One Number Should Have Browns Fans Feeling Good This Week

The Cleveland Browns were not featured in a night game last season, an omission that was befitting of their status as one of the worst teams in the NFL. But this year, the Browns were considered interesting enough to be given one prime-time assignment, and it has turned out to be a bigger game than anyone expected.

The Browns will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football to open Week 4, and first place in the AFC North will be on the line. It’s a fortunate turn of events for whoever made up the schedule.

With that in mind, there is one number that should have Browns fans feeling good this week, and it is their outstanding record in Thursday night games at home.

“The Browns are 11-1 in Thursday night prime-time games at home, including 4-0 v. the Steelers,” Tony Grossi posted.

The Browns are 11-1 in Thursday night prime-time games at home, including 4-0 v. the Steelers.

— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) September 29, 2026

Since the league instituted its Thursday night football package, Cleveland’s only home defeat was a 34-31 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 6, 2008. Among the Browns’ 11 wins, four of them have come against the Steelers.

The first was a 13-6 victory on Dec. 10, 2009. It took 10 years until the next such meeting, with Cleveland earning a 21-7 victory on Nov. 14, 2019. More recently, the Browns defeated the Steelers 29-17 on Sept. 22, 2022, and 24-19 on Nov. 21, 2024.

Overall, the Browns have won six of their past seven home games against the Steelers, which may be why former Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin was so ready to mock Cleveland after its season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Head coach Todd Monken has since made Tomlin eat those words, but the back-and-forth between them is likely to come up again during the Amazon broadcast on Thursday.

The streaming service may have been planning for Shedeur Sanders to be the starting quarterback for the Browns in this game. But Deshaun Watson now gives Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit a very different storyline to address, if they actually choose to do so.

Regardless, that should not overshadow the stakes of the game between these arch-rivals, as the Browns look to continue their Thursday night excellence at Huntington Bank Field.