Photo: steelers.com
The Steelers walked into Cleveland with a chance to lock up the AFC North and walked out wondering how they let a winnable game slip through their fingers. A 13–6 loss to the Browns wasn’t just disappointing — it was full of moments that felt completely out of character for a team that had been building momentum down the stretch.
The loss also wiped away the clean path to the division crown. Instead of celebrating an AFC North title, the Steelers now head into a winner‑take‑all showdown with Baltimore. That wasn’t the script anyone expected when the weekend kicked off, as those using the betway app download saw the Steelers favored by three points on the road. Yet, the over/under of 33.5 points was almost double of what was scored, as both offense struggled while each team’s defense shined.
Here are five surprises from the Steelers disappointing loss against the Browns.
Cleveland came out way sharper than expected, especially with backups on their offensive line and in their backfield. Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders felt little pressure early on, leading the Browns to two scoring drives of nine plays for 41 yards and a field goal, plus a six-play, 86 yard drive that had finished with a 28-yard strike to fellow rookie TE Harold Fannin.
The Steelers would only possess the ball once for 2:16 in the first quarter: a three-and-out, eight-yard series.
The Steelers defense would finally turn it around for the remainder of the game, forcing Cleveland to punt the ball four times, picking off two Sanders’ passes and also forcing a turnover on downs. Yet, the effort wasn’t enough as the other side of the ball was unable to complement the defense.
Surprisingly, the Steelers offense held the ball longer than the Browns. The difference, however, was Pittsburgh’s abysmal 20% third down conversion rate, which saw the Steelers secure only three of their fifteen third down tries and none of their three fourth down attempts.
The offense would fail to take advantage of two turnovers, coming away with zero points. Ultimately, the Steelers would only muster six points in the game, their lowest of the season with the previous low coming against the Buffalo Bills (7 points).
Despite rushing 24 times for 131 yards, the rest of the offense sputtered due to the passing game…
Instead of continuing to run successfully, the Steelers turned to Aaron Rodgers, who completed only 53.8% of his 39 pass attempts. Without the suspended D.K. Metcalf, Pittsburgh’s offense could find no answers.
Rodgers threw the ball to Marquez Valdes-Scantling nine times, but the journeyman receiver could only come down with three of those targets for 21 yards. Scotty Miller was also targeted heavily, with seven passes thrown his way: he would haul in three as well, for a similar small output of 25 yards.
TE Jonnu Smith saw his volume increase, catching all five targets but for a measly 18 yards, while his counterpart, Pat Freiermuth, came on strong at the end, hauling in two big receptions of 29 and 11 yards in back-to-back catches during the Steelers’ final drive.
However, it was receivers who fell flat, with a Miller miscue on a key fourth down shot in the endzone resulting in a turnover on down, and Valdes-Scantling being out of sync with Rodgers on all three of the last pass attempts of the game.
This game will be known for what was otherwise at stake, with Garrett chasing the NFL’s all-time sacks record. Many critics claimed that the Steelers, and especially Rodgers, had Garrett’s record on their mind more than winning the game.
We’ll never know if preserving the record for teammate T.J. Watt, or protecting Rodgers’ name from being a Garrett footnote in league history, were culprits for the offense’s weak performance.
What we do know is that Garrett is a game wrecker and was positioned all over the field to try and make plays. His impact was minimized by backup linemen Andrus Peat and Dylan Cook, with a combined tackle and one QB hit to show for.
The Steelers loss wouldn’t have stung so badly if the Green Bay Packers had beaten the Baltimore Ravens the night before. Instead, fans witnessed a depleted Packers squad get pummeled by a Ravens team without Lamar Jackson.
The surprise there? Derrick Henry, who rushed 36 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns in the game.
The Ravens win combined with the Steelers loss sets up a Sunday Night Football showdown with the AFC North at stake.
