The Steelers and Browns don’t need much help making things personal. They’ve been rivals since 1950. Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 83–65–1, but Cleveland has won the last four meetings at home.

Now add a completely wild AFC North race.

All four teams are coming into Week 4 at 2–1. So whoever wins Thursday night will be in the driver's seat for this division — even if it's only until Sunday. In a race this tight, that’s a pretty big deal.

The game kicks off Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

There’s Almost No Time To Recover

Pittsburgh and Cleveland both played Sunday afternoon, which gives them roughly 100 hours between the end of one game and the start of the next.

The normal schedule goes out the window. Monday is for recovery and film review, the game plan has to come together fast, practices turn into lighter walkthroughs, and nobody gets much time to fix a major problem.

That matters here because neither of these teams played a particularly clean game Sunday.

Pittsburgh needed a fourth-quarter muffed punt and Derrick Harmon’s strip-sack of Joe Burrow to escape Cincinnati, 30–27. Cleveland committed 12 penalties, got outgained by Carolina, and still held on, 21–18, after Deshaun Watson found Harold Fannin Jr. for a late touchdown.

Both teams showed real progress. But they also with plenty of things they’d normally spend an entire week trying to clean up.

They don’t have an entire week.

Pittsburgh Finally Found An Offense

The Steelers scored 20 points against Atlanta and three against New England. Through two games, they had 499 total yards and watched Aaron Rodgers get sacked six times.

Then Mike McCarthy changed the right side of the offensive line.

Rookie first-round pick Max Iheanachor started at right tackle against Cincinnati, Brock Hoffman moved in at right guard and, suddenly, the offense looked like they knew what they were doing. Pittsburgh racked up 411 yards and converted seven of 12 third downs. They even scored touchdowns on their first two possessions.

Rodgers threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Jaylen Warren had a career-high 176 yards from scrimmage, including 127 on 17 carries. Pittsburgh gave up just two sacks after allowing four in New England.

That’s the version of the Steelers that can win the division.

The question is whether that version shows up every week.

Cincinnati’s defense gave up some big plays and helped Pittsburgh out with a handful of massive mistakes. One good afternoon doesn’t erase the first two games, especially when 45% of the Steelers’ total yardage this season came on Sunday.

But Rodgers has been around long enough to know things change every week:

We put up over 400 yards and 30 points, and it could have been a lot more. But every week is a different week, different challenge, different opponent, different defense. We've got to be critical of some things. There's a lot of things to clean up.

Cleveland's about to give them a much less forgiving test.

Mason Graham Is Becoming Cleveland’s Defensive Centerpiece

The name Pittsburgh’s new offensive line needs to know on every snap is Mason Graham.

Graham’s recorded at least one sack in all three games and already has four this season. He became the first Browns player since Myles Garrett in 2019 to open a season with a sack in three straight weeks, and his two sacks against Carolina included a fourth-down stop and another pressure in the final two minutes.

That sets up the matchup that could decide the night.

Pittsburgh wants Warren to be the engine again. If the Steelers can run the ball, they can protect a 42-year-old quarterback, stay out of obvious passing situations, and give Rodgers the play-action chances that helped open things up against Cincinnati.

But if Graham and Cleveland’s front take Warren away, everything gets tougher.

Rodgers has already been sacked eight times. The Browns have seven sacks as a defense, and Graham’s responsible for more than half of them from the interior. Pressure right in the quarterback’s face is different than pressure coming off the edge. Rodgers can’t just step up and escape it.

Iheanachor and Hoffman gave Pittsburgh one really good game. Thursday’s when they have to show that this new combination wasn’t just a one-week fix.

They Keep Finding A Way, But They Can’t Keep Living Like This

The Browns deserve credit for bouncing back from that 34–10 embarrassment in Jacksonville with back-to-back wins.

Watson probably played his best game in a Cleveland uniform against Tampa Bay, completing 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He was much less efficient against Carolina — 16 of 30 for 144 yards — but he hung in there after taking a nasty roughing-the-passer hit and came back to throw the winning touchdown to Fannin.

Cleveland’s defense closed out both games. The Browns stopped Tampa Bay’s final drive in Week 2, then ended Carolina’s last two possessions with a Graham sack and a Ronnie Hickman interception.

That’s resiliency. It’s also a pretty dangerous way to live every Sunday.

Cleveland's been outgained in all three games. The Browns have converted just 11 of 36 third downs and they still haven’t scored a rushing touchdown.

There are some encouraging signs from the young playmakers. Rookie receiver Denzel Boston has 195 yards and two touchdowns. Fannin leads the team with three touchdown catches. Quinshon Judkins gave the running game a little juice with 70 yards against Carolina.

Still, the offense hasn’t scored more than 23 points. They've just spent too many afternoons waiting until the fourth quarter to finally wake up.

That’s going to be a problem against T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, who have combined for 6.5 of Pittsburgh’s eight sacks. Cleveland's already allowed Watson to get taken down nine times. If the Browns fall behind the sticks and put themselves in obvious passing situations, Pittsburgh’s edge rushers can blow up the entire plan.

This Is Exactly What The Rivalry Is Supposed To Feel Like

These games don’t usually care what either team looked like the week before.

Cleveland's beaten Pittsburgh four straight times at home, including a 24–19 Thursday night win in the snow in 2024 and a 13–6 win last December. Pittsburgh still owns the bigger piece of the rivalry’s history, but that trip up the turnpike has turned into a real problem.

Now the Browns get another one at home, at night, with first place sitting there for whoever wants to take it.

Pittsburgh has the more accomplished quarterback and the more dangerous pass rush. Cleveland has the home crowd, a young defensive tackle playing the best football of his career, and an offense that’s starting to believe they can finish close games.

The biggest question is still up front. Can Warren and Pittsburgh’s rebuilt right side turn one encouraging performance into something real, or will Graham drag the Steelers back into the ugly, low-scoring fight Cleveland keeps winning at home?

That’s the rivalry.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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