Cleveland Browns moved top of the AFC North after Andre Szmyt converted a career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to secure a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field on Thursday, 1 October.
Deshaun Watson led Cleveland into position for the decisive kick after Pittsburgh had recovered from a substantial first-half deficit. Safety Grant Delpit then intercepted Aaron Rodgers at the Browns’ 18-yard line with one second left, ending the Steelers’ final attempt to respond.
The result took Cleveland to 3-1 and gave the Browns the division lead for the first time since November 2014. Pittsburgh dropped to 2-2.
Watson responds after Steelers level game
Cleveland had established a 21-7 lead late in the first half after Pittsburgh opened the scoring through Roman Wilson. Jaleel McLaughlin drew the Browns level with a 28-yard rushing touchdown, before Quinshon Judkins scored on a two-yard run. Watson then found Harold Fannin Jr for a two-yard touchdown with 1:22 left in the half.
Pittsburgh’s opening touchdown concluded a 78-yard, 17-play possession after Cleveland went three-and-out on its first series, Sky Sports and the Guardian reported. The Browns’ response began after Denzel Ward intercepted Rodgers’ pass intended for Michael Pittman Jr at Cleveland’s 44-yard line in the second quarter.
McLaughlin’s 28-yard touchdown run tied the game in the second quarter. Cleveland then moved ahead after Watson completed a 60-yard pass to Denzel Boston on the opening play of a drive that ended with Judkins’ touchdown.
Watson had passed for 181 yards by half-time, according to Sky Sports and the Guardian, while Cleveland scored at least 21 points in the second quarter for the first time since its Week 13 game against Tennessee in the 2020 season. The scoring burst turned Pittsburgh’s early lead into a 21-7 deficit before Boswell’s late field goal.
Chris Boswell’s 31-yard field goal reduced the deficit before the interval, and the Steelers continued their comeback in the fourth quarter. Rodgers connected with Darnell Washington for a 21-yard touchdown to make it 21-16, although Pittsburgh’s conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
Szmyt later made a 44-yard field goal for Cleveland, but the contest was level again when Rodgers found Pat Freiermuth for a three-yard touchdown with 1:44 remaining. Rodgers scored the two-point conversion himself to make it 24-24.
Watson’s response was decisive. He completed four of five passes for 46 yards on a seven-play, 36-yard drive which set up Szmyt’s winning attempt. The quarterback completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Fannin’s score was his third touchdown in two games, while Cleveland had scored all three of its first-half touchdowns in the second quarter.
Delpit closes out a tense finish
Rodgers still had time to try to put Pittsburgh in field-goal range after Szmyt’s kick, but Delpit’s interception ended the contest. Rodgers finished 22 of 40 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and Cleveland’s defence sacked him five times.
The late sequence underlined the contrast between Pittsburgh’s comeback and Cleveland’s ability to produce a final scoring drive. The Steelers had turned what had been a 14-point deficit into a tie, but Watson’s efficient final possession created the opportunity that Szmyt converted.
Cleveland’s win was its third in succession and its eighth consecutive Thursday-night victory, a run described by Sky Sports and the Guardian as the NFL’s longest active Thursday-night streak. Four of those eight wins have come against Pittsburgh.
For the Browns, the immediate significance is their 3-1 start and place at the summit of the AFC North. Pittsburgh fell to 2-2 after Delpit’s interception ended its final drive.