Two weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers engaged in one of the uglier NFL brawls we have seen in recent memory, as Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett ripped the helmet off of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and then hit him over the head with it.
Garrett has been suspended for the remainder of the season and it remains to be seen if the struggling Rudolph will even be under center from this point moving forward, but there will still surely be some bad blood between the Browns and Steelers when they face off in Pittsburgh next Sunday.
Cleveland head coach Freddie Kitchens is fully aware of the circumstances and wants to make sure his team focuses on the game rather than get involved in any extracurricular activities:
“I want them to go into this game with one thing and one thing only on their minds, and that’s to do their job,” Kitchens said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. “And anything that overshadows that in any way is not acceptable and it’s not the best for the team. I want guys to show up ready to do their job. All that other stuff is just fluff. It’s just fluff just to give people things to talk about leading up to Sunday, and that at some point on Sunday around 1 o’clock, we’re going to kick the ball off and then that’s when it’s going be for real then at that point. And that’s when I want them to be at their best.”
The Browns are actually playing their best football of the season, as they have won three straight games to inch their way back into playoff contention in the AFC.
Of course, making the playoffs is still a bit of a long shot for Cleveland, but at 5-6 and with an easy schedule ahead, anything is possible.
The Steelers are 6-5 and are one game ahead of the Browns in the AFC Wild Card chase.
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