The Browns have lost grasp of the AFC North division lead. It comes at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who made it a 23-game winning streak over Cleveland in their home stadium with a 27-6 dominant victory.
It certainly wasn’t Cleveland’s day, as they turned the ball over on the first two drives, and the defense couldn’t stop Pittsburgh’s rushing attack between Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. It looked like the Browns might keep it competitive when they added a field goal with less than a minute
to go in the first half to make it 13-6, but the defense let Pittsburgh get a touchdown drive in that short span, and they basically double-dipped after the half to go up 27-6. The Browns’ offense had some opportunities, but turned it over on downs in a goal-to-go situation, and Deshaun Watson was sacked 8 times.
Let’s get to the full game recap.
1st Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers
The Browns received the opening kickoff, and after a run by RB Quinshon Judkins, QB Deshaun Watson was sacked on second down when his quick read wasn’t there. On 3rd-and-7, Watson sailed a short pass to WR KC Concepcion for an incomplete pass, but Pittsburgh was flagged for roughing the passer for going high on Watson to give the drive new life.
Watson had to exit to be checked for a concussion, bringing QB Shedeur Sanders in. Cleveland had back-to-back ineligible downfield penalties called because the Browns called simple screen passes that Pittsburgh was all over, so Sanders held the ball longer than needed. Later, on 3rd-and-13, Sanders checked it down to TE Harold Fannin to give way to P Corey Bojorquez — but then Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy threw a red challenge flag, and replay showed that the group of Steelers stripped Fannin of the ball before he was down. That gave Pittsburgh the ball at the Browns’ 42 yard line.
CB Tyson Campbell knocked QB Aaron Rodgers first quick slant attempt away, as he tried to hit WR DK Metcalf. RB Jaylen Warren carried for a few yards to set up 3rd-and-7. Rodgers overshot Warren on a crossing route, so K Chris Boswell came on to try a 57-yard field goal. He missed it wide left, and ironically enough, Cleveland took over pretty quickly with better field position than where the turnover had happened at their own 47-yard line, with Watson returning.
Judkins got the handoff to midfield. Then on second down, Watson was collapsed on, and then tried fumbled as he tried to throw the ball away, with Pittsburgh recovering right back at the Browns’ 45 yard line.
Pittsburgh fared better on their second drive, first with a swing pass to WR Germie Bernard for a first down, and then RB Rico Dowdle getting a burst of 15 yards up the middle before he was touched. A pitch play to Dowdle then went for 9 yards, setting up 2nd-and-1 at the 9 yard line. Dowdle then took it in on the next play for a 9-yard touchdown, as CB Denzel Ward tried going for the ball instead of the tackle, to put Pittsburgh up 7-0 with 7:57 to go in the opening quarter.
After the play, a personal foul penalty was called on a Steelers’ offensive lineman for extracurricular activity against DE Jared Verse, no doubt in relation to the words that were had during the week. That was enforced on the kickoff, helping WR Malachi Corley to return it out to their own 37 yard line.
Watson ran a playaction on the next drive, and missed a wide open WR Denzel Boston for what would have been a 15-20-yard gain. A short connection to WR Tylan Wallace made it 3rd-and-7, and Watson was drilled from behind for the third sack of the game, and leading to a punt (which is technically better than a turnover I guess). Bojorquez’ punt was fair caught at the 11 yard line.
After Warren picked up a first down on the first play, a screen play to Bernard was shut down by S Grant Delpit for a loss of 3 yards, setting up 3rd-and-13. They ran a quick-hitting run with Warren, and it was wide open up the middle and then bouncing to the outside for a gain of 51 yards, all the way to the Browns’ 25 yard line.
Two plays later, another pitch out to Warren gained 8 yards to the 13 yard line for a fresh set of downs. A pass to TE Pat Freiermuth set up 3rd-and-2 at the 5 yard line. They gave it to Dowdle, who easily got 3 yards to the 2 yard line on the final play of the first quarter.
2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers
On 1st-and-goal at the 2 yard line, a fade to Metcalf had no shot. On second down, Rodgers threw the ball away after a low snap. On third down, Rodgers handed to Warren, and the play was stuffed for no gain. The defense held strong for a big stop, as Boswell came on for a short field goal. He hit from 20 yards out to put the Steelers on top 10-0.
Watson began with an 8-yard dumpoff to Fannin, and then Judkins moved the chains with a run for the team’s first first down that wasn’t via penalty. Then, on 3rd-and-7, Fannin got the ball again quickly for 12 yards and a first down to the Steelers’ 44 yard line. Off of playaction, Fannin got the catch for 25 yards to the Steelers’ 19 yard line. After a 1-yard run by Judkins, RT Tytus Howard had a false start to make it 2nd-and-14. A quick screen to Fannin gained 9 yards to set up a manageable 3rd-and-5. Watson had to throw the ball away after he couldn’t find anyone and was being hit, so K Andre Szmyt came on for a 32-yard field goal, and it was good to make it a 10-3 game with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter.
Pittsburgh began their next drive at the 35 yard line. Rodgers got the Browns to bite on a fake screen, with TE Darnell Washington streaking upfield for a 24-yard gain. Then, Dowdle, after looking bottled up, broke free for 16 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-3 at the 12 yard line, Rodgers handed to Dowdle for an easy first down to the 9 yard line. Like last time down here, Rodgers tried throwing the ball and had no where to go, making it second down. On second down, they tried throwing again, and it was blown up again for an incomplete pass. On third down, DT Adin Huntington got the sack for a loss of 10 yards, forcing another field goal. Boswell hit from 37 yards, to make it 13-3 with 3:27 left in the half.
With the Steelers set to get the ball at the start of the second half, the offense needed another score to help draw closer. Beginning at the 25 yard line, Watson hit Boston for 5 yards, but then a false start by LG Zion Johnson made it 2nd-and-10. A run to Judkins went for 6 yards, but he had a hole and was just barely tripped up, preventing a bigger play. That made it 3rd-and-4 heading into the two-minute warning. Watson found Concepcion down the seam just before he got hit for a 24 yard gain. Boston then caught a timing pass to the outside for 12 yards, now at the Steelers 32 yard line.
Watson laid one out for Boston in the end zone, just before he got hit again, but Boston couldn’t locate it and it fell incomplete. Watson got sacked by DE T.J. Watt for a loss of 8 yards on the next play, as pressure came from up the middle. On 3rd-and-18, Watson got a complete to Fannin for 9 yards to set up another field goal try by Szmyt. From 49 yards out, Szmyt was good to make it a 13-6 game with 0:45 left.
The Steelers got the ball at the 31 yard line with 0:40 left and one timeout, looking to get into field goal range. Pittsburgh began with a run, and Cleveland missed a tackle as Warren got 23 yards to get close to field goal range right away. A completion in bounds was stopped for a short gain, but CB Tyson Campbell was injured, forcing Cleveland to use a timeout with 0:25 to go at the Browns’ 44 yard line. Then, Freiermuth was left uncovered in man coverage, as he picked up 27 yards to the 16 yard line. A quick screen went for 15 yards, down to the 1 yard line, and Pittsburgh clocked it with 0:05 left. Pittsburgh decided to go for it. Freiermuth lined up at quarterback, and with the tush push, they plowed into the end zone with no problem to make it 20-6 at the half, with the Steelers set to get the ball in the third quarter.
3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers
Pittsburgh began the second half with two runs to Warren to move the chains. Washington dropped an open crossing route two plays later, making it 3rd-and-5. CB Denzel Ward knocked away the third down pass for Metcalf, forcing Pittsburgh’s first punt of the game. Concepcion fair caught it at the 5 yard line, so Cleveland would begin the half backed up.
Two runs by Sampson and Judkins made it 3rd-and-1. They lined up in a full house formation, and Judkins was stuffed by DT Cam Heyward for a loss of a yard, forcing a punt down to the Steelers’ 41 yard line.
Pittsburgh ran the same fake screen, downfield pass to Washington, but to the other side of the field, and it was wide open again for 58 yards down to the 1 yard line. On the next play, Warren punched it in for the touchdown to make it a 27-6 game with 9:39 left in the third quarter.
After Cleveland got an 8-yard pass to Sampson on first down, Watson was stopped for no gain on second down, and then Watson’s third down pass was batted down by Heyward. The Browns had to punt after the three-and-out, with the Steelers taking back over at the 15 yard line.
Pittsburgh moved the chains with Dowdle on 3rd-and-1 to keep another drive going. Warren had a burst up the middle on the next play for 13 yards, but as he was coming down on top of LB Carson Schwesinger, the ball came loose and Cleveland recovered. But replay review showed that Warren was down, so Pittsburgh retained possession. A few plays later, Metcalf dropped a wide open pass over the middle, and the deflection bounced right into the chest of Ward for the interception at the Steelers’ 27 yard line.
RG Austin Barber was flagged for a hold on a first down run, putting Cleveland in a 1st-and-20 hole at the 17 yard line. A swing pass to Judkins got 12 yards, and then Watson hit Fannin for 16 yards and a first down. A screen pass to Judkins got 12 more yards to the Steelers’ 41 yard line. But then after the play, Judkins was flagged for taunting, making it 1st-and-10 back at the Browns’ 44 yard line again.
The Browns got another first down, but a hold by LT Spencer Fano set up another 1st-and-20 on the drive, back at the 44 yard line again. Cleveland ended the quarter with a 9-yard pass to Sampson.
4th Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers
On 2nd-and-11, a quick throw to Concepcion got 7 yards to make it 3rd-and-4, now likely in four-down territory. Watson found Fannin up the right sideline for a 37-yard gain, down to the 2 yard line. The give went to Judkins, but three Steelers broke through the line and Judkins was clotheslined for a loss of 3 yards. On 2nd-and-goal at the 5 yard line, Watson’s pass to Fannin was incomplete. On third down, Watson escaped a sack, rolled out, but still threw an incomplete pass. On fourth down, Watson tried to loft it over the coverage to Boston — he made a 1-hand catch, but couldn’t get his second foot in bounds, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Pittsburgh faced a 3rd-and-8, and then ran it with Dowdle for a yard to force a punt. Time was not on Cleveland’s side, though, with just over 11 minutes to play — although on the plus side, it was just a 34-yard punt to the Steelers’ 42 yard line.
An incomplete pass, followed by a sack for a loss of 8 yards, made it 3rd-and-18 at midfield. Watson was sacked again, and Cleveland punted with a fair catch at the 14 yard line. Pittsburgh moved the ball a little before punting to the 13 yard line themselves.
Fannin’s big receiving day continued with catches of 27 and 10 yards to midfield. A few plays later, it was 3rd-and-16 from the 30 yard line, and Watson’s pass was tipped and incomplete. On fourth down, they had to go for it, and Watson just dumped it off to TE Blake Whiteheart for a turnover on downs.
Cleveland’s run defense forces losses of 6, 3, and 1 yard on the next three plays, with QB Mason Rudolph at quarterback now, as Pittsburgh punted inside of two minutes. Concepcion returned the punt 22 yards to the Steelers’ 44 yard line. After three completions to Sampson, and then a throw to Boston at the 1 yard line, the Browns called their final timeout. They tried running it with Judkins, but it was stopped, and then Cleveland couldn’t get another play off, ending the game with no points.
Quick Hitters
- QB Deshaun Watson: 27-of-39 for 324 yards
- TE Harold Fannin: 10 catches, 154 yards
- The Browns have to re-group and take advantage of their ‘easy’ schedule still to come. Also helping is the fact that the Ravens lost, and lost their top two quarterbacks. The Bengals are also losing to the Titans as of the finish to the Browns game, which means Cleveland could still be in second place in the division and in line for a wildcard spot.
Up next, the Browns stay on the road to take on the New Orleans Saints.
