With the Steelers 7 yards away from the end zone and a chance to tie the game with a touchdown, the Browns needed a stop.
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers floated the ball up to the right side of the end zone to WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. CB Denzel Ward was right there, however, blanketing the receiver and denying him a chance to complete the catch. The ball fell to the ground, and the Browns won their first AFC North game of the season.
Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 13-6 on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field, holding the Steelers to zero second-half points and a season-low in scoring.
QB Shedeur Sanders completed 17 of 23 passing attempts for a 73.9 completion percentage, a career-high. He passed for 186 yards, throwing a touchdown and two interceptions. WR Jerry Jeudy led the team in receiving with 54 yards and five catches. WR Cedric Tillman had the longest play of the day for the Browns with a 42-yard grab in the first quarter. Sanders, RB Raheim Sanders and RB Dylan Sampson all had 20 or more rushing yards with Sampson leading the group with 27 yards on 11 carries.
Linebackers Carson Schwesinger and Devin Bush led the defensive charge with nine tackles apiece. S Grant Delpit and DE Alex Wright both recorded a sack in the game while Myles Garrett was held to just one tackle and a quarterback hit.
K Andre Szmyt led the Browns in scoring with seven points, going 2-for-2 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points.
Key Moments
The Browns stop the Steelers short to hold onto the lead and win
Rodgers started the Steelers' drive with 1:40 to score a touchdown and even the score at 13. He quickly moved the Steelers down the field, taking 47 seconds to move 55 yards to the Cleveland 21-yard line. Rodgers passed to TE Pat Freiermuth for an 11-yard gain to move into the red zone and move within 10 yards of the end zone. On the next down, he connected with WR Adam Thielen for 3 yards before Thielen ran out of bounds with 29 seconds remaining.
Rodgers targeted Valdes-Scantling on the next three plays but there was a problem — Ward was guarding him. With each play, Rodgers tried to force the ball to Valdes-Scantling, but Ward stopped any chance of a completion. On fourth-and-7, Rodgers floated a ball to Valdes-Scantling for Pittsburgh's last gasp, but Ward blanketed the wide receiver, giving him no chance to catch the ball.
The Browns force a four-and-out and extend their lead
Rodgers had four downs to complete a pass, and all four times, the ball fell short of the intended receiver. The turnover on downs gave the Browns the ball back, leading 10-6 with 1:58 left in the game. Pittsburgh held the Browns to just 4 yards in three plays and called all three timeouts to stop the clock at 1:44. Cleveland opted to kick a field goal and extend its lead to 13-6. Szmyt made the 33-yard field goal, giving the Browns a touchdown lead with 1:40 left in the game.
The Browns turn the offense's interception into a Pittsburgh turnover on downs
With the Browns on Pittsburgh's side of the field with a fresh set of downs, they were in position to score points. However, as soon as Sanders was set to pass on first down, Steelers LB Alex Highsmith hit his arm. The ball hit off DL Logan Lee's helmet right to the hands of LB Jack Sawyer. Sawyer ran down the left sideline before cutting in and being tackled at the Browns 31-yard line.
With a short field, the Browns' defense needed to stay resilient to avoid Pittsburgh tying the game after Steelers K Chris Boswell put the score at 10-3 with a 44-yard field six seconds into the second quarter. Cleveland held the Steelers to 9 yards on the next three plays and Pittsburgh decided to go for a touchdown rather than take another field goal. Rodgers threw to the end zone, but the ball went out of bounds for a turnover on downs. The fruitless Pittsburgh possession gave the Browns the ball back without hurting their lead.
Pittsburgh would later recoup the points it would've earned with a field goal. Boswell knocked through a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to make the score 10-6, capping off a 10-play, 56-yard drive that took the remaining 1:51 off the clock.
Cleveland scores on its first two possessions to take a 10-0 lead
The Browns used the two first plays from scrimmage to move across midfield on the game's first possession, establishing momentum quickly. Raheim Sanders ran for six yards before Sanders found TE Brenden Bates for a 19-yard gain to move to the Pittsburgh 48-yard line. Raheim Sanders ran for 3 yards on second down and Sanders picked up the first down with a 10-yard completion to Jeudy. The Steelers held Cleveland to three combined yards on the next three plays, forcing the Browns to take a field goal. Szmyt nailed the 50-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
The Browns' defense held the Steelers to a three-and-out, allowing Cleveland to potentially take a two-possession lead on its second possession. Sanders aired the ball out on the first play, finding Tillman for a 42-yard gain to the Steelers 44-yard line. Raheim Sanders ran for five yards across the next two plays before Henderson maneuvered his way past the sticks on a 9-yard run. Shedeur Sanders finished the drive the same way he began it – with his arm. He found TE Harold Fannin Jr. down the field for a 27-yard completion before Fannin rolled his way into the end zone while on the ground from the 1-yard line. Szmyt made the extra point, giving the Browns a 10-0 lead with 5:11 left in the first quarter.
Fannin was injured on the touchdown score and would remain out for the remainder of the game.
Game Highlights
K Andre Szmyt's 50-yard field goal opens the scoring in the game.
QB Shedeur Sanders' 42-yard completion to WR Cedric Tillman moves the Browns into Steelers territory.
QB Shedeur Sanders finds TE Harold Fannin Jr. for a 28-yard touchdown to take a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
DE Alex Wright brings down Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers in the backfield for Cleveland's second sack of the game.
Scoring Plays
CLE 3, PIT 0 | Andre Szmyt makes 50-yard field goal | 10:48 1Q
CLE 10, PIT 0 | Harold Fannin Jr. 28-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders | 5:11 1Q
CLE 10, PIT 3 | Chris Boswell makes 44-yard field goal | 14:54 2Q
CLE 10, PIT 6 | Chris Boswell makes 40-yard field goal | 0:00 2Q
CLE 13, PIT 6 | Andre Szmyt makes 33-yard field goal | 1:40 4Q
What's Next
Following the win against Pittsburgh, the Browns close out the season in Cincinnati against the Bengals on either Jan. 4 or 5.
