Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) at Cleveland Browns (5-10)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011
Kickoff: 1 p.m., ET
Site: Cleveland Browns Stadium (73,300) • Cleveland, Ohio
Playing Surface: Grass
TV Coverage: CBS (locally KDKA-TV, channel 2)
Announcers: Ian Eagle (play-by-play) Dan Fouts (color analyst)
Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Tunch Ilkin (color analyst) Craig Wolfley (sideline)
National Radio: Sports USA Radio Network
Announcers: Larry Kahn (play-by-play) John Robinson (color analyst) Troy West (sideline)
Spanish Radio: Grupo Imagen - Destrito Federal (Mexico City) XEDA-FM 90.5
Steelers-Browns complete game notes. A Look at the Coaches
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Overall regular-season record: 42-21 (.667)/fourth season
Regular-season record at Pittsburgh: 42-21 (.667)/fourth season
Playoff Record/Years: 3-1/two years
Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini
Overall regular-season record: 33-46 (.418)/fifth season
Regular-season record at Cleveland: 10-21 (.323)/second season
Playoff Record/Years: n/aSeries History: Series began in 1950
Overall: Pittsburgh leads 59-56
At Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh leads 37-21
At Cleveland: Cleveland leads 35-22
Neutral Sites: n/a
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Oct. 17, 2010 (in Pittsburgh)
Pittsburgh 28, Cleveland 10
Postseason Series: Pittsburgh leads 2-0
(postseason record not included in overall series record)
Pittsburgh leads the all-time regular-season series 59-56...the Steelers had won 12 straight games in the series prior to the Week 14 setback last year in Cleveland...the Steelers have not lost to the Browns at home since a 33-13 defeat in 2003...QB Ben Roethlisbergeris 11-1 against the Browns in his career...Cleveland has not won the season series against the Steelers since defeating Pittsburgh 23-9 at Three Rivers Stadium and 27-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1988...Pittsburgh owns a 51-25 record against the Browns since the 1970 NFL merger.
Steelers-Browns Connections: Several Steelers have ties to the Browns and the Cleveland area. Steelers with direct ties to the Browns and Cleveland/Ohio include assistant head coach/defensive line coach John Mitchell, who began his NFL coaching career as the Browns' defensive line coach from 1991-93. Linebackers coach Keith Butlercoached the Browns linebackers from 1999-02. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arianswas the Browns' offensive coordinator from 2001-03. Steelers DE Nick Easonplayed with the Browns from 2004-06. Steelers players from Ohio include QB Ben Roethlisberger(Cory Rawson, played at Miami, Ohio), LB James Harrison(Akron, played at Kent State) and S Will Allen(Dayton, played at Ohio State). CB Anthony Madisonspent a part of this season on the Browns'
active roster.
Browns with Steelers/Western Pennsylvania connections include running backs coach Gary Brown, who played at Penn State (1987-90).
What To Look For
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PITTSBURGH TEAM NOTES
• The Steelers look to improve to 60-56 all-time against the Browns in the regular season.
• The Steelers look to improve to 54-24 (including playoffs) against the Browns since the NFL merger in 1970.
• The Steelers hope to clinch the AFC North Division title with a win over the Cleveland Browns or a loss by the Baltimore Ravens to the Cincinnati Bengals.
PITTSBURGH INDIVIDUAL NOTES
QB Ben Roethlisberger
• Needs 80 yards passing to reach 3,000 for the season, which would be his fifth consecutive year throwing for over 3,000 yards. The five consecutive seasons and five overall seasons with 3,000 yards passing would extend his team record.
WR Mike Wallace
• Needs one 100-yard receiving game to give him seven on the year, which would tie for the most in team history with John Stallworth (1984).
• Needs four receiving touchdowns to break the team's single-season record, which is 12 held by Hines Ward (2002), Louis Lipps (1985) and Buddy Dial (1961).
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LB James Harrison
• Needs a half-sack to reach 50 for his career and become just the seventh player in team history to total at least 50 career sacks.
• Needs one forced fumble to match his career high of seven and to tie the team record for forced fumbles in a season, which he currently shares with Greg Lloyd (1994). Harrison had seven in 2008 and has forced six in 2010.
LB LaMarr Woodley
• Needs 1.5 sacks to reach 10 for the year and become just the second player in team history (LB James Harrison) to post at least 10 sacks in three straight seasons. Woodley had 11.5 in 2008 and 13.5 in 2009.
S Troy Polamalu
• Needs one interception to tie his single-season best. He currently has six picks on the year. He had a personal-best seven interceptions in 2008.