media team took a playful jab at the Pittsburgh Steelers by posting a garbage can next to the team’s logo. The theme of the content was to post a degrading photo next to the logo of all of the Browns’ opponents in 2024.
.@steelers pic.twitter.com/GGQEY6gr75
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 15, 2024
It’s no secret that the Steelers and Browns hate each other. It’s the oldest rivalry in the AFC and the cities are only separated by about 130 miles, so it has like a backyard rivalry type of feel similar to college football.
There’s no love lost between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. And the rivalry has picked up in recent years due to primarily Myles Garrett and the Mason Rudolph incident in 2019. The T.J. Watt-Garrett debate between the two fanbases has also electrified things.
For years, the Browns were the laughing stock of the league and an easy two win for the Steelers ever year. There’s certainly a lot of irony with the Browns social media team calling the Steelers trash. Ben Roethlisberger had a 24-2-1 career record against the Browns and was the winningest quarterback at Cleveland Browns Stadium until Baker Mayfield supplanted him in 2020.
“AFC North football is always going to be rivals and it’s going to be great games,” Roethlisberger said in October of 2021. “I’m glad that I’m not the most winning quarterback in the stadium history anymore.”
Things have changed recently, however, as the Browns are at least respectable under head coach Kevin Stafanski and general manager Andrew Berry. In fact, since Berry and Stefanski took over the Browns in 2020, only the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys have more 11+ win seasons.
The Steelers are 6-5 against the Browns since 2019, but Cleveland does hold a 2020 wild-card playoff win over Pittsburgh.
The Steelers are reportedly slotted to play the Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 12 (Nov. 21) at Cleveland. In Week 14, the Steelers will host Cleveland at Acrisure Stadium on Dec. 8.