Steelers Extend Remarkable Streak with Win vs. Browns
With Sunday’s 27-14 win at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers have extended their streak of not getting swept by the Cleveland Browns to 33 seasons. The Steelers have not been swept by the Browns in a season series since 1988.
The 33-season streak is the longest such streak in NFL history for division opponents, according to Dale Lolley of Steelers.com. The Browns were not around from 1996-1998 after owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore, so that’s why it’s 33 seasons instead of 36.
The Browns have also lost the past 21 regular-season games in Pittsburgh, last winning in 2003. Mike Tomlin is 18-0 in regular-season games against Cleveland in the Steel City.
Entering the season, Pittsburgh had an 8.5 win total, which was the worst in the AFC North. The Steelers currently are atop of the AFC North at 10-3 and have a 1.5 game advantage over the Baltimore Ravens.
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With the Browns loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night, the Steelers streak of avoiding the basement of the division was extended to an incredible 36 years. The last time Pittsburgh finished in last place in the division was in 1988, a 5-11 campaign. On the flip side, the Browns have not won a division title since 1989.
One thing is clear, the Steelers have been a stable and consistent franchise over the last 50+ years. I mean, they’ve had only three coaches since 1969 — Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. Tomlin clinched an 18th consecutive non-losing season with last Sunday’s 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Overall, the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003, which is by far the longest active streak in the NFL. With the win over Cincinnati, the Steelers tied the longest non-losing season streak in NFL history with the Dallas Cowboys’ 21-year run from 1965-85. The Steelers finished 8-8 four times over the past two decades (2006, 2012, 2013 and 2018). The next-longest streak of non-losing seasons is 19 by the New England Patriots. New England never had a below .500 season during their two separate dynasty eras from 2001 to 2019.
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