Steelers rally, top Browns 27-24 in overtime
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, left, and running back Le’Veon Bell celebrate on the sideline after a Steelers touchdown during the second half of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Cobi Hamilton (83) makes the winning touchdown catch during overtime of an NFL football game with Cleveland Browns strong safety Briean Boddy-Calhoun (20) defending in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham)
PITTSBURGH – Bring on the Miami Dolphins.
Pittsburgh found out which team it will face in the opening round of the AFC Wildcard playoffs next week but not before the Cleveland Browns made a skeleton crew of Steelers work a little holiday overtime.
Landry Jones, subbing for resting Ben Roethlisberger, threw three touchdown passes, including a game-winner to Cobi Hamilton in overtime as the Steelers rallied for the third consecutive week to beat the Browns, 27-24, in a New Year’s Day game at Heinz Field.
The win, Pittsburgh’s seventh straight, sends the Steelers into the postseason tied with New England, which wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 35-14 win in Miami, for the longest winning streak in the NFL.
The Steelers will host Miami next Sunday at 1 p.m. If they win, they travel to No. 2 seeded Kansas City the following Sunday at 1 p.m.
“Elements were ugly,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, whose team has overcome deficits of at least 10 points in the second half of each of its past three games, a franchise first.
“But there were other elements of it that were quite beautiful. I think that when we took the challenge of pursuing victory and the framework in which we had in terms of who was available, I anticipated some of the (struggles) we saw.”
The Steelers (11-5), who are the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, made Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell, receiver Antonio Brown and center Maurkice Pouncey healthy scratches for this game. They also did not play linebacker James Harrison. Tight end Ladarius Green and defensive end Stephon Tuitt sat out with injuries that should be healed enough for the postseason.
But first, they had to make it through the game against the Browns (1-15) without suffering any other major injuries.
Defensive end Ricardo Mathews aggravated an ankle injury and nose tackle Javon Hargrave returned after being cleared of a possible concussion before the Steelers won this game in overtime.
Landry Jones overcame a slow start – the Steelers had three offensive yards in the first quarter – completed seven-of-nine passes for 75 yards in overtime, including a 26-yard teardrop to Hamilton in the end zone to win the game.
“It was hard, the way we won,” said Jones, who threw for 277 yards to go with his three touchdowns and one interception. “But in the end, for a quarterback to do it in overtime, to do it on the last drive and throw a pass like that – those are the things you dream about.”
The winning TD came after the Steelers made a pair of defensive stops inside their own 10, once in the final minute of regulation when linebacker Jarvis Jones forced a fumble by Isaiah Crowell that was recovered by safety Mike Mitchell, and the second that forced the Browns to kick a field goal to go ahead 27-24 after having first-and-goal at the Pittsburgh 2 in overtime.
A touchdown there would have won the game for the Browns. Instead, Artrell Hawkins took a 14-yard-loss on a receiver screen that was sniffed out by cornerback William Gay and blown up by linebacker Ryan Shazier.
“We practice those situations every day,” said Mitchell. “We didn’t want to let them get down there. We prepare for that situation. We’re near the top in red zone defense. That’s good coaching.”
It was that kind of day for the defense, which allowed the Browns to rush for 231 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown by George Atkinson III to tie the game, 21-21, late in the fourth quarter.
But the Steelers also forced four fumbles, recovering three, and intercepted Cleveland quarterback Robert Griffin III once.
“It was ugly, us giving up the plays we did give up, but I definitely think it put us in certain situations that are going to help us in the long run,” said Jarvis Jones, who had one of Pittsburgh’s four sacks. “I guess everybody was looking for one of those blowout games, but Cleveland always plays us tough.”
They certainly did in this game, jumping to a 14-0 lead on a pair of TD passes by Griffin, his first two of the season.
But a bad snap at the end of the first half that was recovered by Steelers rookie safety Sean Davis set up an 11-yard TD pass from Jones to DeAngelo Williams that cut the halftime lead to 14-7 and gave the Steelers life.
The Steelers then avoided a 21-7 deficit in the third quarter when receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey ran down cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun at the goal line following an interception, punching the ball free that Landry recovered for a touchback.
The Steelers took over at their own 20 and went 80 yards to score on a 1-yard run by Williams.
“Everything (was) at stake. I know we’re locked in at 3, but you never want to kill the momentum of a winning streak,” said Heyward-Bey of his effort on the strip. “We’d be talking about a different story, ‘Oh, they lost. They weren’t focused.’ No, we had to win that game.”
The Steelers’ seven-game winning streak is their longest since 2004. … Williams had 94 yards from scrimmage (67 rushing and 27 receiving). … Shazier had an interception for the Steelers, tying him with cornerback Artie Burns for the team lead with three each. … In addition to Jarvis Jones, Davis, linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive tackle Daniel McCullers also had sacks. … Reserve cornerback Justin Gilbert suffered a shoulder injury in the second half and did not return. … The Steelers will host their AFC North opponents, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Green Bay, Minnesota and New England in 2017. Their road trips include games at their AFC North opponents, Indianapolis, Houston, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City.