The Browns Need to Take Advantage of the Steelers

It might be silly when you think about it, but the Browns need this Week 2 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it's not for the reasons you think. It's not just to go 2-0 for the first time since 1993 or to start 2-0 in the division, helping clinch potential tiebreakers down the line, but it's for the sanity of Browns fans. If you ask anyone, from 20-somethings to baby boomers, the colors of black and gold have scarred generations. Dating back to the 1970s, from Terry Bradshaw to Big Ben, the Steelers have lorded over the Browns, especially since their reincarnation in 1999. It's hard to describe the psychological damage one team has done to a fanbase, but I'll try.For most of my life, Acrisure Stadium (formerly known as Heinz Field) has been a house of horrors, where teams of seasons past have been humiliated and emasculated while sell-out crowds of Steeler fans sang Renegade at the top of their lungs. Highlighted by James Harrison concussing multiple Browns players,  Antonio Brown planting Spencer Lanning into the turf, and too-many-to-count game-winning drives that would crush the soul of most Browns fans. Not to mention the annual tradition where head coaches' careers went to die, and the failures of past regimes being showcased in front of yinzers waving terrible towels in late December before their inevitable dismissals. These were the moments when many fathers in Northeast Ohio contemplated why they raised their sons or daughters into this hell that is being a Browns fan. This is not an exaggeration either, just look at the record in that stadium; they are 2-23 since it opened in 2001, and they have not won a regular season game in Pittsburgh since Finding Nemo was in theaters. So, traveling down the turnpike has not gone well for anyone wearing orange and brown for the past 20+ years.That's why this week's game has an extra layer. For the first time since 1989, the Browns are favorites to win in Pittsburgh; it shouldn't be big news, but it is. The Browns are the superior team, just going off Week 1 performances it should be evident to anyone that aren't fans of both squads. The Steelers were boat-raced by the 49ers, while the Browns dominated the Bengals; it's clear who should win on Monday night, especially if you dive a little deeper. The Steelers have scored less than 20 points in 27 out of their last 36 games. They have yet to reach 400 yards in total offense in that 36-game sample size. The combination of Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada has found the endzone only 15 in 14 games while only complying 3,701 yards as an offense; these were the lowest in the NFL in that period. There are legitimate reasons why they can beat the Steelers. Yet, the 19-game losing streak in Acrisure Stadium hovers over the franchise, especially since it has yet to matter who has played under center—Duck Hodges, Landry Jones, Mason Rudolph, Tommy Maduxx, Big Ben, etc. There's a reason why Steeler fans have been arrogant all week, while Browns fans anxiously wait even when we know we can beat them handily. Even if this isn't your older brother's Steelers, imposter syndrome still clouds the Cleveland faithful going into Week 2.That is why there is so much riding on this game, especially to turn the tides of this rivalry. When you factor in Monday Night Football and the whole country watching, it would be a big statement walking out of Pittsburgh with a win, not just for playoff contender legitimacy but for the Browns fans needing confirmation. We've been beaten over the head all our lives that Pittsburgh has been our big brother, and it will never change. Many of us have spent our whole lives watching team after team get ransacked as the Steelers marched their way to the playoffs. Now is the time for the Browns to impose their will on a mediocre Pittsburgh team that can barely score, and with what the defense showcased against Joe Burrow, it should not be a challenge to stop Kenny Pickett. So, for the sake of all of us Browns that'll be watching at 8:15 pm, please beat the Steelers.