Four days after their harrowing loss, the Browns bounced back by beating their longtime rivals at home in “Thursday Night Football.” With the help of Nick Chubb and a second-half defense, the Browns won 29-17 and are 2-1 on the season. Pittsburgh just ended a disappointing Week 2 loss, trailing 1-2.
Trailing 14-13 at halftime, the Browns took control by scoring on the first two possessions of the second half. Chubb fueled the offense, and he finished for 113 yards on 23 carries. Cleveland also got a big night from Amari Cooper, whose 32-yard reception in Game 3 and 1 set up Chubb’s 1-yard touchdown to put Brown with 9:29 left. The team’s lead extended to 23-14. The Browns’ Denzel Ward defensive score in the final game of the game marked an exclamation point for the win.
After a slow start on both sides of the ball, the Browns — led by Chubb in a 37-yard run — first on Jacoby Brissett’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Cooper, who finished with 101 yards 7 catches of the night. The Steelers responded with a 5-yard touchdown by Najib Harris to start the second quarter. Ballet, one-handed grasp Rookie George Pickens passes for Harris’ touchdown.
Cleveland countered with a touchdown from Brissett’s David Nyoku with 8:58 left in the half. The Steelers took their first lead shortly after when Mitch Trubisky scored on a 1-yard touchdown. Pittsburgh’s offense started another promising offense in the second half, ultimately failing shortly after crossing the midfield. Pittsburgh did little for much of the second half, but his scoring drive in the final minutes made the game six with 1:46 left. However, a penalty for their subsequent offside kick allowed the Browns to cut the game to nine seconds.
High winds affected both kickers in the first half. Boswell missed a 53-yard attempt on Pittsburgh’s second drive. Browns rookie kicker Ced York missed a PAT but made up for it with a 34-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter to give Cleveland the lead forever.
Why the Steelers lost
Before entering tonight, Trubisky hadn’t had a game with more than 200 passing yards, but he did tonight, going 20-for-32 for 211 yards with no touchdowns.
Trubisky’s season wasn’t enough, and he was asked if he should replace rookie QB Kenny Pickett.
On offense, Deontay Johnson was the Steelers’ man of the night, with six catches for 63 yards and a fumble recovery, but he did have some key turnovers. The Steelers’ offense clearly has a lot to improve.
The defense couldn’t keep up with Chubb, one of the best running backs in the NFL who recorded another 100-yard game on his resume.
The defense missed TJ Watt, historically can’t win without him. They are now 0-6 with Watt on the sidelines.
Why the Browns won
The Browns lost all three stages of the game, struggling and rebounding in a game where everyone lent a helping hand in the win.
Brissett looks confident and composed, and can use his rushing ability from short yards when needed.
Speaking of running games, let’s talk about Anda. Chubb absolutely wrecked the Steelers defense with 23 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. He has 24 100-yard games since 2018, the most in the league during that period.
I was also impressed by Cooper, who had a rhythm with Brissett and finished with seven catches and a touchdown for 101 yards.
The Browns made the trade because the defense kept the Steelers off the court and forced back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the game. The Steelers were never able to recover from those two stops, which brought us to a turning point in the game.
(And garbage-time defensive touchdowns didn’t hurt.)
turning point
Late in the third quarter, Trubisky’s 35-yard pass to Jaylen Warren was recalled for a Chukuma Okolafo free throw. The drive led to a Steelers punt shortly after, and the Browns responded by scoring on their next drive.
After getting the ball back, the Steelers were powerless again and went out with three points.
The Browns responded again, this time using 6:35 to go 11 games of 80 yards and a touchdown to make it 23-14. In scoring drive, multiple players made an impact, with the Browns looking to have complete control of the game and Brissett looking to have complete control of his offense.
Chubb had more than 100 yards on the ground on this drive, and he had quite a few rushes, including a 16-yard rush. Cooper jumped high with a 32-yard pass to send them into Steelers territory. Chubb is a guy who hits it a yard on the fourth and one.
To make matters worse for the Steelers, they responded with another 3-pointer out, two in a row.
Gameplay
The Steelers didn’t win, but they did get the next best thing, which is a feature in our “Gameplay” section.
Wide receiver George Pickens proved why he’s the talk of Steelers training camp with a catch. In the first quarter, Pickens received the ball incredibly one-handed and seemed to defy gravity.
Pickens’ catch came in games two and three, and Trubisky threw a ball to the right sideline. A 36-yard catch put the Steelers in the red zone and Naji Harris scored a touchdown.
what’s next
The Browns head to Atlanta next week to face the Falcons, who are 0-2 as we enter Week 3. The Falcons’ two losses were close, 27-26 to the Saints and 31-27 to the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams.
The Steelers will host the Jets in Week 4. So far, the Jets’ offense has been led by quarterback Joe Flacco, with Zach Wilson still sidelined with a bone injury and a torn meniscus. Wilson is expected to miss 2 to 4 weeks and not return for Week 3. Two weeks later, Flacco was third with 616 passing yards behind Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (739) and Commanders’ Carson Wentz (650).