After a slow start, the Steelers offense found its groove to secure a 27-14 win over the visiting Browns. Pittsburgh is now 10-3 and a full two games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AFC North division standings. The Browns, who defeated the Steelers at home two weeks ago, fell to 3-10. Cleveland has not won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh since 2003.
Pittsburgh's offense struggled early without No. 1 wideout George Pickens, who was sidelined with a hamstring issue. Trailing 7-3 early, the Steelers offense scored on four consecutive possessions to take a commanding 27-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Two of those scores were touchdown passes from Russell Wilson, who is now 6-1 as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback.
After an early touchdown, the Browns offense withered under Pittsburgh's unrelenting pass rush, led by defensive tackle Cam Hayward and his two sacks of Jameis Winston. Winston had his moments, including his 35-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy late in the first quarter. But his bright spots were overshadowed by his mistakes that included two interceptions, the first setting up Najee Harris' go-ahead touchdown early in the second quarter.
Cleveland was also done in by two missed field goals from Dustin Hopkins. Conversely, the Steelers continue to get stellar play from their kicker, Chris Boswell, who drilled both of his tries.
Here's a closer look at how Pittsburgh pulled it off.
As noted above, Pickens' absence led to a slow start for Pittsburgh's passing game, as Wilson threw for just 46 yards in the first half. But Harris' running, the Steelers defense and Boswell's right foot kept things afloat while Wilson and the passing game worked out the kinks.
Wilson eventually found his rhythm, hitting wideout Van Jefferson and tight end Pat Freiermuth for touchdowns in the third quarter. Wilson also completed some big passes to wideouts Mike Williams and Scotty Miller. Wilson's elusiveness and mobility also loomed large on the offense's success during the game's middle quarters.
Defensively, the Steelers held the Browns to a putrid 2 of 13 on third down. The unit, which has thrived this year off of getting turnovers, did so again on Sunday. Defensive lineman Keeanu Benton's interception of Winston early in the second quarter helped put Pittsburgh in front to stay.
Trends for both teams continued today. While Pittsburgh's trend of forcing turnovers continued, Cleveland's penchant for turning the ball over also continued to rear its ugly head.
The Browns had a golden chance to capitalize on Pittsburgh's slow start on offense (the Steelers failed to convert on each of their first five third-down situations), but Benton's pick and Hopkins' missed field goals nullified that opportunity. The Browns' comeback attempt late in the game was thwarted by Winston's second pick as well as a muffed punt by Kadarius Toney.
Additional reasons for the Browns' loss was Cleveland's lack of a consistent running game and the defense's inability to make Pittsburgh's offense one-dimensional. The Browns also struggled to consistently pressure Wilson, who was sacked just once after Cleveland sacked him four times two weeks ago.
Benton's pick started to turn the game in Pittsburgh's favor, but the real turning point occurred at the end of the half when Hopkins missed his first attempt that would have cut Cleveland's halftime deficit to three points. The Browns' first drive of the second half also ended with a missed field goal by Hopkins, who is just 16 of 25 this season on field goal tries.
The Steelers made the Browns pay for their kicker's mistakes by scoring touchdowns the next two times they had the ball.
Williams had only caught one pass prior to Sunday, and that was his game-winning score a month ago in Washington. But with Pickens out, Williams got more opportunities on Sunday. He was flagged for offensive pass interference earlier in the game, but Williams more than made up for that when he pulled down a 22-yard grab on a third-and-6 play late in the third quarter. Williams' catch set up Wilson's touchdown pass to Freiermuth that extended Pittsburgh's lead to 20 points.
Pittsburgh will now embark on a grueling stretch that includes three games over 11 days, starting with next week's game in Philadelphia, a city where the Steelers haven't won in since 1965. The Steelers will then face the Ravens in Baltimore before hosing the defending two-time Super Bowl champion Chiefs on Christmas Day.
Speaking of the Chiefs, the Browns will welcome Patrick Mahomes and Co. to Cleveland next Sunday.
Pittsburgh improves to 10-3 and are two games up of Baltimore in the AFC North division standings. The Browns are 3-10 and have not won a regular season game in Pittsburgh since 2003.
James Pierre picked off Winston on the Browns' last drive, and the Steelers will get the ball back after WR Ben Skowronek pounced on a muffed punt with 2:53 left.
Scotty Miller just caught another vintage moon ball by Wilson as the Steelers are draining the clock with a two possession lead.
Winston and the Browns show fight, as Winston hits David Njoku for a score as the Browns have trimmed their deficit to 13 points with a half a quarter to play. The score was set up by Winston's 9-yard completion to Elijah Moore on a fourth-and-6 play.
Penalties and a Cam Hayward sack forced Cleveland to punt. Cleveland is 0-2 today in the red zone. Barring a turnover, the Steelers appear to be on their way to a win.
The Steelers are firmly in control after scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter. The Browns are in the red zone with the fourth quarter starting. Cleveland needs a TD here if they are going to make it interesting.
Wilson has again overcome a slow start. He just hits Freiermuth for a 20-yard scoring strike, as the Steelers have taken a 27-7 lead with 3:51 left in the third. Wilson has thrown for nearly 100 yards alone this quarter. That drive also included his 22-yard "moon" completion to Williams, who appeared to get away with a slight push off.
Elandon Roberts tackles Jerome Ford for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter. Great play by Roberts, but questionable call by the Browns, an off-tackle, slower developing running play.
CB Donte Jackson down and getting tended to by medical staff. Jackson has been a key acquisition for the Steelers. He has a team-high five interceptions so far. Cory Trice was just activated, so the Steelers do have depth at CB, but that would still be a really tough loss.
Wilson throws his first TD pass of the game, a short strike to Van Jefferson to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 20-7 midway through the third. Wilson extended the drive with a 21-yard completion to Freiermuth on a third-and-10 play. Jaylen Warren has continued to make an impact with a 14-yard catch-and-carry.
That sequence seemed like a turning point. Browns miss two field goals, the Steelers respond with a TD.
Hopkins misses his second field goal of the day, this one from just 43 yards. Biggest difference between the two teams today has been the kickers. Hopkins is 0-2, Boswell is 2-2.
Give Steelers defense credit for staying on the Browns' receivers as Winston has been extending plays. Cleveland has struggled to get open following Jeudy's TD in the first quarter.
Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. commits a senseless penalty after hitting a Browns player in the face. A 15-yard penalty that gives the Browns the ball on Pittsburgh's 21. Porter was flagged six times last week.
Halftime stats
Score: Steelers 13-7
First downs: Browns 8-7
Third downs: Browns 2-7, Steelers 2-8
Total yards: Steelers 127-124
Red zone: Browns 0-0, Steelers 1-2
TOP: Steelers 16:03
Winston: 8-19, 91 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks
Wilson: 8-16, 46 yards
Harris: 35 yards and a TD on 7 carries (Steelers 81 yards on 17 carries)
Ford: 27 yards on 6 carries; Chubb 8 yards on 5 carries (Browns 46 yards on 12 carries)
Jeudy: 1 catch (2 targets) 35 yards, TD
Boswell hits his 36th FG of the season to extend Pittsburgh's lead with 4:21 left in the half. The OPI basically short-circuited that drive. Wilson is 7 of 14 for 39 yards. They've run for 81 yards on 17 carries with Jaylen Warren getting involved on that drive.
With their passing game non-existent, the Steelers run seven straight plays to begin their current drive. Wilson has picked up two first downs with his legs on third-and-short.
Wilson hits Williams downfield for a big game, but it's getting called back for OPI. Steelers' passing game continues to struggle. Looked like a questionable call.
Benton's pick sets up Najee Harris' short TD run, as the Steelers take a 10-7 lead four minutes into the second quarter. Harris got a nick block by FB/TE Connor Hayward.
Keeanu Benton made a great play while recording the game's first turnover. The D-lineman read the Browns' screen attempt and snared Winston's pass in deep in Browns territory. Steelers offense needs to capitalize.
Score: Browns 7-3
First downs: Browns 4-1
Total yards: Browns 69-45
Third down: Browns 1-3, Steelers 0-4
TOP: Browns 8:32
Winston: 4-8, 62 yards, TD, 1 sack
Wilson: 4-8, 14 yards
Harris: 5 carries, 31 yards (no other Steeler ran the ball)
Chubb: 4 carries, 4 yards
Jeudy: 1 catch, 35 yards, TD
Instead of a run, Wilson attempts a low-percentage moon ball to Scotty Miller that was overthrown. The boos come out as the fans clearly wanted the Steelers to run there.
Cleveland's drive was extended on a roughing-the-passer penalty on Highsmith, but the Browns ultimately punted after a delay of game set up a difficult 3rd-and-13 situation. Winston settled for a short completion to David Njoku on that play.
Similar to Pittsburgh's offense on its first drive, Cleveland didn't get much going on the ground on that drive. Whoever can get their running game going consistency is going to have a great chance at winning.
Pittsburgh's passing game is struggling without Pickens. Arthur Smith dialed up three passing plays on Pittsburgh's third drive: two short completions and an incomplete pass on third down that was flagged for intentional grounding. Wilson is 3 of 6 for just five yards so far.
Surprisingly, Calvin Austin III, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth have yet to receive a target. The thought was that that trio would be leaned on more in the passing game with Pickens out.
Jerry Jeudy continues his tear with a 35-yard TD grab from Winston, who did a stellar job climbing the pocket before he hit a wide open Jeudy. Joe Burrow also had success climbing the pocket vs. Pittsburgh in the first half of last week's game in Cincinnati.
The score was set up by from tough runs by Chubb and Ford.
A penalty on a third-and-one play short-circuited the drive. But Chris Boswell hits his 35th field goal of the season and the Steelers take a 3-0 lead with 9:32 left in the opening quarter.
Harris already has 32 yards on 4 carries. But Wilson has -1 yards on 1-of-3 passing with Pickens out of the lineup.
Najee Harris rips off a 20-yard run as the Steelers are in the red zone. Steelers are giving him some quick tosses on this drive, which is a relatively new wrinkle. Harris seems to be doing well with it as far as quickly finding the hole and getting to the second level.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith wreaked havoc on Cleveland's backfield on the Browns' first drive. Watt smashed Nick Chubb for a five-yard loss on the first play. Highsmith ended the drive with a sack of Jameis Winston, who was also thrown to the ground on his first pass attempt a play earlier.
Browns will defer to the second half. Wilson coming off of his first 400-yard passing game since 2019.
Cleveland has lost its last 20 regular season games in Pittsburgh. The lost time they won in Pitt in the regular season was in 2003 on "Sunday Night Football". That was also the last time the Steelers had a losing season.
The Browns did shock the Steelers in 2020 AFC wild card round.
