CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are taking on the Pittsburg Steelers for a Thursday night football rivalry matchup at Huntington Bank Field.
The Browns are 2-8, and it's a tough record devoid of many wins. You may be thinking to yourself, 'What does this game matter?' Well, both teams have plenty of motivation for a win in this specific one, and both plan to put up a fight to get it.
"It's just football history," said guard Joel Bitonio. "You think about the Browns, the Steelers, really the Ravens and the Bengals, and it's just tough, hard-nosed football."
The Browns rival, who has an 8-2 record, is playing to retain the top spot in the AFC North standings.
"We're trying to continue to get better each and every week. I feel like that's something that we've been able to do," said Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt. "But it doesn't do anything if we lay an egg on Thursday night."
And while the Browns have the opposite record at 2-8, they're playing for plenty themselves.
"They're looking forward to, you know, trying to take the number one spot in the AFC. We're fighting...tooth and nail for each and every win we get," said defensive end Myles Garrett.
Players in Cleveland understand the history between the two teams. Quarterback Jameis Winston recalled watching the teams battle when he was younger.
"Growing up, seeing the blood, sweat and tears that happened in these games," said Winston. "These games are a hard nose, hard fault, true definition cold weather football games."
So, while the season may not be going their way, the Browns will play for pride.
"You either lay down, or you continue to fight," said safety Grant Delpit. "And I don't ahve laying down in my DNA."
And that alone has the Steelers on alert.
"We respect the Dawg Pound, we understand what those fans and that team is capable of," said Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward. "It doesn't matter what the record is, you're going to get their best shot and you have to respect that."
