Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers final score: Defensive battle changes draft position, playoff picture

The Browns’ offense looked sharp early, scoring 10 points as QB Shedeur Sanders was slinging the ball all over the field. After that, though, it became a defensive battle — so much that no scoring was happening in the second half, and Cleveland’s defense rose to the occasion to prevent Pittsburgh from clinching a playoff spot. In turn, it hurt the Browns’ draft position a little bit, but sends the fans and team home happy with the 13-6 win in front of the home crowd. Let’s get to the full game recap.

1st Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers

The Browns received the opening kickoff, with a chance to spoil Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes (or at least put a scare into them). RB Raheim Sanders got the start and had the first carry, rushing for 5 yards. On second down, QB Shedeur Sanders made a nice move to evade a defender before firing to TE Brenden Bates for a gain of 19 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-7, Sanders found WR Jerry Jeudy on a dig route for 10 yards and a first down.

The Browns then faced a decision on 4th-and-5 at the Steelers’ 33 yard line, in the rain. K Andre Szmyt came on from 50 yards and drilled it to make it a 3-0 game.

On the Steelers’ first offensive play, RB Jaylen Warren had the ball punched out by LB Devin Bush, but the Steelers were able to recover the fumble. Pittsburgh tried running it two more times, including on 3rd-and-3, but DT Mason Graham helped swallow it up for a gain of only a yard, as Pittsburgh punted. WR Gage Larvadain made a fair catch back at the 14 yard line.

Sanders began the next drive with a perfect flag pass to WR Cedric Tillman that went for 42 yards on the catch-and-run, into Pittsburgh territory.

The Browns then ran it three times, including on 3rd-and-5, with Sanders to move the chains after a 9-yard carry. On the next play, Sanders floated a pass to TE Harold Fannin toward the corner, but back to the inside, which Fannin tracked and came down with for a 28-yard touchdown pass to give Cleveland a 10-0 lead.

Pittsburgh began their next drive at the 20 yard line following a touchback where the receiver stepped back to the end zone. On this drive, the Steelers came out throwing three times; on 3rd-and-6, QB Aaron Rodgers found WR Scotty Miller downfield for a 31-yard gain, but a different receiver was flagged for offensive pass interference. On 3rd-and-16, Rodgers checked it down to his big tight end, but S Rayshawn Jenkins was flagged 15 yards for taunting, although it sort of offset the questionable PI call from earlier.

A few plays later, on 3rd-and-1, FB Connor Heyward lined up under center, and took the snap on a running sweep to the outside that went for 29 yards, down to the Browns’ 22 yard line. A few plays later, a big hit by Bush on a late checkdown to RB Kenneth Gainwell went for a loss of 7 yards to end the first quarter.

2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers

On 3rd-and-14 from the 26 yard line, Rodgers’ short pass around the arms of DE Myles Garrett was incomplete. K Chris Boswell came on from 44 yards out, and it bent in to trim the Browns’ lead to 10-3.

Sanders began the Browns’ next drive with passes of 13 and 15 yards to Jeudy over the middle to get into Pittsburgh territory. The drive stalled after that, although Sanders used his legs on a 3rd-and-long to set up a 4th-and-7. Cleveland passed on a 51-yard field goal to go for it, and Sanders’ pass to TE Sal Cannella was beyond his reach for a turnover on downs.

Warren then began the next drive with a 15-yard burst up the middle. A few plays later, though, on 3rd-and-6, had his third down back shoulder throw to WR Adam Thielen dropped, which forced Pittsburgh to punt down to the 16 yard line. Sanders delivered another nice throw on this rive, getting a 16-yard strike to WR Isaiah Bond on 3rd-and-4, and then finding Jeudy again for 12 yards into Pittsburgh territory. Then, LT Cam Robinson was beat and hit as he tried to throw to his right. From there, the ball was tipped at the line and picked by LB Jack Sawyer and returned 27 yards to the Browns’ 31 yard line.

The Browns’ defense got Pittsburgh into a 3rd-and-7. Rodgers took off up the middle and had daylight, but slid short of a first down to set up a 4th-and-1. Pittsburgh decided to go for it at the Browns’ 22 yard line. Rodgers was in Shotgun and went for it all, throwing up the left sideline, but the ball was well overthrown for a turnover on downs, giving the Browns the ball back with 2:46 left in the half.

Sanders just barely missed throwing a pick six to the flat to begin the drive. Later, facing a 3rd-and-6, Sanders found Jeudy on an underneath route, and it looked like he might have room to run for a first down — but instead, he tried to cut it back inside, and was stopped short of the marker at the two-minute warning.

Cleveland punted for the first time of the half, as P Corey Bojorquez got a nice directional punt off that Pittsburgh returned to the 22 yard line. Rodgers got the ball to midfield before clocking it with 0:26 left and no timeouts. Despite clocking it, Pittsburgh then quick snapped the Browns to catch them with 12 men on the field. Rodgers got Pittsburgh in range for a 40-yard field goal, which Boswell hit to make it a 10-6 game at the half.

3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers

Pittsburgh got the ball to open the second half, as Warren stumbled at the 25 yard line. After one first down via the ground, S Grant Delpit drilled Rodgers for a fumble that went forward in the air to a receiver (but still a loss of 3 yards). Then on second down, the Browns forced another fumble, but the receiver got it back. Pittsburgh’s third down pass was incomplete, leading to a punt that Larvadain fair caught at the 13 yard line.

After a 5-yard run by R. Sanders, a 12-yard run was wiped out by a hold on Robinson, making it 2nd-and-14. Sanders faced pressure on his next pass play, but DT Cam Heyward was flagged 15 yards for roughing the passer. On the next 3rd-and-6 situation, Sanders found Cannella on a first down over the middle. A false start by Robinson, followed by a short sack on a scramble, made it 3rd-and-15, and Cleveland couldn’t convert. Bojorquez punted, getting the ball out of bounds at the 22 yard line.

Pittsburgh utilized a mix of the run and short passing game to get the ball close to midfield. Pittsburgh faced a key 3rd-and-5, and Rodgers found Miller on a diving catch over the middle. A couple plays later, Warren broke free for 13 yards to end the quarter.

4th Quarter – Browns vs. Steelers

The Steelers began the fourth quarter with a first down at the Cleveland 27 yard line. Warren got the handoff and was taken down for no gain. Then, on second down, CB Tyson Campbell forced a 3-yard loss on a quick out to a receiver, setting up 3rd-and-13. Rodgers was sacked by DE Alex Wright, pushing Boswell’s field goal attempt back to a 54-yard attempt, which he missed wide to the right, coming up empty on an 8-minute drive.

Cleveland took over at their own 44-yard line, their best starting field position of the day. Unfortunately, before they could get going, LG Joel Bitonio was flagged for a false start. On 1st-and-15, R. Sanders motioned outside and then caught a pass for 10 yards. On the next play, Cleveland gave max protection to Sanders, but he made an ill-advised decision throwing a lofting ball to Jeudy, which a defensive back undercut and had position on for the interception at the Steelers’ 34 yard line.

Gainwell got the Steelers off to a nice start to their drive with a 15-yard run to the right side. Two pass completions set up a 3rd-and-1, as Pittsburgh lined up quick, and Rodgers changed the play to a run. But right before he could get the snap off, OT Dylan Cook was flagged for a false start, making it 3rd-and-6. Rodgers looked to throw now, and the heat from Garrett forced an incompletion. Pittsburgh punted, and Larvadain made another fair catch at the 12 yard line, now with under 10 minutes to play.

Fans got excited seeing Sampson begin the drive with a 25-yard run, but it was brought back due to a hold on RT KT Leveston, making it 1st-and-15 back at the 7 yard line. This time, Sampson tried the other side to get 6 yards and making it 2nd-and-9. After a swing pass went for no gain, the checkdown to Cannella was short of a first down, forcing Bojorquez to come out and the defense to try holding strong again. But first, the punt — it was boomed 64 yards in air, but Miller also got a 25-yard return out to the Pittsburgh 43 yard line with seven minutes to go.

Warren began the drive with a run attacking the side of Garrett’s pass rush, and it went for 7 yards to midfield. On second down, Warren was stopped for a loss of 1 yard by Delpit, setting up 3rd-and-4. They tried fooling the Browns with a run on third down, but Wright sniffed it out, disrupting it for a loss of 2 yards. With five minutes to go, Pittsburgh punted again, and Larvadain made a fair catch at the 10 yard line.

A run gained 3 yards, and on 2nd-and-7, Sanders took off after the playaction pass to set up 3rd-and-1. The give went to R. Sanders up the middle, and it was stuffed short, which made Bojorquez come on. Bojorquez got off one of his best punts of the season — a 61-yard punt that had to be fair caught at the 20 yard line with 2:16 to go, and Pittsburgh needing a touchdown to win.

Pittsburgh threw three straight incompletions, making it 4th-and-10 with 2:02 remaining at the Steelers’ own 20 yard line. Rodgers’ pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage by DT Shelby Harris, sending the game to the two-minute warning with each team having three timeouts.

Sampson got the first carry, picking up 5 yards as Pittsburgh took their first timeout. On 2nd-and-5, Sampson was stuffed for a loss of 1 yard, taking their second timeout with a 3rd-and-6 coming up. On third down, Sanders handed to Sampson for 1 yard, and the Steelers burned their final timeout. Szmyt came on for a 32 yard field goal, which he hit to make it a 13-6 game with 1:40 to go.

Szmyt kicked the ball out of the end zone for a touchback to put the ball at the Steelers 35 yard line. A quick strike to Miller went for 15 yards to midfield. Rodgers found TE Pat Freiermuth over the middle on a dime for 29 yards, now inside of a minute. An RPO then went to Freiermuth again to the 10 yard line. A short pass to the outside got to the 7 yard line with 0:29 left. On 2nd-and-goal, Rodgers was nearly picked off by CB Denzel Ward after Rodgers’ receiver made an outside move instead of to the inside. On 3rd-and-goal, Rodgers wasn’t on the same page again with his receiver, making it fourth down for the game — for all the marbles. Rodgers took the snap, and tried to attack Ward, but the pass on the fade was incomplete! The Browns win!

Sanders took a kneeldown to officially run the clock out.

Quick Hitters

• QB Shedeur Sanders: 17-of-23 for 186 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
• TE Harold Fannin: 2 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD.
• DE Myles Garrett: 1 tackle.

Next up, the Browns play their final game of the season against the team they opened with: the Cincinnati Bengals.