Browns' 2020 playoff win against Steelers gets one last shining moment in the sun

Memories from Cleveland's road win in Pittsburgh from the 2020 season have been brought back during this postseason.

Jan 10, 2021; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns strong safety Karl Joseph (42) recovers a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first half of an AFC Wild Card playoff game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images | Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

Cleveland Browns fans will remember that game fondly. A stunning road win over hated division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round during the 2020-2021 NFL playoffs. After all, it still stands as the Browns lone postseason victory since springing back to life for the 1999 campaign.

One game from this weekend’s AFC action actually brought back some memories of that Cleveland victory.

The Buffalo Bills became the first Wild Card team to win in the AFC playoffs since the Browns shocked the Steelers by a score of 48-37 during that 2020-2021 campaign.

The Bills marched into EverBank Stadium and secured a 27-24 win over the AFC South champs, Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Houston Texans could match the Bills’ feat by winning tonight on the road against... you guessed it, the Steelers.

Since the Browns beat the Steelers on that January 10th Sunday night  -- a few hours after the Baltimore Ravens had escaped Nashville with a 20-13 win over the Tennessee Titans -- Wild Card teams had gone 0-12 in AFC postseason play.

On the other hand, the NFC has been the stage for numerous upsets, with Wild Card teams winning 7 out of 15 matchups, including two this past weekend. As a matter of fact, there hasn’t been one postseason without at least one Wild Card team victory since the 2020-2021 season, when the playoffs adopted the three Wild Card games format.

That 2020 season was memorable for Browns’ fans for other reasons, as well. It was the first year of recently fired head coach Kevin Stefanski’s tenure, and the first time Cleveland won 11 games in a season since 1994. Stefanski would take the first of his two Coach of the Year awards, while Myles Garrett captured the first of his five first-team All-Pro nods.

Running back Nick Chubb and left guard Joel Bitonio made the Pro Bowl with Garrett, while Jarvis Landry led the way through the air with 72 catches off of Baker Mayfield’s passing.

.@bakermayfield was LOCKED IN for his #NFLPlayoffs debut. #CLEvsPIT pic.twitter.com/A2ifEiC01G

— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2021

A quick glance at the boxscore reveals only a handful of starters still with the franchise, including Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, David Njoku, Myles Garrett. During that game, starters Joel Bitonio and Denzel Ward stayed behind in Cleveland, along with Stefanski, as inactives due to COVID. Grant Delpit also missed the game on IR.

Sadly, the Browns were unable to build upon that season and the 11 win campaign of 2023, with Cleveland now shuffling through a full deck of candidates to take over the team after Stefanski’s recent dismissal.