The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their Week One Sunday home opener to the San Francisco 49ers and now they are preparing for a second consecutive 2023 home game. That Week 2 home game will be on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, and should they lose that contest as well, it will equal a dubious franchise mark that was last achieved in 1952.
In short, if the Steelers lose Sunday to the Browns, it will mark the first time since 1952 that they have lost back-to-back home games in Weeks One and Two, according to Stathead.com.
In that 1952 season, the Steelers lost their week one home game 31-25 to the Philadelphia Eagles in a Sunday, September 28 contest that was played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The following week, the Steelers lost their Week Two home game to the Cleveland Browns 21-20 at Forbes Field on October 4.
In 1952, Joe Bach was the Steelers head coach and the team went 0-4 that season before finally notching their first win on the road against the Chicago Cardinals in Week Five. That 1952 team went on to register a 5-7 record that season to finish fourth in the NFL’s American Division, which included six teams in total at the time.
To add a little context to this feat that we certainly hope doesn’t happen on Monday, 1997 was the last time that the Steelers opened a regular season with back-to-back home games in Weeks One and Two. Additionally, since 1933 and through last season, the Steelers opened a regular season with back-to-back home games in Weeks One and Two just 15 times in total.
It’s hard to believe, however, that 1997 was the last time up until this 2023 season that the Steelers had back-to-back home games in Weeks One and Two. Additionally, prior to 1997, 1977 was the last time that such a thing occurred.
Since head coach Mike Tomlin came to Pittsburgh in 2007, the Steelers have opened a regular season with back-to-back losses just twice, in 2013 and 2019. Those two seasons the Steelers failed to make the playoffs with 8-8 seasons in each.
To close out this post, the last time the Steelers lost a regular season game at home to the Browns was in 2003. The Steelers also enter their Monday night against the Browns 2-0 in Monday night contests played in Pittsburgh. The only other time the Steelers faced the Browns on a Monday night was in 1985 and they lost that road game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 17-7.
