Fans anxious for 'a hot mess' in Steelers-Browns rematch 2 weeks after on-field melee

Latrobe’s Brian Noel is out for revenge.

Shamyra Edwards of Aspinwall just wants to watch good football.

New Kensington’s Nikala Tallerico hopes that Browns and Steelers players — as well as their fans — behave during Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh — barely two weeks after an on-field melee in Cleveland that spurred a slew of apologies, suspensions and national embarrassment for both teams.

“No one needs to hit anyone else with a helmet again,” Tallerico, 34, said while shopping Saturday afternoon at the Giant Eagle off of Tarentum Bridge Road.

Pittsburgh’s rematch since the Nov. 14 fracas that resulted in fines against 33 players from both sides has many fans feeling anxious.

“It’s going to a hot mess,” said Valerie Bowman, 64, of Pittsburgh’s Strip District while sipping on a beer at Lefty’s sports bar. “I think another fight might break out. I do, I really do.”

Edwards, 28, will be watching the game between serving up lobster rolls and beer pints on her shift at Roland’s Seafood Grill in the Strip. She’s been hearing from friends and customers who anticipate another brawl — if not on the field, then perhaps in the stands.

“So I’m a little worried,” she said. “It’s terrible what happened, but we’re here for football.”

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More than a dozen Steelers fans across the area told the Tribune-Review that the ugly scene may have taken the rivalry between Pittsburgh and Cleveland and kicked it up a notch.

“I think there’s going to be some turmoil,” said Cody Somers, 28, of Unity during Friday’s happy hour at Sharky’s Cafe.

Among the black-and-gold sports gear being sold this weekend along the bustling sidewalks and “You’re in Steelers Country” banners flanking the Strip’s Penn Avenue: freshly printed T-shirts with slogans such as, “Duck the Browns!” and “If it’s brown, flush it down.” The “Duck” reference is, in part, a reference to Steelers quarterback Delvin “Duck” Hodges, who is replacing Mason Rudolph, for at least this week.

In Cleveland, fans have been snapping up shirts that read, “Pittsburgh started it.”

“Cleveland hates Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh hates Cleveland,” said Mike Sulkosky, 47, of Unity, who plans to attend Sunday’s game at with his wife and in-laws. He expects plenty of excitement.

But, he noted, “the Browns have not been that good for a while. The only reason it’s going to be a rivalry is because of what happened (nearly) three weeks ago.”

The controversial skirmish erupted in the final eight seconds of the Browns’ 21-7 victory over the Steelers.

The NFL suspended Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett indefinitely for whacking Rudolph in his bare head with a helmet. Rudolph will be in uniform but will not start.

“I don’t think it will be as bad just because he’s not playing,” said Zach Gezo, 28, a Lower Burrell native who now lives in Washington, D.C. and is in town for Thanksgiving weekend. He’ll be watching the game with family in the Alle-Kiski Valley before driving home Sunday night. “I think it’d be worse if he (Rudolph) was on the field.”

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey was suspended for two games for punching and kicking Garrett.

“We used to just feel sorry for the Browns, but now we kind of hate them a little bit because they took out some of our players,” said Josh Alessio, 47, a lifelong Steelers fan from St. Cloud, Minn. Alessio will be attending his first game at Heinz Field on Sunday with his son, Jake.

RELATED: Fan loyalties in Shenango Valley divided between Steelers, Browns

Fans have mixed feelings about which players or team shoulders most of the blame.

“I think there’s some blame on both sides,” said Jake Alessio, 20. “It was toward the end of the game and Garrett drove Rudolph into the ground late after he had thrown the ball, so I could see why he was a little agitated. But I think Rudolph definitely started the fight. And it came off worse for him because he got smacked in the head with a helmet.”

“Especially Pouncey, that was terrible,” his father chimed in. “You want one of the leaders on your team to be respectful. And to kick a guy while he’s down is horrible.”

“But he tried to hurt his teammate,” countered Bowman, arguing that Pouncey went into protective mode. “I think Pouncey was right on point.”

Martin Needham, 28, a North Side native — and the lone Browns fan among his friends — recalled how upsetting it was to watch some of his favorite players get violent.

“I was with all my buddies, and then when that play happened, it completely ruined my entire happiness. I was disgusted,” Needham said. “I just hope for all the young kids that look up to these guys, that these guys can figure it out. There is no room for that amongst professional sports.”

Sulkosky is glad the Steelers will have home field advantage. He cited a recent video on social media that showed Browns fans beating a piñata stand-in for Rudolph at a tailgate gathering.

“That was bad,” he said. “Hopefully, the Steelers fans aren’t as bad.”

Noel, the Latrobe fan, said he wants to see Cleveland “beat down real good.”

“I want to get revenge,” said Noel, 28. “It’s been a rivalry forever. Since way back, you always hated the Browns.”

The Steelers-Browns rivalry went on hiatus in the mid-1990s, when former Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore and it became the Ravens.

The Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, in effect as an expansion team, and the rivalry failed to regain its past intensity, as the rebooted team won just six games in 41 tries before this season.

With Sunday’s matchup, the Steelers are angling for an improbable playoff run after starting 1-4 and franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lost for the season.

The Browns are aching for their first season sweep of the Steelers in three decades.

The Browns “are hungry,” said Steelers fan Cody Somers. “They’re a young team. I think they want to win more than us.”

Though he and his brother, Jesse Somers, 32, of Latrobe, are both Steelers fans, they’re nervous about their team being plagued not only suspensions but also injuries.

RELATED: James Conner doubtful, JuJu Smith-Schuster out for Steelers vs. Browns

“I think the Browns will beat them,” Jesse Somers said. “I’m being a realist, they’re definitely more talented.”

Regardless of the outcome, Bronson Domasky of Greensburg said he hopes to see a clean game.

“At the end of the day, they’re all professionals and should know when to back off,” Domasky said.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Heinz Field.

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Staff writers Renatta Signorini and Jeff Himler contributed.