Steelers bully Browns in Pittsburgh -- again -- to take control of AFC North

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Nov 1, 2026

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their decades-long home dominance of the Cleveland Browns and took over sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 27-6 victory on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.

It was the 23rd consecutive year the Browns have lost a regular season game in Pittsburgh. After beating the Steelers in Cleveland last month, they were trying to sweep the season series for the first time since 1988.

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Steelers and sends them into their bye week with a division-leading 6-2 record. It was their largest margin of victory since a 34-12 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 last season.

The Steelers rushed for a season-high 200 yards, including a career-best 143 by Jaylen Warren. And the defense held the Browns to two field goals and sacked quarterback DeShaun Watson a season-high eight times, including two by T.J. Watt.

Warren had 102 yards rushing in the first half, including runs of 51 and 23 yards, giving him seven runs of at least 20 yards this season. That’s tied for the most in the league.

The Steelers held a 20-6 halftime lead, but the advantage could have easily been so much larger if it weren’t for some horrid decision-making on back-to-back series inside the Browns’ 10-yard line.

The first occurred when the Steelers had first and goal at the 2. Rodgers attempted two errant passes to DK Metcalf. When Warren was stopped for no gain, they had to settle for the first of Chris Boswell’s two first-half field goals.

The decision to throw two passes was puzzling because Warren had carried five times for 86 yards on the drive.

On their ensuing possession, the Steelers had first and goal at the 8, but Rodgers threw two incompletions and was sacked for an 11-yard loss on third down. That came after Rico Dowdle ran three times for 25 yards on the drive. Instead of leading 24-3, the Steelers were merely up 13-3.

The Steelers atoned for their embarrassing decisions with a 1-yard tush-push touchdown by tight end Pat Freiermuth that make it 20-6. Freiermuth made the big play on the drive, catching a 28-yard from Rodgers down the numbers with 20 seconds remaining in the first half.

After Rodgers completed a 16-yard slant to wide receiver Germie Bernard to the Browns’ 1-yard line, he spiked the ball with :05 remaining, allowing Freiermuth to score on the next play.

The Steelers made it 27-6 in the third quarter when Rodgers connected with tight end Darnell Washington down the left sideline for a 51-yard gain. Warren scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown on the next play.

The Steelers’ defense came up with a big stop after the Browns had first and goal at the Steelers, thanks to a 37-yard completion from Watson to tight end Harold Fannin. After Payton Wilson stopped running back Quinshon Judkins for a 3-yard loss, Watson threw three incompletions to turn the ball over to the Steelers.

That series was set up when Metcalf dropped a deep pass from Rodgers that plopped right into the hands of cornerback Denzel Ward for an interception.

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