CLEVELAND — When the Cleveland Browns (7-9) take the field for their Week 18 matchup vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) on Sunday, they'll do so having officially been eliminated from postseason contention.
The same, however, can't be said for their opponents.
With their 16-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Steelers enter Week 18 possessing a 19 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Five Thirty-Eight. While a loss to Cleveland on Sunday would eliminate Pittsburgh, the Steelers' postseason odds would increase to 34 percent with a win and leave them scoreboard-watching to see if they'll advance to the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett is hopeful it won't come to that for Pittsburgh.
"We'd love to do that," Garrett said of potentially ending Pittsburgh's playoff hopes following Cleveland's 24-10 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. "We consider them our rivals. Divisionally, if we can't make it, we're definitely going to make sure those guys can't. We're going to do everything in our power. "Much respect to them for being in that position, but we live for times like this."
While the Browns-Steelers rivalry has largely been a lopsided one since Cleveland returned to the league in 1999, it's been more competitive in recent years. Since the 2018 season, Pittsburgh owns a 5-4-1 edge over the Browns, including Cleveland's 48-37 victory over the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round during the 2020 postseason.
Having beaten Pittsburgh 29-17 in Week 3, a win on Sunday would also cap the Browns' first regular-season multigame sweep of the Steelers since 1998. Not only that, but in addition to eliminating Pittsburgh from postseason contention, a Cleveland victory would also hand Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin his first losing season since first taking the job in 2007.
So while the Browns already know their season will end, win or lose, on Sunday, from a rivalry standpoint, there's still plenty for Cleveland to play for.
"It's huge for us. Nobody wants to end on an 'L.' We play to win, always," Garrett said. "It doesn't matter our chances. We know they have some chances left, so we're going to try to erase those if we can."