The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns will square off on Sunday for the first time since the infamous brawl between Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett. There will be a lot of talk about that storyline before and during the game, but Mike Tomlin insists his team is not giving it any thought.
When asked about the highly anticipated rematch on Tuesday, Tomlin reminded reporters that the Steelers are 4-0 and Browns are 4-1 in what has become a very competitive AFC North. He said the Garrett-Rudolph fight is the furthest thing from anyone’s mind.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is on fire today. Asked about the Myles Garrett/Mason Rudolph return match, he answered, "We’re not looking for that low-hanging fruit or that reality TV storyline. This is a big game here in 2020."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 13, 2020
Tomlin also praised Garrett for being a “freakish talent” and said the Steelers will have their hands full containing him.
Garrett was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season after he bashed Rudolph in the head with his helmet during a meeting between the Steelers and Browns last year. The star defensive end later claimed he became so enraged because Rudolph used a racial slur, though there is no evidence of that having happened.
Unless Ben Roethlisberger suffers an injury, Rudolph won’t even be playing in Sunday’s game. Some Steelers players may hold ill will toward Garrett over last year’s incident, but Tomlin clearly wants them to know how important the game is.
