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JuJu Smith-Schuster gave the Browns some added motivation previous to January’s wild card playoff showdown between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The receiver’s disrespectful “the Browns is the Browns” remark shortly made its method to Cleveland, giving the Browns much more incentive to win their first playoff sport ever towards their longtime rival.
And that is precisely what occurred in Pittsburgh on the night time of Jan. 10. Earlier than Smith-Schuster and his teammates may blink, the Browns had steamrolled out to a 28-0 advance en path to a 48-37 victory. And whereas he admits that his feedback absolutely riled up Cleveland, Smith-Schuster doesn’t remorse what he stated.
“On the finish of the day, I stated what I stated,” Smith-Schuster recently told Professional Soccer Speak. “I do not take something again. They did come on the market, they did whoop our ass. It’s what it’s. We misplaced that sport. We misplaced early in that sport within the first 5, 10 minutes. [But] we nonetheless fought. I will let you know one factor about our staff, we nonetheless fought to the top. It wasn’t ok.”
Regardless of their large deficit, the Steelers did certainly battle till the bitter finish. Trailing 35-10 at intermission, two Pittsburgh touchdowns made it a 12-point sport heading into the fourth quarter. However after the Steelers elected to punt on fourth-and-1 from their very own 46-yard line at first of the fourth quarter, the Browns put the sport out of attain on Nick Chubb’s 40-yard landing on a display screen go from Baker Mayfield.
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The Browns’ success in 2020 has made them a viable risk to win their first division title since 1989. Not like Smith-Schuster’s rookie season, when the Steelers had been the one AFC North staff to put up a successful report, the AFC North is arguably the NFL’s best division. Whereas the Steelers gained the division in 2020, the Browns and Ravens additionally made the playoffs after each groups went 11-5 through the common season. And whereas all three groups are anticipated to contend for the division crown in 2021, the Bengals — with Joe Burrow efficiently recovering from final season’s knee damage — are anticipated to be considerably extra aggressive this season.
“The AFC North [is] simply in all probability the toughest … division proper now to win in,” Smith-Schuster stated. “Guys like Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Ben [Roethlisberger]. I feel each staff is attending to the purpose the place it is like, ‘Man, they’re actually good.’ It’s what it’s.”
Smith-Schuster’s former teammate, new Ravens offensive deal with Alejandro Villanueva, lately ruffled some feathers in Pittsburgh after opening up concerning the challenges his staff confronted throughout his remaining season with the Steelers. Villanueva, inadvertently or not, appeared to take a refined jab at Smith-Schuster.
“For us as an offensive line in Pittsburgh final yr, it was extremely difficult that we knew that we needed to go together with these sport plans that concerned passing the ball probably all the sport,” Villanueva said. “The mentality when you have got a balanced offense, or whenever you run the ball, it is clearly higher for an offensive line. I am assuming it is not as enjoyable for the large receivers as a result of they don’t seem to be getting all of the catches. They’re making their TikToks, and so they’re having enjoyable on social media. However for an offensive lineman, it is undoubtedly an superior expertise.”
The latest feedback made by Smith-Schuster and Villanueva have solely added extra spice into what needs to be a compelling and aggressive AFC North division in 2021.
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