KC Concepcion gets blunt about Steelers fans ahead of rematch

Cleveland Browns wide receiver KC Concepcion. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Browns rookie WR KC Concepcion gets blunt about Steelers fans ahead of rematch

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Oct 29, 2026 6:17 PM ET

KC Concepcion's first Cleveland Browns game against the Pittsburgh Steelers taught the rookie wide receiver something about the rivalry, and he shared it on Thursday as the Browns prepared for Sunday's rematch in Pittsburgh.

Cleveland won the first meeting 27-24 at home on a 56-yard field goal from Andre Szmyt, so Concepcion got his introduction with the crowd firmly behind him.

"I just learned that Steelers fans do not like Browns fans. I know that this is a rivalry that has been going on for years and years and years. I'm just trying to do anything to put the Browns up," Concepcion told reporters.

Concepcion knew the history coming in, and he said as much.

#Browns WR KC Concepcion on what he learned about the rivalry with the Steelers in their first game: "I just learned that Steelers fans do not like Browns fans. I know that this is a rivalry that has been going on for years and years and years. I'm just trying to do anything to put the Browns up."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) October 29, 2026

Can the Browns finally win a game in Pittsburgh?

Sunday puts the rookie on the other side of that noise, in a building where Cleveland keeps losing. The Steelers have won 22 straight regular-season home games against the Browns, whose last regular-season win in Pittsburgh came in 2003.

Both teams sit at 5-2 going in. A Browns win would put them a game clear of Pittsburgh with the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand, and it would give Cleveland its first season sweep of the Steelers since 1988.

Concepcion piled up 55 yards after contact last week, the most by any receiver in a single game this season, and that kind of production holds up on the road because it comes from making the first defender miss.
Against a Steelers defense that will have its crowd at full volume, a receiver who turns short throws into long gains gives the Browns a way to quiet the building one play at a time.

He learned how Steelers fans feel about Cleveland with the home crowd on his side. On Sunday, the lesson will come from a full stadium of them, and the best answer he can give is the one he already laid out.

Olamilekan Ajayi

More must-reads: