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NFL rivalry renewed tonight
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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) is pushed out of bounds by Cleveland Browns safety Sabby Piscitelli during their game on Jan. 2 in Cleveland. Pittsburgh has won 14 of the last 15 meetings between the rivals.
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
Hines Ward doesn’t see dominating the Cleveland Browns as simply a part of his job, but a civic duty.
“Our fans tend to work better on Monday any time we get a chance to beat up on [them],” the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver said with a laugh.
Or Friday, in this case.
The ever-diplomatic Ward is kidding, of course. True, the streaking Steelers (9-3) have turned the series with their longtime rivals into a decidedly one-sided affair heading into tonight’s game at Heinz Field.
Yet ask Ward which of the two dozen games he’s played against the Browns (4-8) stands out, and the 14-year veteran quickly points to Cleveland’s only win in the last 15 meetings, a 13-6 victory two years ago that effectively ended Pittsburgh’s bid for a playoff berth and consecutive Super Bowl titles.
“They have beat us in some cases where we felt like we could just beat them just because we’ve had success over the years,” Ward said.
The Steelers have won seven of their last eight following a 2-2 start and need to keep the pressure on Baltimore in the race for the AFC North title.
Pittsburgh put together perhaps its best performance of the season in a 35-7 beatdown of Cincinnati last week. The defense shut down the upstart Bengals behind James Harrison’s three sacks while quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a pair of scores.
It’s proof, the Steelers insist, that they haven’t played their best football yet. Maybe, but their best football might not be required against the Browns, who have looked overwhelmed and overmatched against quality opponents.
Pulling off an upset on national television would do more than give first-year coach Pat Shurmur a signature victory, but also provide quarterback Colt McCoy with a much-needed boost.
McCoy is 0-7 against AFC North opponents in his brief career. While the team’s issues go far beyond McCoy’s inexperience, he hasn’t exactly taken a step forward in his second season.
Cleveland is 30th in the league in total offense and McCoy is 30th in the league in yards per attempt as the Browns have struggled to create big plays of any kind. Holding onto the ball has been an issue. According to Shurmur, Cleveland leads the NFL in dropped passes, not exactly the way to instill confidence in a quarterback going through growing pains.
The Baltimore Ravens pummeled McCoy in a 24-10 win last week, knocking him down repeatedly and spraining his right knee. McCoy didn’t miss so much as a snap in practice during the shortened week, but he’ll be facing a defense that’s starting to show signs of its usual December nastiness.
“They’re tough physical guys, they fly around, they’re a veteran group and they play together well,” McCoy said. “They know the twists, they know the blitzes, they know which gaps you’re going to in.”
And they know it no matter who is in on the field.
Linebacker LaMarr Woodley may sit out after aggravating his strained left hamstring in the first half against the Bengals, though the Steelers have hardly missed a beat with Jason Worilds filling in.
“We talk about the standard being the standard, and this is the time of year we have to live up to it,” Worilds said.
The Steelers lived up to it against the Bengals, putting away a team with a ferocity they’ve lacked at times. Pittsburgh rolled up 28 points in the second quarter and scored touchdowns in each of its four trips inside the Cincinnati 20.
It was the kind of cruelly efficient play the Steelers talked about with regularity in the preseason, when wide receiver Mike Wallace half-joked about setting an NFL record for yards receiving and Roethlisberger kept saying this was the most talented group he’s played with since coming to the league in 2004.
“I hope we’re not peaking yet,” Roethlisberger said. “Hopefully, we’re still going upward.”