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Many people thought Sunday night’s rematch between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers could be one-sided. Few expected the Browns to be the ones delivering the beat. The tone was set from the start of the Super Wild-Card Weekend final game, with Ben Roethlisberger failing to register a capricious snap on the first scrimmage game and the Browns picking it up for a score. Cleveland then continued to build momentum for the duration of the first half, capitalizing on three interceptions from Roethlisberger to forge a superb 28-point lead. The Steelers showed plenty of life down the home stretch, shooting within two scores and threatening to come back thanks to a Big Ben resurgence, but by then it was too little, too late, and Cleveland sealed his first playoff win since 1994 with a 48- 37 decision.
The Steelers entered Sunday night’s affair with history on their side; they’ve always been about business against the Browns at home, including earlier this season with a 38-7 rout from Cleveland. But almost nothing happened at the start of their last showdown with the Browns, who deflected two assists for picks, sterilized every other element of the Steelers’ offensive offense and seized the opportunity to let Baker Mayfield play cool. and rely on the blows. duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Even later in the game, when Roethlisberger definitely took it up a notch and started finding JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool for big wins, much of the Pittsburgh production felt nestled in the time of the garbage.
A fourth interception by the Browns late in the fourth quarter sealed the deal for Cleveland, which had not made the playoffs until Sunday night since 2002, securing the Browns a trip to face the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in of the divisional round – all after upsetting their AFC North rivals without the help of their head coach, All-Pro left guard, No.1 wide receiver and top two cornerbacks. In other words, Sunday night was great for the longtime AFC North wineries.
Here’s a full rundown of what happened on Sunday night.
Why the Browns won
The Browns played exceptional complementary football. Their defense forced turnovers and their offense mostly capitalized on them. And after the Browns’ defense started the fourth quarter with a punt, Chubb and the Browns offense extended their lead. After the Steelers responded with a quick touchdown, the Browns’ offense scored three crucial points before throwing another basket after Roethlisberger’s fourth interception of the night.
The Browns offensive line played a big part in Cleveland’s first playoff win in 26 years. A cry is in order for Michael Dunn, who admirably replaced Pro Bowler Joel Bitonio. Rookie Jedrick Wills also played an exceptional ball on his playoff debut as he was part of a line that didn’t allow a single sack from Mayfield. This is significant given that the Steelers have led or have been tied for the league lead in sacks for four consecutive years.
Why the Steelers lost
Pittsburgh, the team that has been training all week, came out completely flat against a team from Cleveland who spent most of the week practicing virtually. On offense, the Steelers made four turnovers in the first period that the Browns turned into 21 points. Three of those turnovers were interceptions from Roethlisberger, whose fourth interception saw the Browns score the last points of the night. Roethlisberger, in loss, threw for 501 yards and four touchdowns. Smith-Schuster caught 13 passes for 157 yards and one score, while Diontae Johnson caught 11 passes for 117 yards in his playoff debut.
The Pittsburgh defense, a unit that has forced at least one turnover in 10 of its first 11 games, has failed to record a turnover for the fourth time in its last six games and for the second consecutive game against Cleveland. Without Joe Haden, the Steelers secondary was singled out by Mayfield, who became the first quarterback since Vinny Testaverde to lead the Browns to a playoff victory.
Turning
Down 35-10 in intermission, the Steelers scored two touchdowns and forced three punters in the third quarter. They had a fourth and one to their own 46-yard line early in the fourth quarter. But instead of going, Pittsburgh attempted to draw Cleveland’s offside before Jordan Berry’s punt entered the end zone. The Browns took full advantage of the Steelers’ conservative decision. Six games after Berry’s punt, Cleveland extended their lead to 42-23 after Chubb took Mayfield’s second screen pass 40 yards to pay for the dirt.
The game of the game
The Browns have plenty of contenders, but the best game of the game goes to Chubb, whose screen pass touchdown reception stifled Pittsburgh’s momentum while giving his team a 19-point lead to less than three. minutes of the fourth quarter.
To quote
“We brought in Michael Dunn on left goal for Joel Bitonio. And then Michael got injured and a guy named Blake [Hance], which I literally showed up in the locker room before the game intensified in the fourth quarter. “- Mayfield at NBC Sports when asked about his success behind Cleveland’s redesigned offensive line.
And after
The Browns are in Kansas City, where they will face Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the defending champions. The Browns will have Kevin Stefanski back on the sidelines, who enjoyed Sunday night’s game from the comfort of his basement. Pittsburgh will start what could be an interesting offseason as the Steelers have several notable free agents, including Smith-Schuster, James Conner and Bud Dupree, among others.
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