Winston and Browns overcome mistakes and snow to defeat Steelers

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-19, on a snowy Thursday night in Cleveland.

Running back Nick Chubb, in his first game against the Steelers since suffering a serious knee injury against the AFC North rival 14 months ago, scored a go-ahead 2-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left, and the Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson’s Hail Mary was hit as time expired.

Buoyed by Myles Garrett’s three-sack performance in the first half and a tough offensive performance in the elements, Cleveland built an 18-6 lead early in the fourth quarter after a 2-yard touchdown run by the quarterback. Winston field and a pass to tight end David Njoku on a 2-point conversion attempt. But a pair of turnovers seemed to doom the Browns. First, Winston lost a fumble on a sack by linebacker Nick Herbig that led to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to wide receiver Calvin Austin III, giving the Steelers a 19-18 lead. He later threw an interception to cornerback Donte Jackson.

But after a defensive stop and a 16-yard punt, Winston led the Browns on a nine-play, 45-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, capped by Chubb’s second score of the game.

The win is Cleveland’s seventh straight win on Thursday night.

Here are the most important things to know coming into Thursday night for both teams:

Describe the game in two words: Without giving up. Four days after allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints, their seventh loss in the last eight games, the Browns pulled out a gutsy victory in front of their home crowd against the AFC North-leading Steelers. .

QB Breakdown: The Jameis Winston experience was in full effect amid the elements Thursday night. He threw what appeared to be a tiring interception late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately continued to give the Browns a chance to win with extended plays and clutch throws. He finished 18 of 27 with 219 passing yards with one interception and one fumble. It marked Winston’s third quality start in four games since taking over in Week 8.

Worrying trend: The Browns entered Week 12 allowing 16 completions thrown 20 yards downfield this season, tied for seventh in the NFL, and allowed another deep completion on Wilson’s only such attempt on Thursday. –Daniel Oyefusi

Next match: at Denver Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, December 2)

Three plays after Steelers safety DeShon Elliott made snow angels in the west end zone at Huntington Bank Field, Wilson found Austin crossing the same goal line through heavy snow showers and hit the receiver open for a touchdown to erase a 12-point deficit and take a one-point lead. But the celebration did not last long.

Doomed by a failed two-point conversion, a recurrence of an earlier offensive stalemate, and a botched punt, the Steelers gave up a game-winning drive capped by a Chubb touchdown in a 24-19 loss.

Although the Steelers forced three Browns turnovers, the offense only converted the takeaways into seven points, and the defense couldn’t hold on late on a short field after the punt. With less than a minute left after Chubb’s touchdown, the Steelers’ offense again failed to move the ball effectively and stalled 50 yards from the same end zone where Elliott celebrated and Austin scored.

The loss snapped the Steelers’ five-game winning streak and handed Wilson his first loss as the Steelers’ starter. Although Wilson completed 21 of 28 attempts for 270 yards and a touchdown, he struggled against the Browns’ pressure as Garrett recorded three sacks.

Describe the game in two words: Trap game. Come on, a hapless 2-8 Browns team hosting an 8-2 Steelers team days away from a monster win against the Ravens? We should have known better. The Browns were excited. And hurt more severely by recurring offensive errors, the Steelers started flat before recovering late.

Worrying trend: Russell Wilson’s boom-or-bust game under pressure. Through three quarters, Wilson had only three incomplete passes and 204 passing yards. But he struggled under pressure once again, taking four sacks in that span, including a strip sack. However, Wilson was also 5-of-6 for 86 yards under that pressure, including several deep throws. But as energizing as the deep passes were, the sacks were much more costly. Wilson was sacked for a loss of eight yards at the end of the Steelers’ first drive. Instead of a 50-yard kick, kicker Chris Boswell attempted a 58-yarder and missed only his second of the season because it went wide to the right.

Fundamental game: Herbig’s sack in the fourth quarter. For the second straight game, Herbig forced a fumble and Elliott recovered, coming home against Winston in the fourth quarter. The ball bounced and Elliott recovered it at the Browns’ 27-yard line. The critical turnover came immediately after the Steelers’ first touchdown in seven quarters, and set up another Steelers score a couple of plays later when Wilson found Austin for the 23-yard go-ahead touchdown. –Brooke Pryor

Next match: at Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 1)