The Steelers scored 2 defensive touchdowns to beat the Browns, who lost Nick Chubb to injury
T.J. Watt returned a fumble 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and Pittsburgh led Cleveland, 26-22, in a game overshadowed by a gruesome left knee injury for the Browns running back .
PITTSBURGH – T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith knew what was coming. Maybe the Cleveland Browns should do that too. That seems to be the same thing that always happens when they visit Pittsburgh during the regular season.
Loss. This is painful in many ways. The Steelers’ star quarterbacks combined to score midway through the fourth quarter for an improbable 26-22 win on Monday night.
The Steelers extended their regular-season home winning streak against their AFC North rivals to 20 games and were hoping for a victory that was overshadowed by a serious left knee injury to the Cleveland star running back Nick Chubb.
The four-time Pro Bowler’s sixth NFL season ended two plays into the second quarter after his knee gave out awkwardly when he was hit low by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He went to the hospital as a precaution before returning to Cleveland.
“We sympathize with Nick as a person,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He is as great a footballer as we know and an even better person. We will support him every step of the way. »
Even with their leading man sidelined, the Browns protected a three-point lead and faced second-and-9 at their own 20-yard line with 7:
There were six people left when Watt and Highsmith went to work. The two longtime teammates sensed a release pass was coming, so they widened their stance a bit to try to get a better angle of attack on the rim.
Highsmith — who started the night with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown on the first offensive play — outran Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills and knocked the ball out of DeShaun Watson’s hands on the money. Cleveland’s defenseman is running to his right. The Browns’ fourth and final turnover belonged to Watt, who crossed the goal line untouched before standing up to celebrate.
“Toss the water,” Watt said. “I think that’s what we’re talking about, which is creating defensive splashes.”
And the Browns made a splash, an annual event in Pittsburgh for two decades, to avoid a stunning first-round defeat ahead of the January 2021 playoffs.
Cleveland hopes this win will be the start of something. Instead, it’s pretty much the same. The Browns have failed to make the playoffs the past two years and now have to figure out how to move forward without one of their undisputed leaders.
Jerome Ford, Chubb’s replacement, ran for 106 yards and caught a 3-yard touchdown pass, but Cleveland’s mistakes cost Cleveland a chance to win at Pittsburgh in the regular season for the first time. since 2003. Watson completed 22 of 40 for 235 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was also flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing a Steeler’s facemask while he was running. The penalties cut short two promising drives.
The Browns were penalized eight times for 81 yards and turned it over four times, two of which ended with a member of one of the NFL’s best rushing tandems celebrating in the end zone.
The Steelers avoided their first 0-2 start since 2019 even as their offense continued to struggle. Kenny Pickett completed 15 of 30 passes for 222 yards, a third of which was a 71-yard touchdown pass by George Pickens in the second quarter, which quickly enthralled the crowd. Acrisure Stadium comes alive.
Cleveland appeared to still be in good position as Ford ran 69 yards to set up Pierre Strong’s 1-yard plunge, giving the Browns a 22-19 lead midway through the third quarter.
Pittsburgh’s offense was largely ineffective for much of the second half, leading to cheers from the crowd and the dismissal of coordinator Matt Canada.
Highsmith’s bull rush off the rim and Watt’s scoring run saved the Steelers, making them the second team since 1991 to win a game in which they led in the fourth quarter despite a negative yardage. throughout the round.
“We’re not going to apologize for the win,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said.
Maybe, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. The Steelers needed multiple defensive touchdowns — the first time they had done that in a game since a 23-7 win over Tennessee in 2010 — to survive.
That can’t be repeated every week, but Pittsburgh will worry about that later. Monday night was about finding the way, the same way the Steelers always seem to find the way at home when the Browns are on the other side of the field.
“It was special to come out and have the performance we did,” Highsmith said. “But we are far from perfect. We have to be much better.
Chubb spent the better part of a decade as the heart and soul of the Cleveland Browns.
There is no player more respected in the dressing room. No player is more involved on the field.
All of which made the sight of the star running back eliminated in the second half — his left knee torn, his season over — heartbreaking.
“It hurts,” defender Myles Garrett said.
The 27-year-old four-time Pro Bowler is one of the regulars for a franchise trying to establish itself as a perennial contender. After the game, when he injured his knee, a teammate grabbed Chubb’s hand to try to help him stand up. Chubb shook his head while squeezing his left knee. He removed the chin strap and turned to the side.
Chubb suffered a serious knee injury in 2015 while a student at Georgia – a dislocation with three torn ligaments. Like his previous injury, Monday night was difficult to watch and ESPN refused to show a replay of the game in which he was injured.
Chubb remained on the ground for several minutes while his teammates gathered in prayer nearby. He eventually left on a stretcher and was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, but he was on his way back to Cleveland by the time the Browns were packing up after their 20th straight loss of the season tournament in Pittsburgh. Stefanki did not have details on the extent of Chubb’s injury but expects him to be out for the remainder of the season.
“Obviously we feel for Nick,” Stefanski said. “But I know Nick and his teammates know that, and you have to keep going.”
It won’t be easy, especially after such a painful trauma on a public level.
NBA star and Ohio native LeBron James and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson were among those who expressed support for Chubb on social media.
James said he was “praying for the best,” and Jackson offered similar sentiments.
Chubb has been here before.
He missed the second half of his sophomore year after suffering an injury against Tennessee, but returned to the top 1,000 rushing yards in 2016 and 2017. He was a second-round pick of the Browns in year 2018. He averaged more than 1,250 rushing yards per season during his career, and his work ethic and humble nature epitomized the culture Stefanski was trying to instill in a locker room that had not winning continuously for decades.
There are still four months left in a season that started with promise and a dominant win over Cincinnati in the opener in which Chubb rushed for 103 yards.
It looked like that for exactly 15 minutes and 51 seconds on Monday night. Chubb is looking to overcome Pittsburgh’s porous defensive front. He ran for 59 yards on his first nine carries. His 10th game ended with his left leg tilting awkwardly beneath him and his teammates in shock.
There isn’t much time to recover. Tennessee visits next Sunday. The Brown family will get their act together and try to do what Chubb wants them to do:
Eliminate all excuses and move on.
“He was a man of few words, kept his head down and was always working,” Garrett said. “And that’s the integrity he has for the game. That’s what we hope to have now, especially for him.”
PROGRAMME
Brown:
Quarterback Za’Darius Smith left the game in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury. … Cornerback Greg Newsome injured his right elbow in the third quarter.
Steelworkers:
Wide receiver/kick returner Gunner Olszewski entered concussion protocol in the first half and did not return. … Fitzpatrick left in the third quarter with a chest injury. … Inside linebacker Elandon Roberts left in the third quarter with a neck injury.
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