The Steelers are getting ready for their big AFC North match-up against the Browns.

Channel 11’s Shelby Cassesse spoke with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who emphasized this week’s importance.

Many within the AFC North see playing their first divisional game as a rite of passage.

With so many newcomers on this year’s roster, they’ll get that chance this weekend against Cleveland.

Mike Tomlin often frames these matchups as a chance for players to leave their mark and to add their names to the long list of Steelers who have defined these divisional rivalries over the years.

While Aaron Rodgers is new to the AFC North, he’s no stranger to heated divisional battles.

He said he’s been trying to get a sense for what it’s like in the AFC North and asked Patrick Queen about it, a guy who obviously knows the division well. Queen spent the first part of his career in Baltimore.

“Detroit, there wasn’t the same type of energy. We wanted to beat them, but there wasn’t the hatred that Wisconsin people have for Minnesota, or just the old school, 100-year rivalry with big Chicago and little Green Bay. It seems like with this, that kind of rivalry is with the Browns and the hatred goes both ways with the Steelers/Bengals and Steelers/Ravens,” Rogers said.

That appears to be the attitude from the top down.

Broderick Jones said Mike Tomlin walks in on a divisional week with some extra juice and it always resonates in the locker room. ,

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