One would have to hop into the Way Back Machine and set the dial for 2020 to find a season in which Deshaun Watson started eight games in the same year.

The dial would have to be set to 2019 to find a time when Watson played in meaningful games after the calendar flipped to November.

Watson will make his eighth start of the 2026 season on Nov. 1 when he leads the 5-2 Browns into Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh to face the 5-2 Steelers in a battle for sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

Watson never started more than seven games in any of his previous four seasons with the Browns. He made 16 starts for the Texans in 2020, but that team finished 4-12. He was 10-5 as a starter for Houston in 2019 when the Texans won the AFC South.

The Browns acquired Watson from the Texans in March 2022 for six draft picks — three of them first-round choices. It has taken five years for the Browns to reap benefits from the trade. Todd Monken, in his first year as Browns head coach, is not looking back. Neither is Watson.

“It’s a blessing, man. A lot of enjoyment to be able to play football,” Watson said in the Browns’ locker room Oct. 28 before heading out to the practice fields in Berea. “And while playing football, getting wins and having success, seeing all the young guys having success. So, it’s definitely been a good seven weeks.”

The Browns beat the Steelers, 27-24, on Oct. 1 in a “Thursday Night Football” game at Huntington Bank Field. They haven’t won in Pittsburgh since Oct. 5, 2003, when Time Couch led an improbable 33-13 barrage in a “Sunday Night Football” game. Watson, now 31, was eight years old. The Browns haven’t swept a season series with the Steelers in 38 years, not since they won 23-9 at Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers, 27-7 at Cleveland Stadium in 1988.

Watson is 0-2 (2022 and 2023) in Pittsburgh as a Browns quarterback. He was the Texans quarterback in 2020 when Houston lost, 28-21, in Pittsburgh. He is not caught up in the Browns-Steelers rivalry.

“It’s another opportunity for us to just go show what we’re capable of,” Watson said. “Another opportunity for us to go out there and play and try to get a win for the city and showcase that we’re a team that can play in this league at the top level.”

Watson completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception in the Oct. 1 victory over the Steelers.

The Browns are healthier than when they faced the Steelers last month. Running back Dylan Sampson was on injured reserve (knee) in the first meeting. Defensive tackle Mason Graham was knocked out of the game with the Steelers when he suffered a knee injury and an ankle injury on the same play.

Defensive tackle Mike Hall is back after missing three games with an ankle injury suffered in the first Pittsburgh game.

“(Hall) tried to go last week, just couldn’t,” Monken said on Oct. 30. “A lot like Mason tried the week before that. So, really excited to have him back in the rotation. Sam (Kamara) did a great job in the three weeks we elevated him for us up front, so I feel like we’ve got really good depth there, and getting Mike back is a real boost.”

Right tackle Tytus Howard cleared concussion protocol on Oct. 31, one day after being listed as questionable. Howard was injured last week in Tennessee and replaced by Dawand Jones. In unrelated news, tight end Carsen was elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster.

The Browns are 2-0 in the AFC North with victories over the Ravens and the Steelers.

Browns at Steelers

When: 1 p.m. Nov. 1

Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh

Records: Browns 5-2, Steelers 5-2

Betting line: Browns +3.5

TV: WOIO/CBS

Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green

Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WKNR-AM 850, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKKY-FM 104.7