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ESPN's Pat McManamon had what has to be his shortest article ever Friday afternoon.
But one of the more powerful entries you'll read.
"The Cleveland Browns have never beaten the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the same season."
The Browns' franchise revival in 1999 has seen the Ravens and Steelers win two Super Bowls each, beating the tar out of the Browns through most of that time. Cleveland's only playoff appearance came equipped with a road loss to the Steelers in 2002. In fact, that year, the Browns played five games against those two teams, losing four of them - three straight from Pittsburgh and splitting with the Ravens.
Cleveland has two chances to break that cycle in 2013, though, with what could be their best chance Sunday in Cleveland. The Browns are a slight one-point favorite (read: the game is in Cleveland), and are probably as close to Pittsburgh's level as the franchise has been in its rebirth era.
The two teams will square off in Week 17 in Pittsburgh as well. Whether that game has playoff implications - it did not last season when they met in the final week - will likely depend on the winner of Sunday's game's ability to continue winning. The postseason chances for the loser will likely drop quite a bit.
Incidentally, the Ravens are hosting the current No. 6 seed in the AFC, the New York Jets. In all, there are nine teams within 1.5 games of the final seed in the AFC playoff picture.
Maybe it would be a minor victory for the Browns to break both their 11-game losing streak against Baltimore as well as scoring a win over the division's top two teams since their rebirth. It could also bring them closer to a surprising playoff berth this season.
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