The Steelers controlled Sunday's game from start to finish, leading for all 60 minutes against the Browns.
Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 23-9 at Acrisure Stadium. The Browns were down 9-3 going into halftime and got the ball first after the break but couldn't capitalize while the Steelers pulled away.
QB Dillon Gabriel passed for 259 yards in his second start, targeting fellow rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. and veteran WR Jerry Jeudy a combined 23 times. Fannin led the team with 81 receiving yards on seven receptions while Jeudy had five catches for 43 yards. LB Devin Bushled the team with nine tackles while the Browns failed to record a sack for the second time this season.
Key Moments
Pittsburgh defense keeps Browns out of end zone
After a defensive pass interference on CB Brandin Echols gave the Browns an automatic first down and moved them to the Steelers 3-yard line, they had a chance to get back within 10 points early in the fourth quarter. However, two incomplete passes and an 11-yard sack pushed the Browns back, forcing them to kick their third and final field goal of the game.
The Browns reached the red zone for the third time in the game just before the 2-minute warning looking for a last-minute comeback. Gabriel found Fannin for a 24-yard completion to get to the Steelers 18-yard line but the offensive progress stopped there. The Browns gained just 4 more yards across the next four plays and turned it over on downs.
Special teams' penalty helps Steelers pull away
On Pittsburgh's first possession of the second half, the Browns forced the Steelers into a three-and-out and a punt. As Steelers P Corliss Waitman punted the ball, DE Cameron Thomas ran into him. The subsequent penalty gave the Steelers offense new life and a first-and-10 from the Pittsburgh 32-yard line.
The Steelers utilized the run game to move down the field in seven plays. Following the penalty, the Steelers ran for first downs on back-to-back plays from 10- and 11-yard runs from TE Jonnu Smith and RB Jaylen Warren, respectively. After an incompletion, Aaron Rodgers and D.K. Metcalf connected for 25 yards to move to the Cleveland 22-yard line.
The Steelers then went back to the run with Warren picking up 10 yards. After Warren was stuffed following the first down, they turned back to Rodgers. The 21-year veteran rocketed a pass to the middle of the end zone to TE Connor Heyward for a touchdown to go up 16-3.
Pittsburgh retained the two-possession lead for the remaining 22:54 of the game as the Steelers outscored the Browns, 7-6, during the final frame.
Browns run game gets stopped
A week after RB Quinshon Judkins recorded 110 yards against the Vikings, the Steelers defense stopped him and the Browns run game from making explosive plays
Judkins ran for 36 yards on 12 carries, with his longest rush being 6 yards. Both RB Dylan Sampson and RB Jerome Ford couldn't muster any explosive plays, either. Sampson had three runs for 12 yards and Ford had two runs for 17 yards.
Ford's 12-yard rush in the second quarter was the longest of the day for Cleveland. On the second play after the two-minute warning before the end of the first half, Ford ran to the left side, getting from the Cleveland 30 to the 42-yard line. His rush helped set up Szmyt's field goal to get the Browns on the board and put the score at 9-3 before halftime.
Game Highlights
Dillon Gabriel's 11-yard pass finds Jerry Jeudy across the middle.
Andre Szmyt closes out the first half with 31-yard field goal.
Andre Szmyt's 53-yard field goal trims the Steelers lead to 10 points.
Scoring Plays
PIT 3, CLE 0 | Chris Boswell makes 44-yard field goal | 10:55 1Q
PIT 6, CLE 0 | Chris Boswell makes 50-yard field goal | 11:01 2Q
PIT 9, CLE 0 | Chris Boswell makes 48-yard field goal | 3:38 2Q
PIT 9, CLE 3 | Andre Szmyt makes 31-yard field goal | 0:00 2Q
PIT 16, CLE 3 | Aaron Rodgers 12-yard pass to Connor Heyward | 7:46 3Q
PIT 16, CLE 6 | Andre Szmyt makes 53-yard field goal | 4:08 3Q
PIT 23, CLE 6 | Aaron Rodgers 25-yard pass to DK Metcalf | 14:55 4Q
PIT 23, CLE 9 | Andre Szmyt makes 32-yard field goal | 9:29 4Q
What's Next
After losing to the Steelers, the Browns play their first game at Huntington Bank Stadium since Week 3 against the Dolphins on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
