Deja vu 

It was a good news/bad news kind of day for the Browns Sunday as they wrapped up the regular-season portion of the 2020 National Football League schedule.

First, the good news. They hung on to knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-22, to end the league's longest playoff drought at 17 seasons and enter wild-card weekend with an 11-5 record.

Now, the bad news. Their opponent in the first round of wild-card games? The Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Why bad? Because if they play next weekend against the Steelers like they did Sunday, can you say early exit? 

In a bit of irony, the last time the Browns qualified for the playoffs was 2002, Their first-round opponent? Yep, Bill Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers, who overcame deficits of 24-7 and 33-21 with 10 minutes left to win, 36-33.

With an entire season on the line, the Browns faced a Steelers team resting two of their game-changing playmakers on defense, their best offensive lineman and their future Hall of Fame quarterback. And yet, they played just barely well enough to win.

The celebration for this momentous feat should be enjoyed and, at the same time, short-lived because the Steelers will have defensive standouts Cameron Heyward and T. J. Watt, center Maurkice Pouncey and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back in uniform in what for the Steelers will be a much more meaningful game next weekend.

Considering the damage backup quarterback Mason Rudolph dished out Sunday, imagine what Roethlisberger, who owns a 23-2-1 record against Cleveland, can do. Rudolph strafed the injury-riddled and COVID-19 stricken Cleveland secondary for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

That the Steelers hung in there with several of their playmaking stars resting after clinching the AFC North title last week should send a message to the Browns. What you see next week will in no way bear a resemblance to what you saw today.

Other stats to consider: The Steelers' supposedly weakened pass rush sacked Baker Mayfield four times for 30 yards in losses. The disappointing Browns pass rush dropped Rudolph just once.

One more time . . . Imagine what Heyward and Watt, two of the best fecal disturbers and quarterback hunters in the NFL, can do if their backups can wreak havoc like that. It won't be easy next week. 

The Browns were fortunate a two-point attempt by the Steelers in the final minute failed and had to survive a nearly botched onsides kick to add drama to the situation, reserve tight end Stephen Carlson barely covering the football after it slithered through his legs. Nothing comes easy to this team.

And when Mayfield, who won this one with his legs as much as his arm, picked up three yards on a third-and-two, cutting inside a Jack Conklin block on the edge, Browns Nation could breathe. And finally relax.

They had watched the Browns' offense, which went into hibernation after a flawless opening drive that saw Nick Chubb burst 47 yards to cap a six-play, 85-yard drive, come alive, in part with help from the defense, to take a 24-9 lead with a quarter left.

Mayfield's 28-yard scramble on third down to the Pittsburgh 16 helped set up a two-yard scoring grab by Austin Hooper. On the subsequent drive. cornerback M. J. Stewart Jr. picked off Rudolph at midfield and returned it 30 yards.

Four plays later, Jarvis Landry took an inside handoff and scooted into the end zone from three yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter. With a 15-point lead, you'd think there would be premature celebrations. Uh. no. These are the Browns and fans knew this one wasn't over yet. They weren't wrong.

With the exception of their first possession of the game and a late burst that put a pair of touchdowns on the board, the Browns were flat on offense and highly vulnerable on defense. They made Rudolph look like an honest-to-goodness solid NFL quarterback.

He connected on four clutch bombs (41 yards on a third and 11; 26 yards on a third and nine; 47 yards on a first and 10 late in the game; and a touchdown on fourth and 10 from 28 yards). It was one dagger after another as the Steelers refused to go away.

The Browns seemed motivated early, limiting the Pittsburgh offense to three field goals, but appeared to lose their edge and sharpness as the game wore on. 

Their reward for finally booking an invite to the postseason? Another trip to Heinz Field, where they have won just one game (33-13 on Oct. 5, 2003) since it opened in 2001, losing the last 17 in a row.

"Our playoffs started a week early," said Mayfield. "It just so happens we're playing the same opponent next week. We know what the Steelers are all about. It's going to be a physical game just like tonight was." 

A reminder: The Steelers walloped the Browns, 38-7, in week six at Heinz. Watt, Heyward and Roethlisberger were were all factors in that one.