CLEVELAND - If you can’t beat ’em, abandon ’em.

That was the only satisfaction Browns fans who showed up at Saturday’s fiasco had.

Near the end of a 41-0 rout, hundreds of Steeler fans waved Terrible Towels and looked for someone to taunt. There were no Browns fans left to taunt.

The Browns had fueled some hope by winning at Oakland the week before. Some of that hope was gone after a surrealistic Christmas Eve afternoon in Cleveland Browns Stadium.

“They had more fans here than we did,” safety Chris Crocker said. “Those guys were making a lot of plays, and their crowd was really cheering for them.

“It was just embarrassing. It really was.”

No one thought Head Coach Romeo Crennel’s team was going to punish a Pittsburgh team that has a chance to go 11-5.

No one foresaw this kind of humiliation.

MEDIA:  Listen to the "Charlies Fryes" as the Browns 24/7 Post Game Show did an interview with them live from the Stadium as they took major abuse from Steeler Fans.  Click Here!

“The 53 players on this team have to look at ourselves and ask what the hell we’re doing,” tight end Steve Heiden said. “Nobody showed up today.

“We have a way to go. That’s obvious. No good team is gonna lay an egg like that.

“That wasn’t us today, though.”

The 41-0 loss was reminiscent of the expansion Browns’ first game in 1999, a 43-0 loss to the Steelers.

It looked like the latter days of 2000, when Crennel was defensive coordinator, and there were losses of 44-7 at Baltimore and 48-0 at Jacksonville.

Except, the 2005 Browns were supposed to be getting better. And this one was at home.

“Offense, defense, you name it ... they outplayed us and outcoached us across the board,” Crennel said.

When Reuben Droughns (season lows of 10 carries and 36 yards) ran the ball, two or three Steelers were in his face. When rookie Charlie Frye (20-of-39 for 183 yards, eight sacks) dropped back, he had to wonder who might clobber him.

“They brought more rushers than we had blockers,” left tackle l.J. Shelton said. “A lot of times, they were up on him and he had to throw the ball hot.”

Crocker flew around and was among Browns trying to stir enthusiasm.

He wound up frustrated. His unit got hit by Willie Parker’s 80-yard run and 209 overall rushing yards. Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went 13-of-20 for 226 yards, 193 in the first half.

“I can’t say it was coaching,” Crocker said. “We as players, me included ... everything they called, we just found a way to mess it up, man.

“I take my hat off to Pittsburgh. They just shoved it down our throat, basically.”

The Browns fell behind, 14-0, before the game was 12 minutes old.

“We clicked really well on offense,” Roethlisberger said. “The defense was out there flying around.

“Our best game of the season? It probably was.”

Previously, it can be argued, the 2005 Browns’ worst losses were 27-13 to Cincinnati, 16-3 at Baltimore, 34-21 at Pittsburgh, and 24-12 at Minnesota.

This was worse than any of those.

“They were playing for their playoffs lives,” tight end Steve Heiden said. “We didn’t show up.”

In the end, Pittsburgh led 457 yards to 178 in net offense. The Steelers’ halftime edge, 251-22, better captured the flavor of the game.

“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said defensive end Orpheus Roye, who is 2-11 against his former team since joining the Browns in 2000.

Browns special teams were as special as the offense and defense. Pittsburgh used a blocked punt to set up a field goal and a 20-0 halftime lead.

“I would assume everybody in this locker room is gonna think of things they could have done better,” safety Brian Russell said. “I didn’t do much to help us win.

“I’m the personal protector on the punt team. I got a punt blocked. I made mistakes.

“Pretty much my whole game should have been better to help this team win.”

Crennel had merrier Christmas Eves during his four-year run with New England.

“There was too much bad,” he said. “You saw the game. We have a long way to go.”

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