Browns fans had waited over three years for their team to return to the field.

But what happened 16 years ago today, on Sept. 12, 1999, as Cleveland opened the expansion era was hardly worth the wait.

Playing their arch rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, before a raucous full house of 73,138 in brand-new Cleveland Browns Stadium and a national TV audience on Sunday Night Football, the Browns were dominated in every phase of the game in losing 43-0.

Pittsburgh led just 7-0 after one quarter, but widened the margin to 20-0 at halftime and 26-0 heading into the final quarter. However, the points don’t tell the ugliest part of the story for the Browns.

What turned out to be a bad Steelers team – they finished just 6-10 after falling apart down the stretch – held Cleveland to just 40 yards of offense, including only nine yards rushing. It was a historically nightmarish defeat for the Browns in that regard.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh rolled up 464 total yards and 35 first downs.

The Steelers’ backup quarterback, Mike Tomczak, a one-time Brown from Ohio State who was an NFL journeyman at best, came on late in the game and completed all eight of his passing attempts for two touchdowns. The Browns made him look like Terry Bradshaw. That’s how bad it was.

It was a giant dose of reality for a Browns team that, with all of the veterans it had acquired, thought it would compete for a playoff spot and shock the world.

It was shocking, all right. All the new Browns would end up competing for in that first season was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, which they ended up “earning” by going a franchise-worst 2-14.