Browsers Fall to Steelers 27-6

The Cleveland Browns suffered a 27-6 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. The result snapped a two-month run of victories for Cleveland, which had won its previous five games. The loss was the 23rd consecutive regular season defeat for the Browns in Pittsburgh, a record tying mark.

The game began with a coin toss that Cleveland won, allowing the team to take the ball first. Quarterback Deshaun Watson took a hit to the head from Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker and left the field for a concussion evaluation. Backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders entered the game for a few plays before Harold Fannin Jr. fumbled the ball away on the first possession. Watson returned to the field on the next series, but the drive ended with another fumble.

Pittsburgh capitalized on the early mistakes. The Steelers advanced 45 yards on five plays, four of which were runs, to take the lead. A subsequent three and out by Cleveland led to a Pittsburgh field goal. The defense struggled to contain the run, as the Steelers rushed for 200 yards. Watson was sacked eight times during the game, bringing his season total to 33, which is the highest in the NFL. Defensive end Jared Verse recorded only an assisted tackle and was body-slammed into the ground by Steelers guard Mason McCormick.

Head coach Todd Monken acknowledged the team's inexperience but rejected it as an excuse for the early turnovers. “Do we have a young team? Of course we have a young team,” Monken said. “Does that exonerate ourselves from two turnovers the first two drives and keeping our poise and playing at a high level? No, of course not.” Watson agreed that the loss was a setback. “You can't just fall on just one loss,” Watson said. “Of course, this was a big one. This was an opportunity for us to be able to really take control of that. But it didn't go our way.”

Verse, who had previously criticized the Steelers' play style, stood by his comments despite the loss. “I don’t know who the hell that team was that walked out there, that presented themselves,” Verse said. “We didn’t do enough across the board from the first quarter to the last quarter.” The Browns have not won a regular season game in Pittsburgh since 2003. That year predates the birth of rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion.

Cleveland’s previous five wins this season all came via fourth quarter drives orchestrated by Watson. This included a 27-24 victory over Pittsburgh on Oct. 1. The team now faces a bye week later this month. The schedule ahead includes a game at New Orleans next week, followed by a home game against Houston. Cleveland officials said the positive atmosphere built during training camp remains intact. Monken stated, “We're going to fight like hell to get better. That's all you can do.”