The Cleveland Browns were always in danger of facing a reality check, and they got a big one against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. They suffered through an ugly 27-6 loss to a highly motivated rival and fell out of first place in the AFC North.
With a historically narrow margin of victory in its five wins this season, it was a lot to expect that Cleveland was about to end a 22-game regular-season losing streak when visiting Pittsburgh. The Browns did extend that streak to tie an NFL record, which, in hindsight, everyone should have seen coming.
Analyst Jay Crawford revealed why the loss wasn’t surprising, saying Cleveland’s record coming in was better than it should have been.
“Nothing that happened yesterday surprised me. I felt like 5-2 was fool’s gold,” Crawford said.
Was the #Browns' 27-6 loss to the #Steelers really that surprising?! 👀🏈
“Nothing that happened yesterday surprised me.” — @JaycrawfordCLE
Jay gives his perspective on Cleveland's disappointing performance in Pittsburgh.
▶️ https://t.co/4zXHfPRAgZ pic.twitter.com/s3NGRs3Av0
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) November 2, 2026
Four of Cleveland’s victories were by three points, with three coming on a late game-winning field goal by Andre Szmyt. The other was by four points, and that 16-point total was tied for the least among 167 NFL teams that have started 5-2 in this century.
One of the Browns’ three losses was by just five points, to the New York Jets in Week 5, thanks to a costly special teams miscue. Cleveland has played just two teams that currently have a winning record, and it was not competitive in losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh.
Granted, the Browns did defeat the Steelers 27-24 in Week 4. In addition, Cleveland only has one opponent remaining on its schedule that has a winning record right now, with two meetings against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think based on our schedule, and who we have to play coming up, there is no reason whatsoever that they can’t complete for a playoff spot,” Crawford said.
Regardless of the opposition, the Browns will have to play much better than they did on Sunday if they want to challenge for a postseason berth. Cleveland gave up eight sacks, committed nine penalties, had two turnovers, and allowed 200 yards rushing to Pittsburgh, which was inspired by Jared Verse’s trash talk leading up to the contest.
The Browns will play a third straight road game when they visit the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, which could make a rebound more difficult than it would be otherwise.
NEXT: Todd Monken Has Honest Admission About Loss To Steelers
