Szmyt’s 56-yarder lifts Browns after Steelers erase fourteen-point lead

Andre Szmyt supplied the finish after Cleveland let Pittsburgh back in. A sack on the Browns’ final drive pushed the winning field-goal attempt back to 56 yards, but Szmyt sent it through with ten seconds left Thursday night to beat Pittsburgh 27–24. Cleveland had surrendered a fourteen-point lead before finding one more scoring possession.[8]

The Browns improved to 3–1 with their third consecutive win, each featuring a late go-ahead drive by Deshaun Watson. This one required them to answer Aaron Rodgers after he brought the Steelers level with a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion. Szmyt’s career-long kick extended his run to 22 successful field goals, stretching back to last season.[4]

Watson and his kicker had already discussed the distance. Szmyt told him to aim for Pittsburgh’s 42, which would leave about a 60-yard attempt. “He got me a couple extra yards, so kudos to him,” Szmyt said in The Associated Press’s postgame report. Those yards mattered after Watson was sacked on the final possession.[7]

Watson had found Jerry Jeudy twice, KC Concepcion and Harold Fannin Jr., overcoming a false start and ten-second runoff. Payton Wilson’s sack pushed Cleveland back to the 38; after a timeout and an incomplete pass, Szmyt finished the seven-play, 36-yard drive. Grant Delpit then intercepted Rodgers’ desperate final throw, ending Pittsburgh’s chance to answer.[1]

Three drives change the first half

Pittsburgh had initially kept Cleveland’s offense watching. Its opening possession consumed nearly ten minutes and ended with Roman Wilson coming across the formation for a short forward flip from Rodgers. Wilson took the ball around the left side for a twelve-yard touchdown. The Steelers converted three third downs on the seventeen-play march.[1]

Denzel Ward changed the direction of the game early in the second quarter, intercepting a pass intended for Michael Pittman Jr. Cleveland took over near midfield and needed only four plays to tie the score. Jaleel McLaughlin finished the drive with a 28-yard run, giving the Browns their first productive spell after two opening punts.[2]

McLaughlin broke two tackles near the 22, then squeezed through an opening farther downfield on his way to the end zone. That individual run began a quarter in which Cleveland repeatedly found space. Watson threw for 181 yards before halftime, his most in a first half since joining the Browns, according to the AP’s report.[7]

On Cleveland’s next possession, Denzel Boston got behind the defense for sixty yards on the first snap. Quinshon Judkins scored from the two three plays later. The Browns then sustained an eleven-play drive that ended with Fannin catching a short touchdown pass on third-and-goal. Three consecutive possessions had produced touchdowns and a 21–7 lead.[2]

Pittsburgh’s young secondary was carrying a substantial load. Rookie cornerback Daylen Everette later described a miscommunication on Boston’s long reception; starter Jamel Dean left with an ankle injury late in the half. Defensive lineman Derrick Harmon also departed with a foot injury. Neither returned, leaving the Steelers to pursue their comeback with fewer experienced options.[6]

Wilson helped prevent the game from slipping farther away. His 49-yard reception before halftime positioned Chris Boswell for a field goal that cut the deficit to eleven. Wilson finished with 74 receiving yards and had scored for a second straight week. His improving connection with Rodgers gave Pittsburgh another route downfield alongside DK Metcalf.[6]

Pittsburgh finds Metcalf, then a way back

Metcalf entered Thursday with only 98 receiving yards across Pittsburgh’s first three games. He surpassed that total in Cleveland, gaining 115, with most of the damage coming after halftime. His ability to win downfield became essential against the Browns’ tight man coverage. Jaylen Warren supplied the rushing support, gaining 93 yards while playing with his shoulder in a harness.[5]

The Steelers first needed their defense to give them another chance. T.J. Watt stripped Watson on a read-option play and recovered the ball himself at midfield, but the offense could not turn that takeaway into points. Cleveland’s Mike Hall Jr. ended the threat with a third-down sack, forcing Pittsburgh out of field-goal range and into a punt.[4]

The next turnover survived a review. Jack Sawyer tipped Watson’s pass, and rookie safety Robert Spears-Jennings intercepted it. A pass-interference flag had initially threatened to wipe out the play, but Mike McCarthy challenged and the review confirmed Sawyer’s touch. Pittsburgh kept the ball and finally turned a defensive opening into a touchdown.[3]

Metcalf’s diving 43-yard catch carried the Steelers into Cleveland territory. Rodgers then moved right and found Darnell Washington in the end zone for a 21-yard score. The two-point attempt failed, and Szmyt’s subsequent 44-yard field goal left Pittsburgh trailing 24–16 with 6:37 remaining. The Steelers still needed a touchdown and a conversion just to draw level.[3]

They got both. Metcalf caught passes for 22 and 28 yards on the tying drive, and a pass-interference penalty against Cleveland put the ball at the three. Rodgers found Pat Freiermuth for the touchdown with 1:42 remaining, then kept the ball himself on the conversion and pushed across the goal line. Cleveland’s early advantage was gone.[1]

Rodgers finished with three touchdown passes and 299 yards, while Warren added 33 receiving yards to his rushing work. Pittsburgh had recovered from an eleven-point fourth-quarter deficit, but its defense could not preserve the tie. Watson’s four completions on the following possession gave Szmyt the opportunity to decide the game.[8]

Cameron Heyward was direct about the failure to end that last possession. “Not close enough, not enough contested throws,” he said in the Steelers’ published account. The offense had supplied the touchdown and conversion; the defense still needed one stop. Instead, Pittsburgh fell to 2–2, and Cleveland moved ahead of it in the AFC North.[3]