Steelers a home underdog to Browns for 1st time in 30 years

Chris Adamski
Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 1:27 p.m. | Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 1:27 p.m.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel scrambles away from Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree during a Nov.15, 2015, game at Heinz Field.

There’s perhaps no greater indignity for the Pittsburgh Steelers than losing to the Cleveland Browns. Two weeks after just that happened in Ohio, the oddsmakers are predicting it will happen again in Pittsburgh.

And that is rare.

How rare? The most recent time that the betting line for a Browns-Steelers game scheduled for Pittsburgh installed Cleveland as the favorite, Chuck Noll was the Steelers’ coach and only five members of the current Steelers active roster were even born.

The Browns covered the spread on Sept. 10, 1989 — easily. Favored by two points that day, Cleveland won 51-0 at Three Rivers Stadium.

“My deal on (the 1989 team) and this year with the Steelers is don’t panic,” said Bubby Brister, the #Steelers starting quarterback 30 years ago. “One game doesn’t make a season, 16 weeks is a long time, and we will see what happens when the smoke clears.” https://t.co/PeAX7z2AvT

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 15, 2019

In the 30 years since, the Browns have played in Pittsburgh 27 times (including the playoffs). The Steelers have been favored every time; they’ve won 25 of those meetings, too.

But will that be the case Sunday? The Browns opened up as a one-point choice over the Steelers in the BetOnline.ag sportsbook. And research from BetOnline.ag confirmed that hadn’t happened since 1989.

Cleveland beat the Steelers, 21-7, on Nov. 14 for their first win against their Turnpike rivals since 2014. The Browns (5-6) have won three consecutive games and can tie the Steelers (6-5) in the AFC North standings and wild-card race with a win Sunday.

Sentences I thought I would never type, but it's true:

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a HOME UNDERDOG to the Cleveland Browns.@betonline_ag installs the Browns as a 1-pt favorite for next week's game.

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 25, 2019

The Browns haven’t won at Pittsburgh since Tim Couch was their quarterback — and before Ben Roethlisberger was the Steelers’ quarterback — in 2003. Cleveland won 33-13 on a Sunday night in early October that year.

That’s the Browns’ lone win in 19 tries at Heinz Field (counting a playoff game at the end of the 2002 season). Their only other victory in Pittsburgh since the 1989 shellacking was a shocking upset as a 14 ½-point underdog during their first season back in the NFL in 1999. Cleveland scored nine unanswered points over the final 5 minutes and 12 seconds for a 16-15 victory two months after the Steelers beat them in their return to the league, 43-0, in Week 1.

The Browns have not swept the Steelers since 1988. The Steelers have 15 season series sweeps in that time and also won both postseason meetings since then.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.