The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns faced off on Sunday afternoon in a battle of two AFC North teams led by their defenses. Both offenses struggled as expected, and the Browns made enough crucial plays down the stretch to win a hard-fought battle by a 13-10 score.
Cleveland improved to 7-3 on the season with the victory, while the Steelers fell to 6-4 after the loss.
As expected, this was a difficult game to watch, as both teams struggled to do much of anything on offense. Kenny Pickett’s historically horrific performance continued on Sunday, as he threw for just 106 yards on 15-28 passing. Dorian Thompson-Robinson started for the Browns, throwing for 165 yards and one interception.
Jaylen Warren led the Steelers with 129 yards rushing on 9 carries and a touchdown, while George Pickens had 4 catches for 38 yards. Elijah Moore led the Browns with 60 yards receiving on 6 catches.
The Steelers did not score in the first half, struggling to get anything going for the majority of the first quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by Jerome Ford gave the Browns a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, and a 25 yard field goal near the end of the second quarter made it a 10-0 lead at halftime in favor of the home team.
As they have done all year, though, Pittsburgh battled back after falling behind. A 74-yard touchdown run by Warren in the first minute of the third quarter cut the Browns’ lead to 10-7, and a 28-yard field goal by Chris Boswell tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.
But after both teams squandered opportunities on offense to take control of the game down the stretch, Cleveland converted on a few crucial downs on their final drive to set up the game-winning field goal by Dustin Hopkins from 34 yards out to clinch the victory.
The Steelers will face off against the Cincinnati Bengals next week in another huge AFC North matchup. The Bengals are reeling after losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, while also having lost quarterback Joe Burrow for the remainder of the season.
Overall Record: 6-4
