Szmyt’s 56-yard field goal gives Browns 27-24 win over Steelers on Thursday night
Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 in Thursday night's NFL game after Andre Szmyt converted a career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining. Watson passed for 268 yards and positioned Cleveland for the decisive kick.
Cleveland held a 21-7 lead late in the first half before Pittsburgh rallied to tie the game at 24-all in the fourth quarter. The Browns have won eight consecutive Thursday night games, the longest active streak and the fourth-longest in NFL history, and four of those wins have come against the Steelers.
Watson completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and he went 4 of 5 for 46 yards on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter for the third straight week. He had 181 passing yards by halftime, the most he has amassed in the first 30 minutes since joining Cleveland in 2022.
After Cleveland went three-and-out to begin the game, Pittsburgh answered with a 78-yard, 17-play opening drive capped by Kenny Pickett’s substitute Wilson taking a shovel pass 12 yards around left end on a jet sweep for a touchdown. Jaleel McLaughlin tied the game at 7 with a 28-yard run, and Denzel Ward’s second-quarter interception at the Browns’ 44 set up Watson’s 60-yard completion to Denzel Boston and Quinshon Judkins’ two-yard touchdown run.
Harold Fannin Jr. finished a drive with a 2-yard touchdown reception from Watson with 1:22 remaining in the half, and Mason Crosby’s counterpart (note: source lists Boswell) kicked a 31-yard field goal with eight seconds left before halftime to cut Cleveland’s lead to 21-10. It was the first time since Week 13 of the 2020 season against Tennessee that the Browns scored at least 21 points in the second quarter.
Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 40 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions as Pittsburgh staged its comeback. He connected with Washington on a 21-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it 21-16, then threw a 3-yard touchdown to Pat Freiermuth with 1:44 remaining and rushed in the two-point conversion; his final attempt to reach field-goal range ended when Grant Delpit intercepted him at the Browns’ 18 with one second left.
Jaylen Warren rushed for 93 yards on 17 carries and DK Metcalf had five catches for 115 yards, while Cleveland’s defense recorded five sacks of Rodgers. With Szmyt’s 56-yarder providing the margin, the Browns improved to 3-1 for the first time since 2021, and Pittsburgh fell to 2-2 and remain 0-10 on the road against AFC North rivals on Thursdays.