The Morning After: Pittsburgh

Steelers 41, Browns 0
Record: 5-10
Divisional record: 0-5

Blogger's note: Yeah, I know this is actually three mornings after, but so what? After that performance, I'm not bending over backward to analyze it over the Christmas weekend.

Believe it or not, the final score isn't what bothers me the most about Saturday's death-star ass whupping. I truly believe it was an abberation. The Steelers aren't that good, and the Browns aren't that bad.
But the Steelers are still much better than the Browns, and that's what bothers me.
The Steelers don't always beat the Browns 41-0, but they almost always beat them. You have to go back to October 2003 to find the last time the Browns beat their purported arch-rivals. You have to go back to 1989 to find the last time the Browns were markedly better than the Steelers.
The Browns are now 3-11 against Pittsburgh since returning to the league in 1999. They are 5-20 since Bill Cowher took over as Pittsburgh's head coach in 1991, including a pair of playoff losses. When your record against your arch-rivals begins to resemble the 2003 record of Tigers pitcher Mike Maroth, things aren't going well.
You think John Cooper had it bad against Michigan? At least he only faced his rivals once a year. The Browns have to go through this twice, sometimes three times, in a year.
Some might even question whether this is a rivarly anymore. The Browns are 0-5 against all division rivals this year, and Pittsburgh has had bigger fish to fry recently, like Baltimore and New England.
It appears to be a rivalry kind of like Ohio State and Illinois is a rivalry. Long-time conference mates? Yes. Game has meaning? Yes. Big for Illinois? You bet. Big for Ohio State? Well, kind of.
But, as The Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi pointed out, the Pittsburgh players still treat it like a rivalry. They relish coming in here and beating Cleveland's brains out, something that makes Cleveland fans fume, and stokes the rivalry's flames.
Now, if we can only get Cleveland's players and coaches to think the same way. Coach Romeo Crennel was non-committal when asked if he thought the fans deserved an apology for such a pathetic game.
"If you go out an purposely lay an egg like we laid, then an apology was definitely needed," he told The Plain Dealer.
Great. Just so long as you were trying, Romeo.
Luckily, Reuben Droughns apparently felt differently.
"We have to apologize," he reportedly said. "They (the fans) wanted a better showing than that, especially against a rival."
Droughns, however, said he was upset by fans who left early, leaving Cleveland Browns Stadium to be taken over by Terrible Towel-waving Pittsburgh fans at game's end.
It seemed approporiate, however, since the only thing keeping the Steelers from owning Cleveland Browns Stadium is a title deed. They have won five straight in Cleveland.
Droughns offered this bit of defiance in Tuesday's Plain Dealer:
"(The Steelers) better enjoy it now because it won't happen again. We just can't accept a loss like that."
You're preaching to the choir, R.D. Tell it to your teammates.

Up next: Baltimore, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (season finale)