PITTSBURGH — The Steelers still haven't been swept by the Cleveland Browns in a season since 1988.

Russell Wilson reinvigorated a bogged-down offense without George Pickens — or perhaps play-caller Arthur Smith just needed some time to adjust without far-and-away his No. 1 receiver — and the Steelers stomped the Browns in the second half for a 27-14 win Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

It was a taking-care-of-business kind of victory for the Steelers to move to 10-3 and give themselves a full two-game lead on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. But there was unfinished business against the Browns (3-10) after what happened a couple weeks prior in Cleveland.

This time, there was no snowy factor and the crowd was firmly an advantage for the Steelers, as was kicker Chris Boswell in a game Dustin Hopkins missed 38-yard and 42-yard field goals for the Browns. On those two misses, the Browns had chances to cut the Steelers’ lead to 13-10 just before halftime or a few minutes into the second half.

Instead, the Steelers and Wilson took control with two efficient third-quarter touchdown drives capped by throws to Van Jefferson and Pat Freiermuth. They also held the Browns under 4 yards per carry on a day Nick Chubb was fired up to return to the site of his gruesome season-ending knee injury last year.

The absence of Pickens because of a hamstring issue that left him limited in Friday’s practice made it difficult to evaluate an offense that had to thrust Scotty Miller into that role. But by the end, even Miller came down with a fantastic toe-tapping catch along the Steelers sideline for 21 yards, and Tomlin was justified in playing it safe by making Pickens inactive.

It was over when: Browns punt returner Kadarius Toney muffed a beauty from Corliss Waitman and Ben Skowronek jumped on it with 3:03 left to snuff any faint comeback hopes.

Player of the game: Keeanu Benton. He didn’t do much in the box score, but the one big play he did make completely changed the complexion of the game. Benton’s interception of Jameis Winston sparked the Steelers after a rough start that saw them fall behind 7-3 into the second quarter. His rumbling 11-yard return also gave a flailing offense a short field, and five plays later, Najee Harris punched in a 1-yard touchdown. You don’t typically see 6-foot-4, 309-pound nose tackles picking off passes, but Winston is known to serve them up to anyone, and the Steelers embrace their takeaway culture from the secondary down to the defensive line.

Trending up: Alex Highsmith. The Steelers remain undefeated when he plays this season and are just 3-3 when he doesn’t. In his first game back after missing three with a scary ankle injury at the end of the win against the Commanders, Highsmith looked like he was no worse for the time off. He had a sack among his two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss, putting pressure on Winston early and often — which the Steelers struggled to do for the first matchup in Cleveland. Highsmith was flagged for roughing the passer late in the first quarter, but that was an iffy penalty call as Winston barely got the ball out.

Trending down: Larry Ogunjobi. Not only has Cam Heyward’s primary running mate up front provided meager production over the past month or so, but he also left in the first half with a groin injury and did not return. Ogunjobi didn’t even come out of the locker room in uniform after halftime, so his status could be one to watch this week and down the stretch. More could be needed from Benton, but on the bright side, veteran defensive tackle Montravius Adams has been practicing and is likely to be activated from injured reserve soon.

Up next: A road trip to Philadelphia, where the Steelers haven’t won since 1965, and now they get an Eagles team that sits second in the NFC at 11-2.

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