Getty Images Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool.
There was lots of trash talk between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers last season, but this year is starting off cordial.
One of the main figures in the back-and-forth last year was Steelers receiver Chase Claypool, who called the Browns “super classless” after losing in the Wild Card round. Claypool is handling this year a little differently, not providing bulletin board material for the Browns.
“I think they’re a Super Bowl-contending team, and I think we know that,” Claypool told reporters. “It’ll be a good couple days coming up.”
Chase Claypool on the rivalry with the Browns growing after last year: “I think they’re a Super Bowl-contending team, and I think we know that. It’ll be a good couple days coming up.”
The Browns and Steelers are set to square off for the first time on Sunday, with the Browns coming in as 3.5-point favorites.
‘Browns is the Browns’ Became Rallying Cry for Cleveland
The situation is a little different this year. The Steelers started last season 11-0 and felt like they had the upper hand on a Browns team. That led to the infamous line from Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
“They’re still the same Browns teams I play every year,” Smith-Schuster said prior to their playoff matchup, “the Browns is the Browns.”
That statement became a rallying cry for Cleveland and they let Smith-Schuster hear it after the game, which the Browns won 48-37 that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. All that being said, Smith-Schuster didn’t take anything back.
“I’m not going to lie to you. It got to a point where the Cleveland Browns had a billboard up in Cleveland that said, ‘The Browns is the Browns.’ I think by me saying that, it says that a lot of people care about what I say,” Smith-Schuster told Pro Football Talk. “At the end of the day, I said what I said. I don’t take anything back. They did come out there, they did whoop our ass. It is what it is. We lost that game. We lost early in that game in the first five, 10 minutes. We still fought. I’ll tell you one thing about our team, we still fought to the end. It wasn’t good enough. I just know the AFC North [is] just probably the hardest division right now to win in. Guys like Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Ben. I think every team is getting to the point where it’s like, ‘Man, they’re really good.’ It is what it is.”
Browns Quarterback Situation Still Uncertain
A big factor in the game is whether or not quarterback Baker Mayfield can suit up. The former No. 1 overall pick has been dealing with a serious shoulder injury, which was made worse after taking a hit against the Cardinals.
Mayfield has been bullish about his prospects of playing on Sunday and continues to have that mentality, despite missing last week’s game against the Broncos.
“Absolutely,” Mayfield said Wednesday, October 27 when asked about the prospect of him playing against the Steelers.
Mayfield is now in his fourth year and understands what every game with the Steelers is like.
“It is definitely a division rivalry. I think you hear more about within the fans and the community than anything. When you play the same guys over and over again, it tends to be like that, but it is just another good opponent and great challenge for us,” he told reporters.
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