The Cleveland Browns have never made it to the Super Bowl, let alone lifted the Lombardi Trophy. Since re-entering the league in 1999, they have started 42 different quarterbacks and won only one playoff game (albeit, against the Steelers in 2020).
With that context in mind, it’s understandable to hear ex-Browns players say that a regular season victory over a rival team in a losing season was their Super Bowl. But from a Steelers perspective, it doesn’t make the loss sting any less.
Like the Browns’ win over the Steelers in 2009. That was a Thursday Night Football matchup in Cleveland between the 1-11 Browns and the 6-6 Steelers. It resulted in a 13-6 Cleveland win.
“I’m not gonna lie…it was our Super Bowl,” former Browns return specialist Josh Cribbs admitted to James Harrison on the Deebo and Joe podcast. “I’m going to school you because you were in a winning organization for a long time. The AFC North consisted of teams where, even if a team went 10-6, they still couldn’t go to the playoffs because Baltimore was 11-5 and [Pittsburgh] was 12-4.”
While Cribbs’s memory is a bit off, the spirit of what he said is still accurate. In 2007, the Browns went 10-6 thanks to an unexpected Pro Bowl season from quarterback Derek Anderson. It still wasn’t enough to make the playoffs, as the Steelers won the division on a tie breaker also with a 10-6 record. The Tennessee Titans claimed the second wild card in the AFC on a tie breaker and a 10-6 record, as well.
It was the Browns only winning record in the 17-year stretch between 2003 and 2018, and it still wasn’t enough to reach the postseason.
The following season, 2008, was when the Steelers again won the division with a 12-4 record and the Baltimore Ravens finished as a wildcard at 11-5. The Browns failed to recapture the magic of the 2007 season and dropped to 4-12. Even though Cribbs was clearly getting the 2007 and 2008 seasons mixed up in his explanation of Browns futility, the perspective that they were seemingly always looking up at Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the division remains true, regardless of the season during that stretch.
Finally, the 2009 season was when the infamous Browns upset of the Steelers occurred, and even if it didn’t change the balance of power in the rivalry, it had to be a sigh of relief for Cleveland to finally beat the Steelers after 12 straight losses. Cribbs played a large role in what would wind up being a 13-6 Browns win at home on a Thursday night in Week 14.
Browns quarterback Brady Quinn finished the game with only six completions and 90 passing yards, which meant the heavy lifting was done by Cribbs and the defense, which recorded eight sacks of Ben Roethlisberger.
Cribbs rushed eight times for 87 yards, recorded one reception for 9 yards and made several contributions in the return game, including a 55-yard punt return. Despite only scoring 13 points, the Browns were able to shut down the Steelers offense, which only managed 218 total yards.
Even if it was a footnote on an otherwise miserable 5-11 Browns season, the defeat was devastating for the Steelers playoff chances. The loss in Cleveland dropped Pittsburgh to 6-7, and even though they rattled off three straight wins to end the season, a 9-7 record wasn’t enough as they fell victim to the wildcard tie breakers.
A year after winning Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers missed the playoffs thanks in large part to a December loss to the lowly Browns. It may not compare to the real thing, but for Cleveland, holding the Steelers back from winning was indeed their Super Bowl.
In recent history, things haven’t been quite as lopsided, especially in Cleveland where the Steelers have gone 1-6-1 in their last eight matchups. This season, like in 2009, features a Thursday night encounter with the Browns on the road in Week 4.
With the Browns not favored to contend this season, it will be another chance for them to spoil the party for the Steelers, who will look to snap the curse in what has been a house of horrors in recent years. Even if neither team is viewed as a surefire Super Bowl contender this season, winning that game is always meaningful for both franchises.
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