By Zac Jackson, Mike DeFabo and Amos Morale III
As rapidly falling snow piled up on Huntington Bank Field, the Cleveland Browns turned to Nick Chubb to carry them home against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 24-19 win Thursday night.
After trailing by 12 in the fourth quarter, the Steelers (8-3) stormed back to take a 19-18 lead late in the fourth quarter by scoring back-to-back touchdowns within a two-minute span.
But then Browns QB Jameis Winston settled into a groove. After the blinding snow wreaked havoc on the passing game previously, he overcame the wintry conditions to orchestrate a nine-play, 45-yard drive, punctuated in the game’s final minute by Chubb plowing ahead for a 2-yard touchdown. Chubb’s two-touchdown game was his first since 2022, and Winston added another rushing score early in the fourth to fuel Cleveland to its third win of the season (3-8).
Jeudy continues thriving
Jerry Jeudy has been a new player since Winston took over, and Jeudy delivered again here.
The Browns appeared to have had this game won multiple times, but they didn’t set themselves up to really win it until Winston hit Jeudy on third down with a little over a minute left. It was the Browns’ first third-down conversion of the night in 10 tries, and it set up a situation where the Steelers basically had to let Chubb score his second touchdown of the night to preserve time.
A strange, snowy game went to the home team thanks to multiple heroics, but the Browns would not have won it without Winston and Jeudy, who had six catches for 85 yards and has topped 70 receiving yards in each of Winston’s four starts. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer
A wild fourth quarter
The Browns won in wild fashion. They wouldn’t have won without going 4-for-4 in converting fourth downs. There was a lot of sloppiness from both sides as part of a 27-point fourth quarter, but the Steelers failing to convert three fourth downs ended up coming back to sting them.
The Steelers tried a 58-yard field goal instead of punting on the game’s first drive, and later in the first quarter they inserted Justin Fields for a predictable fourth down run that the Browns blew up. Later, Jaylen Warren ran right into the teeth of the Browns defense on a fourth down run.
The Steelers made a bunch of questionable decisions in this game, and it’s not a stretch to say they mismanaged those fourth downs and a late third down on which they had Fields throw a deep pass instead of running in snowy conditions. It was not Mike Tomlin’s finest moment. — Jackson
Browns defense returned to 2023 form
The Browns defense has not played to its pay grade or its 2023 standard. And though it faltered in the fourth quarter, the Browns finished more plays than the Steelers defense did and ultimately finished the game. Myles Garrett had 3 1/2 sacks, and the Browns came up big on multiple fourth downs and on the Steelers final two possessions. —Jackson
Steelers needed both QBs to spark comeback
The Steelers’ boom-or-bust offense showed its explosive side and its warts. For most of the game, Pittsburgh’s most-consistent offense came from Russell Wilson deep shots. However, the Steelers struggled to run the ball consistently, couldn’t keep Wilson upright and repeatedly failed on short-yardage situations. By the time the Browns took a 18-6, fourth-quarter lead, the Steelers had gone seven quarters without a touchdown.
Needing a spark, the Steelers leaned on both of their quarterbacks. First, Fields provided a chunk play on a designed quarterback run, racing 30 yards down the right sideline. He later helped cap the drive with a touchdown when he came into the game and handed the ball to Warren on a read-option.
Then, after Nick Herbig strip-sacked Winston, Wilson connected with Calvin Austin III for a 23-yard touchdown to put the Steelers ahead, 19-18.
The Steelers have been a difficult team to figure out this season. Erasing a 12-point lead in six minutes — after failing to score for seven quarters — continues to make this a hard team to understand. Blowing that lead makes the conversation even messier. But one thing is becoming clear: Playing both quarterbacks may be necessary for the Steelers get out of ruts and rectify their red zone woes. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer
Fourth-down failures haunt Pittsburgh
The Steelers’ defense was nearly perfect on third down, as the Browns went 1-for-10 on the evening. However, fourth down was a completely different story. The Browns went 4-for-4. That included a Winston rushing touchdown that put the Browns ahead 18-6.
Later, with Pittsburgh leading 19-18, the Steelers had a chance to end the game when the Browns faced a fourth-and-3 from Pittsburgh’s 38. However, Winston hit Jeudy for five yards and a first down. Later in that same series, the one third down the Browns did complete was a back-breaker that set them up for the go-ahead touchdown. — DeFabo
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
