Browns vs. Steelers score, takeaways: Jameis Winston braves the snow, helps Cleveland stun Pittsburgh on 'TNF'

Cleveland has now won three straight home games over Pittsburgh

Facing blizzard-like conditions and a tough Steelers team, the Browns braved the elements to record a 24-19 upset win over visiting Pittsburgh on Thursday night. 

Ahead 18-6, the Browns surrendered the lead after allowing two touchdowns in less than two minutes late in the fourth quarter. Cleveland wouldn't let this one get away, though, as Browns quarterback Jameis Winston engineered a game-winning drive that was punctuated by Nick Chubb's short touchdown run with just under a minute left. The Browns defense preserved the win after knocking down Russell Wilson's Hail Mary heave in the end zone as time expired. 

The Browns, who led 10-6 at halftime, increased their lead to 12 points following Winston's 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter. The Steelers responded with two touchdowns, the second one set up by outside linebacker Nick Herbig's forced fumble of Winston. But Pittsburgh's defense came up short on Cleveland's game-winning drive, as Winston picked up his second win as the Browns' starting quarterback. 

Cleveland's defense was spearheaded by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who won his individual battle vs. 2021 DPOY T.J. Watt. Garrett had three sacks in the first half, his final one a forced fumble that set up a field goal by Dustin Hopkins. Watt, who did not have a sack, was unable to bring down Winston on his pivotal touchdown run. 

Here's a closer look at how the Browns pulled off the upset 

Why the Browns won 

Cleveland was the far superior team on fourth down. The Browns were 4 of 4 on fourth down, while the Steelers were just 1 of 3. Both of Cleveland's touchdown drives in the fourth quarter included fourth-down conversions. 

Offensively, the Browns received a stellar game from Winston, who prior to Thursday night had never started in an NFL game that was played in sub-40 degree weather. Winston threw early and often to Jerry Jeudy, who dominated his one-on-one matchup with Steelers No. 1 cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Winston (who received excellent protection most of the night) was complemented by Chubb, who scored two touchdowns against Pittsburgh's vaunted run defense. 

Defensively, the Browns got after Wilson, sacking him four times. The unit also contained Najee Harris and the Steelers' ground game, as Pittsburgh averaged a meager 3.53 yards per carry. After falling behind 19-18, the Browns' defense gave their offense enough time to engineer a game-winning drive by forcing a quick three-and-out. 

Why the Steelers lost 

This wasn't the defense's best outing, but the majority of the blame for this loss falls on the offense and special teams units. Offensively, the Steelers didn't finish a drive until late in the fourth quarter. Some of that can be attributed to questionable play-calling, such as Justin Fields' poorly executed running play that resulted in a 2-yard loss on fourth-down late in the first quarter. 

Wilson (who finished with 270 yards and a touchdown on 21 of 28 passing) completed his first 11 throws, but he made some bad reads (he missed a wide open Pat Freiermuth down the field in the first half) and held onto the ball too long in several instances. It didn't help that Dan Moore Jr., Broderick Jones and the rest of Pittsburgh's offensive line was woefully outplayed by the Browns' defensive front. Wilson did bounce back in the second half, as his touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III gave Pittsburgh the lead with 6:15 left. 

Pittsburgh's special teams, a strength of the team during its 8-2 start, had a forgettable night in Cleveland. Chris Boswell capped off Pittsburgh's opening drive with a missed, 58-yard field goal attempt. But that miss was nothing compared to punter Corliss Waitman's 15-yard shank that gave Cleveland the ball on Pittsburgh's 45-yard-line to begin its game-winning drive. 

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn't have his best game, either. His shaky time management was once again on display when he allowed the Browns to take 46 seconds off the clock prior to Chubb's touchdown. That was time Pittsburgh could have used for its final drive. 

Turning point/play of the game 

Jeudy's 15-yard catch on Cleveland's game-winning drive deserves mention, but Winston's gritty touchdown run that gave the Browns a 12-point lead takes the cake. On the play, Winston outran Watt before enduring a nasty hit in the end zone. Despite the lick, Winston held onto the ball while giving the Browns a momentum-changing score. 

Quotable 

"I've got a lot of respect for him, a lot of respect for all of the guys over there ... but I'm No. 1. That's from EDGE (rusher) 1, to Defensive Player of the Year, I'm the guy. That runs through me. There's no other person being defended as I am or schemed or played against like I am. Just goes to show ... I'm gonna find a way." -- Garrett during his postgame interview with Prime Video when asked about Watt, who hasn't spoken to Garrett after he won last year's DPOY 

What's next

Pittsburgh (8-3) will face the Bengals (4-7) next Sunday in Cincinnati. Cleveland (3-8) will travel to Denver next Sunday to face rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the rest of the 6-5 Broncos. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:24 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

FINAL: CLE 24 PIT 19

First downs: PIT 17 CLE 17
Third downs: PIT 7-16 CLE 1-10
Fourth downs: PIT 1-3 CLE 4-4
Total yards: PIT 368 CLE 304
Turnovers: PIT 1 CLE 3
Penalties: PIT 6-39 CLE 8-48
TOP: PIT 35:02 CLE 24:58

Russell Wilson 21/28 270 yards 1 TD
Jameis Winston 18/27 219 yards 1 INT

Jaylen Warren 11 rushes 45 yards 1 TD
Najee Harris 16 carries 41 yards
Nick Chubb 20 carries 59 yards 2 TDs

Calvin Austin III 3 catches 78 yards 1 TD
Jerry Jeudy 6 catches 85 yards

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:19 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

The Russ Hail Mary falls to the ground. He took a shot, too. 

Browns win 24-19!

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:13 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

It seems like Mike Tomlin should have declined that illegal touching penalty so it could have been fourth-and-1 or fourth-and-2. Browns may have kicked the FG there. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:12 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Two-point conversion is no good. 

Russell Wilson has 57 seconds and one timeout to lead a game-winning drive down five points. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:09 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Nick Chubb punches in a touchdown from two yards out to put the Browns up 24-19. Steelers should have let them score on Chubb's first carry on first down. Browns to attempt to go for two to push the lead to 7. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:08 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Jeudy catches a pass for 15 yards on third-and-long. A Beanie Bishop delay of game penalty put the Browns at the 9-yard line. Here we go. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 11:06 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

The Browns are called for an illegal touching after Winston was hit while throwing on third-and-1. Penalty was declined, then accepted, so it's third-and-7 for the Browns at the Steelers' 30-yard line. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:58 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Winston hits Jeudy for a first down on fourth-and-3. 

The Browns are 0-9 on third down, and 4-4 on fourth down! 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:57 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Steelers go three-and-out, and the Browns used just one timeout. Fields attempted a pass to Pickens deep down the field on third-and-4 that fell incomplete. 3:22 for Jameis to lead a game-winning drive. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:52 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Jameis throws crucial INT

Over the last two drives, the Browns turned the ball over two times. With five minutes remaining in the game and down one point, that's a bad turnover. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:47 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

What a play from Jameis 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:46 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Myles Garrett is in the blue medical tent. He has three sacks on the night. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:41 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

STEELERS TAKE THE LEAD

Russell Wilson hits Calvin Austin on third-and-6 to take the lead with 6:15 remaining in the game! Two-point conversion is no good, but that's a 13-point run for Pittsburgh. Absolute collapse by the Browns. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:40 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Jameis FUMBLES after LT misses block

Right after the Steelers scored their first TD, Nick Herbig strip-sacked Jameis Winston! Steelers ball!

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:35 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Steelers respond with first TD of the night

Game isn't over, folks. The Steelers went 69 yards on seven plays, being helped with a couple of big penalties such as a roughing the passer call and unsportsmanlike conduct, and Jaylen Warren punched in the Steelers' first TD of the game from three yards out. Justin Fields came in for a few plays and sparked the offense. He had a 30-yard run and was the victim of the roughing the passer call.

Here we go. 

PIT 13 CLE 18
7:57 remaining in the fourth quarter

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:25 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Jameis TD puts Browns up by double digits!

What snow? Jameis Winston led the Browns offense 65 yards down the field on 10 plays, and ran in the TD himself on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line! 

The two-point conversion toss to Njoku was good. It's now 18-6 Browns with 12:16 remaining in the fourth quarter

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:10 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Boswell hits another FG to trim deficit to 4

It's hard to see what's going on on the field, but the game tracker tells me Chris Boswell hit a 28-yard field goal to cap a 13-play, 71-yard drive. Russell Wilson hit some big throws, but Pittsburgh will need more.

0-1 in the red zone after going 0-4 in the red zone last week. 

PIT 6, CLE 10
1:56 remaining in the third quarter

[Nov 21, 2024 at 10:03 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

It is snowing incredibly hard. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 9:52 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Steelers turn the ball over on downs, again

The Steelers got the big turnover to start the second half, but Russell Wilson and Co. couldn't do anything with it. Six plays, 21 yards, then Jaylen Warren was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Steelers' 46-yard line. Pittsburgh is now 0-2 on fourth downs tonight. 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 9:46 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Browns fumble away possession on first drive of second half

It looked like Cleveland was ready to put together another impressive possession to start the third quarter, but Cedric Tillman FUMBLED the ball!

Steelers take over! 

[Nov 21, 2024 at 9:35 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

HALFTIME: PIT 3 CLE 10

First downs: PIT 6 CLE 7
Third downs: PIT 4-8 CLE 0-4
Total yards: PIT 163 CLE 119
Red zone: PIT 0-0 CLE 1-2
Sacks: PIT 0 CLE 4
Turnovers: PIT 1 CLE 0
Penalties: PIT 4-30 CLE 2-10
TOP: PIT 17:35 CLE 12:25

Russell Wilson 11/13 147 yards
Jameis Winston 9/11 78 yards

Jaylen Warren 5 carries 27 yards
Najee Harris 6 carries 13 yards
Nick Chubb 9 carries 27 yards

Calvin Austin 1 catch 46 yards
Pat Freiermuth 2 catches 41 yards
George Pickens 3 catches 41 yards
Jerry Jeudy 3 catches 39 yards
Elijah Moore 3 catches 21 yards

Myles Garrett: 3 sacks
T.J. Watt: 0 pressures

[Nov 21, 2024 at 9:15 pm ET · Jordan Dajani]

Myles Garrett strip-sacks Russell Wilson, Browns recover fumble

Two plays after the Browns took the lead, Myles Garrett strip-sacked Russell Wilson! Browns recover at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line.