BEREA, Ohio – Mike Pettine has opened his last two seasons under similar circumstances -- suffering last-second losses to future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks who have dominated the teams he's coaching.

A year ago, the then-Bills defensive coordinator watched Tom Brady continue his mastery of Buffalo in leading the Patriots to a 23-21 victory in the dying seconds. A month ago, the new Browns coach saw Ben Roethlisberger do the same engineering a late field-goal drive allowing the Steelers to escape with a 30-27 win at Heinz Field.

Since the 1970 NFL merger, no quarterback has a better record (18-1) in his first 19 games against a single opponent than Roethlisberger versus the Browns, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Brady is second at 17-2 against the Bills. He's extended it to 22-2.

The Browns and Bills each host their tormentors Sunday.

Pettine said he doesn't get caught up in an individual quarterback's success against the team he's coaching.

"You don't get tied up in it because it can only be a negative," he said. "I think it's critical for our guys. You get to the point where you use the cliche, 'Hey, treat these guys like they are nameless and faceless.' And we're more competing against our standards than we are against anyone else particular."

There are few streaks since the league merger that come close to rivaling the ones of Roethlisberger and Brady.

Peyton Manning is 17-3 against the Texans, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. Hall of Famer Steve Young was 15-2 against the Rams. Of course, the Ravens' Joe Flacco has inflicted Roethlisberger-like damage to the Browns going 12-1 to start his career.

Pettine said he spoke briefly to the Bills about Brady's run prior to the start of last season. Before this year's opener, he discussed at length the Browns' failure against the Steelers without dwelling on the Big Ben component.

He was asked whether the quarterback's record can become a mental hurdle for players.

"There could be, but to me you're not just dealing with the quarterback, you're dealing with the team in general," Pettine said. "You look at the lack of success against Pittsburgh and that's what we talked about that first week."

The coach said the struggles with the Steelers – The Browns are 5-27 since their 1999 return – have not been broached this week.

"We don't get caught up in the history at this point," Pettine said.

In the opener, the Browns rallied from a 27-3 deficit to tie it only to see Roethlisberger lead a 33-yard field-goal drive in the final 47 seconds.

"Having No. 7 in the huddle definitely puts us at ease," Steelers receiver Antonio Brown said. "Know we have our Commander and Chief to provide us with a high-percentage chance to win."

Especially when it's against the Browns.