As the Cleveland Browns prepare to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, a radio host expects the Steelers to take a “dirty shot” at Baker Mayfield.
There’s no love lost between AFC North rivals, especially between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns.
After decades of being mocked as the NFL’s worst team, the undefeated Steelers laughed at the Browns when they beat them 38-7 in Week 5 of 2020.
The Steelers kept it up in Week 17, resting all of their starters in exchange for a narrow 24-22 loss to the Browns, who they saw in the AFC Wild Card round the very next week.
But it was the Browns who had the laugh on January 10, exacting revenge in a brutal 48-37 victory. When JuJu Smith-Schuster said “the Browns is the Browns”, Baker Mayfield was sure to throw the taunt back in his face after the win.
Building up animosity over the offseason, local Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo has full faith that the Steelers won’t be playing nice come Sunday.
“They’re a dirty team,” radio host Tony Rizzo said on Friday. “They’re gonna take a shot at Baker.”
Cleveland radio host believes Steelers will “take a shot” at Browns QB Baker Mayfield
Aside from accusing his opponents of illegal plays, the idea that Mayfield would get roughed up in Week 8 is particularly concerning for Browns fans. Mayfield is still recovering from a complicated shoulder injury that had him sidelined in their narrow 17-14 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 7.
But the accusations that the Steelers tend to play dirty isn’t new among Browns fans. Last season, FanSided published a list of the five most hated Steelers since 1999. James Harrison, Hines Ward, and even Ben Roethlisberger grace the defamatory list.
A vengeful team versus the injured quarterback who thwarted their 2020 playoff hopes? It doesn’t look good for the Browns, as it wouldn’t take much for Mayfield to re-aggravate his injury.
Dirty or not, Mayfield will have to face the wrath of T.J. Watt and others in a heated AFC North showdown this Halloween.