The Steelers didn’t just beat the Browns on Sunday - they buried them early, leaned on a defense that was relentless from the jump, and walked out of Acrisure Stadium with a 27-6 win that put them alone atop the AFC North.
Cleveland’s first two possessions turned into disaster almost immediately. Pittsburgh came away with fumble recoveries on both drives, and while the Steelers couldn’t cash in after the first takeaway, they made sure the second one counted.
Rico Dowdle finished that short field with his first touchdown of the season, giving Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead. Dowdle ended up with 56 rushing yards.
From there, the game started to become the Jaylen Warren show. The Steelers’ rising star ripped off a 51-yard run to flip the field, though Pittsburgh stalled in the red zone and settled for a field goal. After that, the teams traded field goals over the next three drives, leaving the Steelers ahead 13-6 before Aaron Rodgers took over late in the half.
Rodgers put together a sharp six-play march in the final 44 seconds, with Warren breaking loose for 23 yards and Rodgers connecting on completions of 28 yards to Pat Freiermuth and 15 yards to Germie Bernard. Pittsburgh finished the drive with a Freiermuth run at the goal line on the final play of the half, stretching the lead to 20-6.
The second half didn’t bring much relief for Cleveland. On Pittsburgh’s second drive after the break, Rodgers found Darnell Washington for a 58-yard catch-and-run, and Warren capped the sequence with a touchdown to close the scoring.
Warren tied his career high with 143 rushing yards and added the score, while the Steelers’ defense delivered the kind of afternoon that can wreck an opponent’s entire game plan. Pittsburgh piled up eight sacks on Deshaun Watson, with T.J.
Watt accounting for two. Watt now has 7.5 sacks this season, surpassing his total of seven from 2025.
Alex Highsmith finished with half a sack, but kept the pressure on Watson throughout the day. Nick Herbig, Kevin Jobity, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen, and Keeanu Benton combined for the other six sacks.
The win moved Pittsburgh to 6-2 heading into the bye week. The Buffalo Bills also beat the Baltimore Ravens, leaving Baltimore at 4-4 and giving the Steelers sole possession of first place in the division. Pittsburgh returns in Week 10 to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
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