Cleveland, OH
Steelers fall to Browns, 24-19
Cleveland (3-8) overcame a couple of late turnovers by quarterback Jameis Winston to come away with their second upset win in recent weeks over an AFC North rival. The Browns defeated the Ravens here, 29-24, on Oct. 27.
“I’d like to compliment the Cleveland Browns,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “They brought it tonight. It was a hard-fought game. They made more plays over the course of a 60-minute game. We’ve got to own our portions of it. Particularly early on, it took us too long to warm up to the action. We were penalized some with pre-snap penalties. We weren’t really sharp. We got going. Our guys fought. But it wasn’t enough to secure a victory.”
Winston completed 18 of 27 passes for 219 yards with an interception, while Chubb scored a pair of touchdowns while running for 59 yards on 20 carries.
Russell Wilson was 21 of 28 for 270 yards and a touchdown for the Steelers, who dropped to 1-5-1 in their past six trips to Cleveland and 0-4 on Thursday nights against the Browns on the road.
The Steelers had two promising drives to start the game but came away empty both times despite driving into Cleveland territory.
Wilson was sacked on third-and-3 at the Cleveland 32 by Garrett for an 8-yard loss. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin chose to have Chris Boswell attempt a 58-yard field goal, but Boswell’s attempt went wide right to keep the game scoreless.
The Steelers forced a three-and-out and a Cleveland punt and again drove into Browns territory, this time getting to the 38 where they faced fourth-and-2. But Justin Fields, who entered in place of Wilson in the short-yardage situation, was stopped for a two-yard loss, turning the ball over on downs.
The Steelers finally did score on their third possession, as Wilson connected with Calvin Austin III on a 46-yard pass to set up a 48-yard field goal by Boswell and a 3-0 lead.
The Browns, who hadn’t had a first down to that point, answered with a touchdown drive, including converting on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 16.
“They made some of those fourth-and-shorts and we didn’t,” said Steelers defensive lineman Isaiaah Loudermilk. “We pride ourselves in stopping those kind of plays, and we just didn’t do it.”
Chubb then scored on a 2-yard run to give Cleveland a 7-3 lead with 4:00 remaining in the half.
Looking to get a score before the end of the half, Wilson attempted to step up in the pocket on second down at his own 32, but Garrett got a hand on the ball and knocked it loose. Winston Reid recovered the loose ball at the Pittsburgh 31.
That set up a 34-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 10-3.