Deshaun Watson passed for 268 yards and led the Browns to Andre Szmyth’s career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to give Cleveland a 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
Watson, who completed 24 of 33 passes with a touchdown and an interception, went 4-of-5 for 46 yards as he led a drive that went on in the fourth quarter for the third straight week.
The Browns, 3-1 for the first time since 2021, led 21-7 late in the first half before the Steelers rallied to tie it at 24. Aaron Rodgers threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth with 1:44 left, then hid it for a two-point conversion.
Rodgers, who was 22 of 40 for 299 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, had one last chance to get the Steelers to a field goal, but he was intercepted by Grant Delpit at the Browns’ 18 with a second left.
Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren rushed for 93 yards on 17 carries and DK Metcalf had five catches for 115 yards.
Cleveland’s defense sacked Rodgers five times.
Cleveland has won eight straight games entering Thursday night, the longest active streak in NFL history and the fourth-longest. Four came against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh (2-2) is 0-10 on the road against AFC North rivals on Thursday.
After Cleveland went three-and-out, Pittsburgh drove 78 yards in 17 plays before Wilson completed a 12-yard scoop pass down the left sideline on a jet sweep. It was the second straight game in which the Steelers reached the end zone on their first drive.
The rest of the first half was all Browns. Watson had his career-high 181 yards in the first 30 minutes since joining the Browns in 2022.
Jaleel McLaughlin tied the score at 7 with 12:14 left in the first half on a 28-yard run around right end. The fourth-year running back broke a pair of tackles at the 22 and got through a narrow opening at the 15 before scoring.
The drive was set up after Denzel Ward picked off a Rodgers pass intended for Michael Pittman Jr. at the Browns’ 44 on the second play of the second quarter.
Cleveland took a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter on a two-yard run by right guard Quinshon Judkins. It came three plays after Watson found Denzel Boston for a 60-yard completion to the Steelers’ 14 on the first play of the drive.
Harold Fannin Jr. then scored his third touchdown in two games on a 2-yard pass from Watson on third-and-goal with 1:22 left.
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.
The Steelers took a 21-10 lead on Boswell’s 31-yard field goal with eight seconds left before halftime.
Rodgers rolled right and connected with Washington for a 21-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, putting Pittsburgh up 21-16. An attempt to convert to a colon failed.