Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s response to a question about whether this year’s Browns team was different from those of past years drew plenty of notice last week.
Smith-Schuster said he thinks “they’re still the same Browns teams I play every year” and that they have some good players, but “the Browns is the Browns” when all is said and done. Those comments were not met with smiles from Browns players like Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett heading into Sunday night.
They each used them as fodder for motivational videos ahead of a 48-37 Browns win that ended the Steelers season and made a compelling argument that these aren’t the same Browns. Browns players ran off the field yelling “the Browns is the Browns” and reference Smith-Schuster in postgame comments, but the wideout said after the game that he had no regrets about providing them with material.
“You know, I don’t regret what I said. I said the Browns is the Browns,” Smith-Schuster said in his postgame press conference. “They came out and they played a hell of a game. You know, there’s been games where we feel we lose them and today wasn’t our night and hopefully the same Browns will show up next week against the same opponent and go out and do the same thing they did tonight and have a hell of a game.”
It’s not the first time that Smith-Schuster’s actions have been cited as motivational by opponents. His dancing on midfield logos earned him the ire of the Bills and Bengals before regular season losses to those clubs. Sunday’s loss puts the wideout on track for free agency and the Steelers will have to decide if the positives outweigh the negatives that he brings to the table.