CLEVELAND — When the Cleveland Browns beat the Houston Texans in Week 10 of the 2020 season, it brought an end to one of the more embarrassing records in the NFL. With what was the 12th home victory of his career, Baker Mayfield became the all-time winningest quarterback in the history of FirstEnergy Stadium.
Why was this embarrassing? Because the player who previously held the record, Ben Roethlisberger, didn't play for the Browns, but rather their chief rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Suffice to say, Roethlisberger has enjoyed plenty of success in Cleveland over the course of his 18-year NFL career. But on Sunday, he could find himself playing in FirstEnergy Stadium for the final time as the Browns host the Steelers in a pivotal AFC North Division matchup.
A native of Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger's history with Cleveland dates back to 2004, when the Browns passed on the Miami (Ohio) product with the No. 7 pick in the NFL Draft. Rather than selecting the strong-armed Roethlisberger, the Browns opted to trade up a spot to select tight end Kellen Winslow II, with Pittsburgh pouncing on the opportunity to draft the Mid-American Conference MVP with the No. 11 pick.
Those decisions would help dictate the direction of the two franchises for more than a decade with the Steelers winning eight division titles, three AFC championships and two Super Bowls with Roethlisberger under center. The Browns, meanwhile, went 75-180-1 from 2004-2019 before amassing an 11-5 record in 2020.
For his career, Roethlisberger owns a 24-3-1 record vs. Cleveland -- although one of those losses was in last season's AFC Wild Card round. In that same span, the Browns have started 27 different quarterbacks.
But over the course of the past year, the tides in the rivalry have seemingly turned, with Cleveland beating Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh for its first playoff victory since the 1994 season. Six games into the 2021 campaign, the 39-year-old Roethlisberger has looked like a shell of himself, having completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,515 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions for the 3-3 Steelers, fueling speculation he could retire at season's end.
Still, that shaky start didn't stop the Buckeye State native from poking fun at the Browns ahead of Sunday's matchup.
"I'm just glad I'm not the winningest quarterback in the history of their stadium anymore," Roethlisberger said with a smile earlier this week.