Ex-Browns Player Cherishes 2020 Playoff Win Over Steelers

For years, the Cleveland Browns were the laughing stock of the league and an easy two win for the Pittsburgh Steelers ever year. 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. It was the Browns’ first playoff win in 27 years and the franchise’s first win in Pittsburgh since 2003.

The Browns set an NFL playoff record by scoring 28 points in the first quarter of their AFC wild-card game. Cleveland ended up defeating Pittsburgh, 48-37, but the final score wasn’t a true indication of the embarrassing performance that took place at Heinz Field on that frigid January night by the Steelers.

Former Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins and linebacker Christian Kirksey signed one-day contracts with the team on Tuesday to officially retire as members of the Browns. During the joint press conference, Higgins disclosed that Cleveland beating the Steelers in the AFC wild-card game is his favorite memory with the team.

“Going to the playoffs. We beat the Steelers at home and it was like ‘were going to the playoffs.’ I’ll never forget that moment…the whole city was lit. The food tasted better…it was just a fun moment,” Higgins said, via Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland.

Higgins played in Cleveland from 2016-2021 and finished his career with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. The win over the Steelers was his only playoff win, so it’s not surprising that he picked that moment as his favorite memory.

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.

Browns tight end David Njoku recently named the Steelers as his most hated team on a the QB Unplugged podcast recently with his quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Watson posed the question, if you had to pick one team in our division, who do you hate the most.

“I love playing the Ravens the most. For some reason I just love playing the Ravens. That game is so electric. The most hated I think? The Steelers … I just can’t stand them,” Njoku responded.