They had to sweat it out, but the Browns secured a playoff spot after defeating the Steelers visitors on Sunday 24-22. The Browns, under coach Kevin Stefanski in their first year, are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Cleveland and Pittsburgh will play again next week, this time at Heinz Field in the AFC wild card round.
Cleveland won his first game of Week 17 since 2009, after building a 24-9 lead early in the fourth period. The Browns then resisted two late touchdown passes from Mason Rudolph, who played in place of Ben Roethlisberger. Lost by two points, Rudolph’s pass in a two-point attempt went over Chase Claypool’s head. The Browns then recovered the side kick before Mayfield’s three-yard run in the third and second froze the game.
The Browns won despite losing 315 passing yards from Rudolph, who started for the first time this season and only the second time since losing in Cleveland in Week 10 of the 2019 season. Cleveland’s attack was driven by a racing game which produced 192 yards and two touchdowns in 31 races.
Browns’ new goal
The Browns are in the postseason for the first time since the NFL franchise’s fourth season, when former general choice number one Tim Couch led the Browns into a regular 9-7 season. Cleveland will now begin his search for his first postseason victory since 1994, when Bill Belichick’s team defeated Bill Parcells’ Patriots in the wild card round.
The Steelers, despite losing four of their last five games, won the AFC North division with a record of 12-4. Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They seek their first postseason victory since 2016, when they won two playoff games before losing to New England a game before the Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh is 2-0 against Cleveland in the postseason. The Steelers overtook the Browns by 29-9 in the 1994 divisional round. Eight years later, the Browns built a 24-7 lead before Tommy Maddox beat Pittsburgh 36-33.
Initial leadership behind Chubb
Key blocks by Austin Hooper and Jack Conklin freed Nick Chubb in a 47-yard touchdown run in the Browns’ first ball possession. Cleveland increased his lead to 10-0 in the second quarter, before a 41-yard reception by Diontae Johnson set up Matthew Wright’s 29-yard field goal. A 26-yard finish from Rudolph to JuJu Smith-Schuster set Wright’s 46-yard field goal just before the break.
A 41-yard reception by Chase Claypool created Wright’s third field goal – another 46-yard – in the middle of the third quarter. The Browns’ attack responded to possession. Mayfield’s 14-yard finish to David Njoku in the third and five, along with his 28-yard run on the next play, set his two-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper.
At 17-9, the Steelers were driving before MJ Stewart defeated Rudolph, who was stuck at Smith-Schuster in a third-to-nine play. The Browns scored four moves later, while Jarvis Landry found a reward in a jet sweep on the first move of the fourth period.
Pittsburgh showed its determination in its next onslaught, with Rudolph connecting to Claypool in a 28-yard scoring attack. The Steelers defense returned the ball to the attack with four minutes to go, after Mayfield missed the fourth to seven on their own 35-yard line. A serve from Stephon Tuitt of Mayfield took the Browns out of reach of the field goal.
Rudolph took advantage of the stop, hitting Johnson in a 47-yard bomb between two Browns defenders. Rudolph then hit Smith-Schuster for a two-yard score before his two-point pass to tie the score over Claypool’s head.