Steelers hold on to beat Browns
Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham, right, kicks a game-winning 41-yard field goal as time of Sunday’s game, while Cleveland’s Joe Haden tries to block it.
Antonio Brown kicks Browns punter Spencer Lanning as he jumps while returning a punt in the second quarter Sunday. Brown was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play.
PITTSBURGH – There’s no truth to the rumor the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns traded uniforms at halftime of their regular season opener Sunday at Heinz Field.
It only looked that way.
The Steelers dominated the first half of action, only to have the Browns reverse fortunes in the second, turning a 27-3 halftime deficit into a 27-27 tie early in the fourth quarter.
But the Steelers’ defense stiffened when it needed to, and the offense made just enough plays down the stretch to set placekicker Shaun Suisham up for a 41-yard field goal as time expired, giving Pittsburgh a 30-27 victory.
“That would be accurate,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when asked if he came off the field happier following a win than he was Sunday. “That being said, a win is a win. We can’t apologize for the way we win. We just have to win games.”
The victory came into doubt despite a first half in which Roethlisberger and the Steelers dominated. It appeared their 11th consecutive victory over Cleveland at Heinz Field would be a blowout.
It turned into a nailbiter.
Cleveland, which struggled to gain 100 yards in the first half, opened the third quarter in a quick-count, no-huddle offense.
The Browns needed just 1:33 to run six plays and move 80 yards to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 27-10 on a 3-yard TD run by Isaiah Crowell.
Following a Pittsburgh punt, the Browns went 59 yards in 2:31, scoring on Crowell’s second touchdown run, this one from 15 yards out, to make it a 27-17 game.
“We got on our heels a little bit,” said Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward.
With Cleveland having clearly grabbed the game’s momentum, the Steelers’ offense, which gained 364 yards in the first half, couldn’t stem the tide.
Another Pittsburgh punt gave the Browns the ball back and they drove 75 yards before stalling and trimming the lead to 27-20 on a 25-yard Billy Cundiff field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland tied the game with 11:15 remaining in the game when Brian Hoyer, who spent two games on the Steelers’ roster in 2012, threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin.
Again, the Steelers couldn’t get anything going on offense on their next possession, getting pushed back by a first-down holding penalty on tight end Heath Miller. But on fourth-and-10 from their own 20, head coach Mike Tomlin called for a fake punt when Cleveland failed to cover gunner Antwon Blake.
The ball was snapped to upback Robert Golden, a safety, who threw a pass to Blake for a 25-yard gain that seemed to give the Steelers momentum.
“I wasn’t ready for it and heard people cheer,” said Roethlisberger, who threw for 365 yards, one touchdown and one interception. “I looked up and had to get ready to go back on the field.”
While the Steelers didn’t score on that possession, Brad Wing’s ensuing punt from midfield pinned Cleveland at the 6.
The Browns drove from the shadows of their goal posts to the Pittsburgh 35, but William Gay broke up a third-down pass intended for Gary Barnbridge and first-year head coach Mike Pettine chose to punt rather than attempt a field goal.
“That’s well outside of the zone,” said Pettine. “We felt comfortable. We felt good about punting the ball.
“That length of field goal, if it’s no good, then it gives them the ball pretty close to midfield. There were four minutes left.”
The Steelers drove to the Cleveland 41, where LeGarrette Blount was dropped for a 4-yard loss on a third-and-1 draw with two minutes remaining.
Pittsburgh gave the ball back and Hoyer was sacked by Heyward on first down before Gay broke up a pair of passes to force another Cleveland punt.
“I just wanted to give our offense another chance,” said Gay.
Pittsburgh got the ball back at its own 43 with 47 seconds remaining in the game and Roethlisberger completed a short pass to running back Le’Veon Bell, who had 109 yards rushing and a score and also caught six passes for 88 yards, and two more to receiver Markus Wheaton, including a 20-yarder over the middle that put the ball at the Cleveland 24 and set up Suisham’s game-winner.
“We changed the play,” Roethlisberger said of his final pass to Wheaton, who had six receptions for 97 yards. “They showed a coverage that the initial play we called wasn’t going to be good with. I changed him from running one route to another.”
And the Steelers pulled a victory out that it has seemingly in hand in the first half, when Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown and Bell and Blount each scored rushing touchdowns.
“We did what was necessary,” said Tomlin. “The game was a tale of two halves but I like the team’s ability to smile in the face of adversity. . . It’s great to make the necessary corrections and get a (win).”