On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the Cleveland Browns were 2-8 and the Pittsburgh Steelers were 8-2 and leading the AFC North. Snow fell on Huntington Bank Field all night, and by the fourth quarter it covered the yard lines. With 57 seconds left, Nick Chubb pushed into the end zone from the 2, and the Browns won 24-19.
It was Chubb’s second touchdown of the night and his first game against Pittsburgh since a season-ending left knee injury there the year before. The Browns won while converting 1 of 10 third downs and losing the turnover battle 3-1.
A snowy start
The listed conditions were 36 degrees with a 13 mph wind, and Pittsburgh was a 3½-point favorite. Cleveland’s defense set the tone. On the Steelers’ first drive, Myles Garrett sacked Russell Wilson for an 8-yard loss on third-and-3, and Chris Boswell’s 58-yard field goal try went wide right. On Pittsburgh’s next possession, backup quarterback Justin Fields came in for fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 38 and was stopped for a 2-yard loss by Grant Delpit and Garrett.
Boswell put the Steelers ahead 3-0 with a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter. Cleveland answered with a 12-play, 80-yard drive. The Browns went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 16 instead of kicking, and Chubb ran 5 yards for the first down. Jameis Winston hit David Njoku for 9 more, and Chubb scored from the 2 for a 7-3 lead.
A Garrett sack forced a Wilson fumble, which Winston Reid recovered at the Pittsburgh 31. Dustin Hopkins kicked a 34-yard field goal with 43 seconds left in the half for a 10-3 lead. Garrett finished with three of Cleveland’s four sacks.
| Time | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd quarter, 10:58 | Chris Boswell kicks a 48-yard field goal | Steelers 3, Browns 0 |
| 2nd quarter, 4:03 | Nick Chubb runs 2 yards for a touchdown | Browns 7, Steelers 3 |
| 2nd quarter, 0:43 | Dustin Hopkins kicks a 34-yard field goal | Browns 10, Steelers 3 |
| 3rd quarter, 2:00 | Boswell kicks a 28-yard field goal | Browns 10, Steelers 6 |
| 4th quarter, 12:23 | Jameis Winston runs 2 yards for a touchdown and throws to Njoku for the two-point conversion | Browns 18, Steelers 6 |
| 4th quarter, 8:00 | Jaylen Warren runs 3 yards for a touchdown | Browns 18, Steelers 13 |
| 4th quarter, 6:20 | Wilson throws 23 yards to Calvin Austin III for a touchdown; the two-point pass fails | Steelers 19, Browns 18 |
| 4th quarter, 1:00 | Chubb runs 2 yards for a touchdown; the two-point pass fails | Browns 24, Steelers 19 |
Pittsburgh’s rally
Boswell’s 28-yard field goal made it 10-6 late in the third quarter, after the Steelers had reached the Cleveland 9 and stalled. Early in the fourth, the Browns had a first down at the Pittsburgh 5 and could not punch it in. On fourth-and-2 from the 2, Winston scrambled right for the touchdown, and his two-point pass to Njoku made it 18-6 with 12:16 to play.
The Steelers scored 13 straight points. Warren ran 3 yards for a touchdown with 8:00 left, and Boswell’s kick made it 18-13. On the next Cleveland possession, Winston was sacked and fumbled, and Pittsburgh’s DeShon Elliott recovered at the Cleveland 27. Wilson threw 23 yards over the middle to Austin for a touchdown. The two-point pass to Cordarrelle Patterson fell incomplete, but Pittsburgh led 19-18 with 6:15 left. The two touchdowns came in less than two minutes of game time.
Winston then threw an interception to Donte Jackson with 4:28 to play, but Pittsburgh could not take advantage. After two runs, a third-and-4 incompletion from Fields and a 15-yard punt by Corliss Waitman that went out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 45, Cleveland had the ball with 3:22 left.
The winning drive
The drive included a fourth down. Jerome Ford ran for 7, then Winston threw incomplete twice. On fourth-and-3 from the 38, he threw a 5-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy for the first down at the Pittsburgh 33. Winston hit Jordan Akins for 8 more, and a penalty for an illegal touch pass pushed the Browns back to third-and-6 at the 29 after the two-minute warning.
That was Cleveland’s only successful third down of the night. Winston threw to Jeudy over the middle for 15 yards, and a delay-of-game penalty on Pittsburgh moved the ball to the 9. Chubb ran for 7 to the 2, and on the next play he ran up the middle for the touchdown, with the snap at 1:00 and the score recorded with 57 seconds left. The two-point pass to Jeudy failed, so the lead was 24-19 and Pittsburgh needed a touchdown.
| Time | Down and distance | Play |
|---|---|---|
| 3:22 | 1st-and-10 at PIT 45 | Jerome Ford runs 7 yards |
| 2:46 | 2nd-and-3 at PIT 38 | Winston incomplete to Jordan Akins |
| 2:40 | 3rd-and-3 at PIT 38 | Winston incomplete to David Njoku |
| 2:36 | 4th-and-3 at PIT 38 | Winston to Jerry Jeudy for 5 yards, first down |
| 2:11 | 1st-and-10 at PIT 33 | Winston to Akins for 8 yards, out of bounds |
| 2:05 | 2nd-and-2 at PIT 25 | Ford runs for no gain |
| 2:00 | 3rd-and-2 at PIT 25 | Incomplete; illegal touch pass on Cleveland, 4 yards, no play |
| 1:55 | 3rd-and-6 at PIT 29 | Winston to Jeudy for 15 yards; delay of game on Pittsburgh, 5 yards |
| 1:43 | 1st-and-9 at PIT 9 | Chubb runs 7 yards |
| 1:00 | 2nd-and-2 at PIT 2 | Chubb runs 2 yards for a touchdown |
The last play
Warren returned Hopkins’ kickoff 26 yards to the Pittsburgh 36. Wilson hit Pat Freiermuth for 9 and Warren for 11 to reach the Cleveland 44, and Austin caught a 9-yard pass and went out of bounds at the 35. Cleveland took a timeout with six seconds left, and Wilson threw a Hail Mary toward the end zone. Delpit and Denzel Ward knocked it down.
On the last play, Steelers receiver George Pickens grabbed Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II by the helmet and pulled him out of the back of the end zone, and Pickens had to be restrained afterward. The Browns celebrated in the snow.
The numbers
| Steelers | Browns | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 19 | 24 |
| Total yards | 368 | 304 |
| Rushing yards | 120 | 85 |
| First downs | 17 | 17 |
| Third downs | 7 of 16 | 1 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 3 | 4 of 4 |
| Sacks allowed | 4 | 1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Penalties | 6 for 39 yards | 8 for 48 yards |
| Time of possession | 35:02 | 24:58 |
Chubb carried 20 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Winston completed 18 of 27 passes for 219 yards with one interception and ran for a touchdown, and Jeudy caught six passes for 85 yards. Delpit led Cleveland with 10 tackles.
Wilson completed 21 of 28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and was sacked four times. Austin caught three passes for 78 yards and the touchdown, and Freiermuth had four catches for 59 yards. Warren ran 11 times for 45 yards and a score.
Cleveland’s fourth-down record was the difference. It converted all four tries, including the fourth-and-1 at the 16 that led to Chubb’s first touchdown, and Pittsburgh was stopped on two of its three. The Steelers also missed a 58-yard field goal. Our guide to the try and two-point conversions covers the three two-point tries in this game, and only one of them worked. The guide to forward progress covers how the ball is spotted when a runner is stopped short of the goal line.
What came next
The win was the Browns’ last of the 2024 season. They lost their final six games and finished 3-14, with their other wins coming against Jacksonville and Baltimore. Pittsburgh won its next two games, 44-38 over Cincinnati and 27-14 over Cleveland, to reach 10-3. Then the Steelers lost their last four regular-season games, finished 10-7 and lost the wild-card game at Baltimore 28-14.
The rivalry went the other way this season. Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 27-24 on October 1, and on November 1 the Steelers won 27-6 in Pittsburgh, where the Browns have lost 23 straight regular-season games. Read the Week 8 recap for the details.
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