The Cleveland Browns are not accustomed to winning. So a tie feels pretty good.
At least, it should feel good for Browns fans not to lose their first game of the season. Cleveland had lost 13 consecutive Week One games before tying with the Steelers 21-21 on Sunday. Now the Browns are 0-0-1 instead of 0-1, as they had been each of the last 13 years.
The last time the Browns didn’t lose in Week One was in 2004, when quarterback Jeff Garcia passed for one touchdown and threw for another to beat Kyle Boller and the Ravens 20-3.
For some context about how long ago that was, just consider this: Among the noteworthy coaching debuts in the NFL that day were Dennis Green coaching his first game with the Cardinals, Lovie Smith coaching his first game with the Bears and Tom Coughlin coaching his first game with the Giants.
That year’s Browns got off to a good start and were 3-3 through six games, but they went on a five-game losing streak and fired coach Butch Davis, and they finished the season 4-12. This year’s Browns would like to think they can be better than that. Maybe 4-11-1.
