What an important game for several reasons. For one, it was against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers. For another, it is a divisional game. Prior to kickoff, the Steelers were 0-0 in divisional play and 2-0 in conference games. The Browns sat at 1-1 in the division and 2-1 in conference games.
With these numbers, the damage to Cleveland would be greater than a Pittsburgh loss. The game was also considered the “Game of the Week” as far as the NFL viewed their weekly contests. CBS was ecstatic to have the telecast drop into their laps with the 4-1-0 Browns versus the 4-0-0 Steelers.