Browns-Steelers takeaways: Pittsburgh comes alive in second half to seal third straight win

By Zac Jackson, Mike DeFabo and Zach Powell

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense came alive in the final 24 minutes after a low-scoring first half to pick up a 23-9 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

The first half was an offensive slugfest dictated by four field goals between the two teams, including three from Steelers veteran kicker Chris Boswell, which gave Pittsburgh a 9-3 halftime lead. In the second half, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who tossed two touchdowns, found Connor Heyward for the game’s first TD.

Rodgers found DK Metcalf for a 25-yard touchdown to begin the fourth quarter, giving Pittsburgh its largest lead of the game, 23-6.

The Steelers’ defense, which held off any potential Browns comeback, kept Cleveland out of the endzone by tallying six sacks, swarming rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel in his second career NFL start. The Browns, who haven’t won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh since 2003, dropped their 22nd consecutive regular-season road game to the black and gold.

Cleveland’s last win over Pittsburgh on the road came in January 2021 during the playoffs. The Steelers, meanwhile, picked up their third straight win of the season.

Steelers open AFC North play in fitting form

The Steelers opened AFC North play with a classic divisional game. As has often been the case in these matchups, football is distilled down to its most basic level: stop the run, establish the run, don’t turn the ball over. The Steelers did all three well.

Playing against a Browns defense that entered the game giving up a league-low 3.0 yards per carry, the Steelers’ running backs surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive game. They utilized Spencer Anderson as an extra lineman on double-digit plays and rotated all three of their backs — Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and Kaleb Johnson. That trio carried the ball 25 times for 100 yards. The success on the ground kept the Steelers in manageable third-down situations and prevented them from becoming one-dimensional.

The balanced approach also allowed Rodgers, who played turnover-free football, to open the game up with a pair of second-half passing touchdowns. The Steelers had seen a lot of two-high coverages earlier this year. With the Browns sitting in a single-high defense, Rodgers was more willing to air the ball out along the sideline to Metcalf, including on a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Defensively, the Steelers bottled up running back Quinshon Judkins and company, limiting the Browns’ ball carriers to 65 yards on 17 carries. As a result, the Steelers’ defense was able to pin its ears back and attack rookie QB Gabriel, sacking him six times. After an underwhelming start to the season, the Steelers’ defense is beginning to round into form. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer

Offensive struggles once again an issue

The game wasn’t a surprising result, given the Browns cannot create explosive plays and stop committing ill-timed penalties or dropping passes. The list of offensive woes is long, and the Steelers’ game plan showed that they never really felt threatened by anything the Browns and Gabriel might throw at them. The Steelers dropped at least four interceptions.

The Browns have failed to score more than 17 points in 11 straight games dating back to last December. This is the first time in 2025 that they didn’t score a touchdown. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer

Browns’ penalty opens door for Steelers

Through the first 2 1/2 quarters, the Steelers put together several promising drives that stalled in field goal range. A Browns’ self-inflicted wound finally cracked the game open. After the Steelers went three-and-out in the third quarter, Pittsburgh punted. However, Cleveland was flagged for running into the kicker. Pittsburgh capitalized on the miscue with a 10-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Heyward. The scoring play stretched the Steelers’ lead to 16-3 and they never looked back. — DeFabo

Lack of defense, injury woes stump Cleveland

For the Browns to win, they have to win the turnover margin and create splash plays on both sides of the ball. In this one, though, Myles Garrett was quiet, and the Browns couldn’t force Rodgers into mistakes. The Browns got a stop early in the third quarter, then Pittsburgh’s drive was extended by a roughing the punter call on Browns defensive end Cameron Thomas. The Steelers went on to get a touchdown to extend their lead, putting the Browns’ bad and banged-up offensive line in an even tougher spot than it previously had been in.

The Browns extending drives and showing even a little bit of life always seems exciting because it’s so unusual. Jerry Jeudy had another disappointing game, and it’s obvious that opponents don’t respect the Browns’ passing game. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but the result was again a familiar one for a Cleveland offense that lacks pop, playmakers and creativity. Without much from Judkins in the run game, the Browns were stuck in neutral, at best.

The Browns finished the game with KT Leveston at right tackle and Teven Jenkins at left tackle after right tackle Jack Conklin left with a concussion, and new left tackle Cam Robinson suffered a lower-body injury on the final drive. The Browns have had a different starting offensive line combination in all six games. — Jackson

Steelers extend AFC North lead with chance for more

The Steelers still don’t have a marquee win on their resume. Their four wins have come against the winless New York Jets, a New England Patriots team that beat itself with five turnovers, the Carson Wentz-led Minnesota Vikings and now the Cleveland Browns. Until the Steelers can beat a quality opponent, there will be questions about whether Pittsburgh’s potential matches their record. That said, the Steelers have made the most of their soft early schedule to improve to 4-1. With a “Thursday Night Football” game on the horizon against the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers have a real chance to start 5-1 and take a commanding lead in the AFC North. — DeFabo

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