The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Cleveland Browns 38-7 in an AFC North showdown at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh defense picked off Baker Mayfield twice and sacked him four times.
The Browns quarterback was 10 of 18 for 119 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. By comparison, Ben Roethlisberger played an efficient game, going 14 of 22 for 162 yards and a score.
James Conner led the Pittsburgh running game with 20 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown while the Steelers had four different players score on offense. The win puts Pittsburgh at 5-0 for the first time since 1978 while the Cleveland drops to 4-2.
Steelers blast Browns to win 11th straight over AFC North rivals
Pittsburgh took the opening possession of the game with Roethlisberger finding James Washington for 21 yards while James Conner gained 15 yards on the ground. After the drive stalled, Chris Boswell kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 3-0 lead.
Disaster struck immediately on Cleveland's opening possession as Mayfield was intercepted by Minkah Fitzpatrick and returned 33 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 10-0 just over six minutes into the game.
That would be the score going into the second quarter and Pittsburgh struck again. A 36-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Chase Claypool set the Steelers up at the Browns three and Conner burst into the end zone on the next play to increase the lead to 17-0.
On third and 12 on their next possession, Mayfield was under pressure and he threw his second pick, this one to Cam Sutton. After Conner got the Steelers down to the Browns 28, Roethlisberger hooked up with Washington for a score to make it 24-0, the game seemingly out of reach.
Cleveland had their best drive of the game, a nine-play 75 yarder that chewed up almost five minutes with Mayfield finding Rashard Higgins from 13 yards out to cut the lead to 24-7 with just over a minute left in the half.
After exchanging punts to begin the third quarter, including another Pittsburgh sack, the Browns gambled and went for it on fourth and one on their own 29, Kareem Hunt being stopped for a loss of a yard. Eight plays later, Claypool was in the end zone to make it 31-7 with 52 seconds remaining.
Mayfield was pulled in favor of Case Keenum, but the change did little to affect the outcome as the Browns were again stopped on downs. The versatile Claypool was again involved in the next Pittsburgh scoring drive as he caught a 23-yard pass to the Cleveland one.
Benny Snell Jr. rumbled into the end zone on the next play to provide the final margin at 38-7 and after being stopped on downs for a third straight drive, both teams punted and the game came to its conclusion as the Browns lost their 17th straight contest in Pittsburgh.