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Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press
The Cleveland Browns made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, but Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster doesn’t see much of a difference.
“I think it’s still the same Browns teams that I play every year,” he said ahead of Sunday’s playoff game, by Tom withers from the Associated Press. “I think they’re unnamed gray faces. They’ve got a few good players on their team, but at the end of the day I don’t know. The Browns are the Browns.”
Not that Cleveland needed the extra motivation in their first playoff game in nearly two decades against their main rival, but it can provide it.
Smith-Schuster has turned heads several times this season with his tendency to dance to the other team’s midfielder logo during road games, although Cincinnati Bengals safety Vonn Bell said he was going to land a hit if the wide receiver did that in their game and did just that with a hard-hitting tackle.
While the Browns may not be looking for massive hits over Smith-Schuster, a playoff win would be one way to send the message that they are no longer the “same” old team.
Cleveland won the Week 17 game between rivals AFC North to advance to the playoffs, although Ben Roethlisberger did not play in what was largely an insignificant game for the Steelers having already won the division.
Smith-Schuster had six catches for 65 yards and one touchdown in this game and just two catches for six yards in Pittsburgh’s 38-7 win in the October game.
He will be in the spotlight in Sunday’s game following the comments as the Steelers seek their first playoff win since the 2016 season.
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