Getty Cleveland Browns cornerback Mike Ford celebrated with the Steelers' Terrible Towel after the team's Week 11 victory.
Cornerback Mike Ford is in his sixth NFL season, but he appears to be unfamiliar with the curse of the Terrible Towel.
Or, maybe, he simple doesn’t believe it has any power when his Cleveland Browns defense is able to hold the Pittsburgh Steelers passing attack to 77 yards.
Either way, Ford celebrated Cleveland’s 13-10 victory against Pittsburgh with the Terrible Towel.
The celebration, which included an interaction with a Steelers fan and Ford performing a NSFW act with the towel, was caught on video.
“After the game, Browns CB Mike Ford threw the terrible towel down and gave a Steelers fan a Browns towel,” the Blitzburgh X (formerly Twitter) account wrote. “He also wiped his ass with it too.”
Browns’ Mike Ford Celebrates With Terrible Towel
Ford’s disrespect of the Terrible Towel won’t and shouldn’t sit well with Pittsburgh. Ford could have celebrated in a way that didn’t put down his opponent or his opponent’s fans.
But he has every right to celebrate the way he wants. There was also certainly a cause for celebration for Cleveland’s defense after Week 11.
The Browns held Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett to 15-of-28 passing for 106 yards. That gave Pickett an average of 3.8 yards per attempt.
Pittsburgh also had just 249 yards of total offense. Running back Jaylen Warren accounted for 74 of those yards on one play, which was the Steelers’ lone touchdown.
Outside of that touchdown run, the Steelers averaged 3.1 yards per play.
The Browns didn’t do much offensively either. Cleveland also averaged 3.8 yards per pass with 259 offensive yards. But they edged Pittsburgh with a last-second field goal in regulation to win.
Does the Terrible Towel Curse Steelers’ Opponents?
Whether it’s a real curse or coincidence, several opponents have played terribly after disrespecting the Terrible Towel.
In 2005, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandazdeh cleaned his cleats with the Terrible Towel after defeating the Steelers. The game eventually won the Bengals the AFC North.
But when the Bengals and Steelers met in the playoffs, Pittsburgh won 31-17. In the first quarter, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a torn ACL.
In 2008, Tennessee Titans’ LenDale White and Keith Bulluck stomped on the Terrible Towel after defeating the Steelers. That win gave the Titans home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
They didn’t really get to use it, though, as the Titans lost at home in the AFC Divisional round. The Steelers then hosted the AFC Championship.
Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl during both the 2005 and 2008 seasons.
The Steelers haven’t looked like true Super Bowl contenders much this season, but the Terrible Towel may still be cursing teams.
Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard stole Terrible Towels from the crowd at Acrisure Stadium and waved them along the sideline after intercepting Mitch Trubisky in Week 8.
In their following game, the Jaguars lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 34-3.
If the Browns lose to the Denver Broncos in Week 12, Steelers fans will likely credit the Terrible Towel curse.
At least for Ford, the Browns won’t face the Steelers again in the 2023 regular season. But a playoff rematch isn’t out of the question.
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Browns CB Mike Ford Desecrates Terrible Towel in Celebration [WATCH]