Going into his role as an analyst for NBC admitting he will always be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, Mike Tomlin couldn’t help himself while talking over a highlight from the Browns‘ Week 1 loss to the Jaguars.
And after host Maria Taylor mentioned what happened in the game, a 34-10 loss for Cleveland, Tomlin chimed in with a famous comment that Steelers fans never grow tired of hearing.
“The Browns is the Browns”
“In the words of my good friend JuJu Smith-Schuster would say, the Browns is the Browns,” said Tomlin. The former Steelers head coach tossed in Smith-Schuster’s line after discussing quarterback Deshaun Watson’s interception during a rough day. Watson completed 16-of-22 passes for 205 yards while being sacked five times.
And for a refresher, Smith-Schuster first said the “Browns is the Browns” as part of his response to a question about Pittsburgh’s AFC Wild Card Round matchup with the Browns in January, 2021.
JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Comments Came Back to Bite Mike Tomlin and the Steelers
Smith-Schuster, then playing for the Steelers, referred to the Browns as “nameless gray faces” days before the game. “I think they’re still the same Cleveland Browns from every year. I think they’re good, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns is the Browns,” he added.
But ironically, Cleveland used it as motivation and had a rare last laugh on the Steelers, at least for that season. The Browns defeated Pittsburgh 48-37, eliminating their rival from the playoffs.
To Tomlin’s credit, despite that devastating postseason loss, he holds a 28-9-1 career record against the Browns as Steelers head coach.
There’s no word on if Smith-Schuster, currently 29 and a free agent, heard what his old coach had to say and what he currently thinks of the Browns years removed from the rivalry. Smith-Schuster left Tomlin and the Steelers following that 2021 season. He then signed with the Chiefs in 2022, played for the Patriots the next season and then return to Kansas City for two years in 2024 and 2025, being part of the Chiefs’ LVII team.
Mike Tomlin Couldn’t Resist Using Famous Line About Browns