Yes Cleveland, that really happened!
The first quarter of the first Browns postseason game in almost 20 years ended with a truly unbelievable score.
Cleveland 28, Pittsburgh 0
All the adversity, all the nervous energy, all the years of being on the wrong end of the rivalry hose, it all went up in a glorious puff of cathartic smoke. The Browns could do no wrong, the Steelers could do no right in the first 15 minutes. From the opening snap–a Browns touchdown by Karl Joseph–to the end of the quarter, it was the most satisfying display of football from a Cleveland team in decades.
The Browns were the first team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to score 28 points in the first quarter of a postseason game.
The Browns are the first team to score 28 points in the 1st Q of a playoff game since the Raiders against the Oilers in 1969.
The Browns scored as many points in the 1st quarter tonight (28) as they did during the 1st quarter of their previous 13 games combined in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/4WXuy1Djtg
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 11, 2021
They were also the first Browns team to have a turnover differential of plus-3 in the first quarter of a playoff game.