Field Level Media
Oct 28, 2018
James Conner ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown hooked up for two scores through the air Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a slow start to down the visiting Cleveland Browns 33-18.
Roethlisberger passed for 257 yards for Pittsburgh (4-2-1).
Baker Mayfield threw for 180 yards with touchdowns to Antonio Callaway and Seth DeValve for Cleveland (2-5-1). Greg Joseph kicked two field goals but missed a field goal and an extra-point attempt.
Cleveland scored on its game-opening possession for the first time this season, on Joseph's 34-yard field goal. He added a 45-yarder with 2:34 left in the opening quarter to make it 6-0, but missed wide right 1:31 into the second quarter on a 41-yard attempt that would have made it 9-0.
The Steelers got their first first down of the game on the ensuing possession, on Roethlisberger's 15-yard pass to Brown on third-and-11. That drive ended with those two combining for a 43-yard score for a 7-6 lead at 11:26 of the second quarter, as Brown got behind the Browns' Denzel Ward and raced into the end zone.
Joe Haden intercepted a Mayfield pass on the next drive, setting up an 87-yard Pittsburgh scoring drive. Roethlisberger's ninth straight completion was a screen to Brown for a 1-yard touchdown, making it 14-6 with 8 seconds left in the first half.
The Steelers got a safety for a 16-6 lead at 8:07 of the third quarter when Cleveland's Desmond Harrison was flagged for holding in the end zone.
A series of Pittsburgh errors followed. The Browns recovered the free kick at the Pittsburgh 24 when returner Ryan Switzer chose not to field the ball. Two Steelers penalties -- roughing the passer and holding in the end zone -- set up Mayfield's 1-yard scoring pass to Callaway, on which defensive pass interference was called but declined. Joseph shanked the extra point left, leaving it 16-12.
Pittsburgh responded with a 75-yard drive, with Conner running 12 yards into the end zone behind a Brown block for a 23-12 lead.
Chris Boswell's 42-yard field goal boosted it to 26-12, and Conner popped a 22-yard scoring run with 2:04 left to make it 33-12.
Mayfield threw a 24-yard scoring pass to DeValve with 6 seconds left to cap the scoring.
--Field Level Media