It’s rare that the final score of a football game gets lost in the shuffle, but that’s just what happened after the Browns beat the Steelers 21-7 on Thursday night.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett ripping off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and hitting him in the head with it during a melee with seconds left to play has dominated all discussion about the game. Garrett said after the game that “a win is a win” and that he doesn’t believe his actions overshadowed that, but teammates disagreed with him.
In addition to calling Garrett’s behavior “inexcusable” after the game, quarterback Baker Mayfield said it will take time to realize the Browns won the game because it felt like they lost in the aftermath. Wide receiver Odell Beckham concurred with the quarterback.
“For what direction we’re headed in, for this organization, it just was not where we’ve been going, and it does feel like we lost the game,” Beckham said.
The Browns will try to move past Thursday night in time to return to the field against the Dolphins in Week 12, although disciplinary action against Garrett should keep the topic in the forefront. The week after that will make it all but impossible to avoid talking about the incident because they’ll be facing the Steelers again in what will likely be a charged atmosphere at Heinz Field.