Dorian Thompson-Robinson guided Cleveland on a last-minute drive and Dustin Hopkins made a 34-yard field goal with 5 seconds left to deliver the host Browns over the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10 on Sunday afternoon.
The victory put Cleveland (7-3) in sole possession of second place in the AFC North, ahead of the Steelers (6-4) and behind only the Baltimore Ravens.
Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft pick last April out of UCLA, made his second career start with Deshaun Watson out for the year due to a shoulder fracture. The rookie went 24-of-43 passing for 165 yards and an interception.
Thompson-Robinson completed four passes to four different receivers, three of which gained first downs, on the Browns’ final drive with 1:18 left in regulation. A rare defensive delay of game penalty was called on Pittsburgh to help Cleveland set up the go-ahead field goal.
The Steelers could not make anything of their last-second hook-and-ladder play.
Cleveland’s Myles Garrett recorded two sacks to extend his league lead to 13. Elijah Moore caught six passes for 60 yards.
Jaylen Warren had nine carries for 129 yards and a long touchdown for Pittsburgh. He also had 16 receiving yards, meaning Warren accounted for 145 of the Steelers’ 249 total yards of offense. Kenny Pickett completed 15 of 28 passes for just 106 yards.
Jerome Ford took five carries, including two direct snaps, on the Browns’ second drive of the game. On Ford’s push on third-and-goal at the 1-yard line, he was originally ruled down short of the goal line. The Browns challenged and it was ruled a touchdown, as the review showed the ball barely broke the goal-line plane.
It remained 7-0 until the end of the second quarter, when Cleveland drove 77 yards in 17 plays to score again before halftime. Thompson-Robinson’s 5-yard run on third-and-4 kept the drive alive, and he completed six passes on the march before Hopkins made a 25-yard field goal with 5 seconds left for a 10-0 halftime lead.
The Steelers finally got the boost they needed on the opening drive of the second half. Warren took a pitch right, made one tackler miss and sprinted through a hole for a 74-yard touchdown.
Later in the third quarter, Thompson-Robinson’s pass squirted out of the waiting hands of Amari Cooper and Chandon Sullivan grabbed the interception. But the Steelers proceeded to go three-and-out.
Pittsburgh tied the game with 7:40 left in regulation. Garrett’s second sack interrupted a 13-play, 62-yard Steelers drive, and they settled for Chris Boswell’s 28-yard field goal.
–Field Level Media
