CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns lost first place in the AFC North and extended one of the NFL’s most stubborn road losing streaks on Sunday, falling 27-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, the Akron Beacon Journal reported in its live game coverage.
Both teams entered 5-2, with sole possession of first place on the line, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland had won the first meeting 27-24 in Cleveland on Oct. 1, and a win would have given the Browns their first sweep of Pittsburgh since 1988 and their first regular-season win in Pittsburgh since 2003. Instead, the skid reached 23 straight regular-season losses in Pittsburgh, Browns Nation reported.
Cleveland’s first two possessions set the tone, and both ended in fumbles. Harold Fannin Jr. was ruled to have fumbled at the Browns 42 after a Steelers challenge, and Deshaun Watson was then ruled to have fumbled on a sack, with Pittsburgh recovering at the Cleveland 45, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Rico Dowdle’s 9-yard touchdown run put Pittsburgh ahead 7-0 with 7:57 left in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh gashed Cleveland on the ground early — Jaylen Warren broke a 51-yard run on third-and-13, and the Steelers piled up 114 rushing yards on 10 attempts in the first quarter, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Chris Boswell field goals of 20 and 27 yards stretched the lead, while Andre Szmyt answered from 32 and 49 yards to keep Cleveland within 13-6 late in the half.
The turning point came with one second left before halftime. Pat Freiermuth lined up at quarterback and ran a Tush Push from the Browns 1 for a touchdown and a 20-6 halftime lead, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. A game Cleveland had kept within one score despite two turnovers suddenly tilted decisively toward Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh put the game away in the third quarter. Darnell Washington’s 58-yard catch-and-run carried to the Browns 1, and Warren ran it in on the next play for a 27-6 lead with 9:39 left in the third, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Denzel Ward later intercepted Aaron Rodgers — Ward’s second straight game with an interception — but Cleveland’s offense never converted the chance.
The fourth quarter summed up the afternoon. Watson hit Fannin for 37 yards to the Pittsburgh 2, but the Browns failed from inside the 5, including a fourth-and-goal catch on which Denzel Boston could not get a second foot down, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Cleveland also failed to score from the Steelers 1 as time ran out, finishing 0-for-3 in the red zone, Browns Nation reported.
The final numbers were stark. Cleveland committed nine penalties for 85 yards, lost two fumbles, allowed eight sacks of Watson and rushed for just 34 yards, while Pittsburgh rushed for 200 yards, led by Warren’s 143, Browns Nation reported. Rodgers finished 13-of-25 for 172 yards with an interception before Mason Rudolph replaced him late, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Reaction was blunt. "A second taunting call on the team down 27-6. Top to bottom embarrassment today," Zac Jackson of The Athletic said, as reported by Browns Nation. Former Browns center LeCharles Bentley called the team undisciplined and a "clown show," Browns Nation reported.
The history behind the stakes explains the sting. Sunday was the 151st meeting between the teams since 1950, with Pittsburgh leading the series entering the day, and Cleveland had won only twice overall in Pittsburgh’s stadium since it opened in 2001, the Akron Beacon Journal reported in its pregame notes. Cleveland also entered with an NFL-best five one-score wins — poise in close games had been this team’s identity until Sunday.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: Pittsburgh, now 6-2, holds first place alone; Cleveland’s Pittsburgh losing streak stands at 23; and the team totals above are confirmed in the Akron Beacon Journal’s live report and Browns Nation’s postgame account. What we’re still waiting on: official postgame comments from head coach Todd Monken and Browns players, which neither outlet had published in the reports reviewed for this story, and any injury updates beyond the in-game returns of Tyson Campbell and Maliek Collins noted by the Akron Beacon Journal.
What happens next is a reset on the road. The Browns visit the New Orleans Saints next Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. on CBS, according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s published schedule — a week for Monken’s team to restore the discipline that had carried it through five one-score wins before Sunday’s collapse.
Related coverage: Browns take 5-2 record to Pittsburgh chasing first sweep since 1988.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons