Browns tickets jump from $41 to $217 as Cleveland's win streak fuels demand for Steelers game

Deshaun Watson and the Browns host Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers on Thursday Night Football with the AFC North lead on the line.

by Yagya Bhargava

Oct 1, 2026

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns are riding a turnaround nobody expected after an August quarterback battle with Shedeur Sanders, and Thursday night’s game against Pittsburgh could put Cleveland alone in first place in the AFC North.

The season opened with a 34-10 loss in Jacksonville, a result that made the decision to start Watson look shaky right away. Two fourth-quarter rallies have carried the Browns to 2-1 entering Thursday’s game against the Steelers.

Watson threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-30 passing to beat Tampa Bay 23-19, then connected with tight end Harold Fannin Jr. on a 14-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining to edge Carolina 21-18 a week later.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson scrambles with the ball against the Carolina Panthers.

Scott Galvin-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

The home crowd hadn’t always been in Watson’s corner. He drew boos from Cleveland fans during an August preseason loss to Buffalo and didn’t hold back about it, calling the reaction “a disrespectful thing.”

That memory made the moment against Carolina feel different. As the fourth-quarter drive unfolded, the same fans who once turned on him were fully behind him, and Watson later admitted he got “a little teary-eyed, feeling that energy.”

Pittsburgh arrives at 2-1, led by Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 292 yards in a 30-27 win over Cincinnati. Every team in the AFC North sits at 2-1 entering Thursday night, and a Browns win would deliver Cleveland’s first 3-1 start since 2020 and sole possession of first place.

The win streak has even reshaped what fans are willing to pay to be there. A ticket that cost as little as $41 on TickPick before Week 1 now runs $217 for the cheapest available seat, h/t ESPN’s Field Yates.

The Browns and Steelers kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET at Huntington Bank Field. Cleveland then gets extra rest before its next matchup, a trip to face the New York Jets on Sunday, October 11, at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium on CBS.