PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Steelers spent all week hearing the chatter coming from Cleveland, then spent all Sunday insistently and repeatedly putting their longtime rivals in their place.
Maybe better days are coming for Deshaun Watson, Jared Verse and company. They’re just not there yet.
At least not in Pittsburgh, where the Cleveland Browns remain the Browns.
Jaylen Warren tied a career high with 143 rushing yards and a touchdown on his 28th birthday, and the Steelers (6-2) took first place in the AFC North with a dominant 27-6 victory.
The Steelers sacked Watson eight times and Pittsburgh racked up 200 rushing yards to beat the Browns (5-3) for the 23rd straight regular season at Acrisure Stadium, tying the NFL record for consecutive home wins against an opponent. Green Bay won 23 straight against Detroit from 1992-2014.
“It kind of sends a message to the rest of the division that we’re here to play,” Steelers right guard Brock Hoffman said. “We’re here to be physical. We play the game the right way on both sides of the ball, and that’s what we want as an identity.”
It’s also an identity that Cleveland (5-3) is trying to build. The Browns believe they’re on their way, and Verse raised eyebrows by saying it’s time for Cleveland to take the two-hour drive southeast and “make Pittsburgh ours.”
It didn’t really happen like that. That’s rarely the case when the Browns play the Steelers on the road.
The Pittsburgh offensive line that Verse openly questioned spent over three hours intimidating the Browns in general and the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year in particular.
“I stand by everything I say,” said Verse, who was limited to one assisted tackle. “As a man, you naturally have to do that. We definitely could have done more to present ourselves as the team that we are. I don’t know who the hell that team was that came out there.”
Verse criticized Steelers left guard Mason McCormick for slamming him to the ground head-first during a Pittsburgh field goal attempt in the first quarter, describing it as “an uncalled for play.”
McCormick, who said he didn’t know it was Verse at the moment, pulled a flag for unnecessary brutality. It wasn’t important. By the fourth quarter, the Steelers led by three touchdowns, the clock was ticking, and Verse’s arrogance had been replaced by silence.
“Well, what can you say when you’re down 27-6, regardless of the score?” » said Pittsburgh left tackle Troy Fautanu. “There’s not much else to say.”
The Steelers avenged a road loss to the Browns (5-3) a month ago by reminding Cleveland that while faces may change, the outcome when the Browns play Pittsburgh won’t.
Warren, in the midst of a breakout year, and teammate Rico Dowdle navigated gaping holes on a day when the Steelers managed three touchdowns, two more than they had managed all year before.
“It was good to see that,” Warren said. “Especially (after) a shaky start to the year. Like I said, (Dowdle), he’s my brother. Seeing him succeed makes us all happy. That’s what makes us great.”
Dowdle’s 56 rushing yards included a 9-yard sprint from the middle to the end zone in the first quarter that gave Pittsburgh a lead it never came close to squandering. The Steelers scored on four of their next five possessions, including a 1-yard plunge by tight end Pat Freiermuth on a driving pass on the penultimate play of the first half that put Pittsburgh up 20-6.
The play carried some risks. There were 5 seconds on the clock at the time of the snap, and the Steelers had no timeouts. Had Freiermuth been stopped, the half would have ended, potentially giving the Browns some juice. Instead, the left side of Pittsburgh’s line surged forward and the play ended with the ball — and at least a half-dozen men in black and yellow — well beyond the goal line, including Freiermuth.
“This is a group we have a lot of confidence in,” Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said.
When Aaron Rodgers hit 6-foot-7, 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington for a 58-yard catch-and-rumble early in the third quarter that set up Warren’s 1-yard touchdown run, the Steelers were firmly in control and the late magic that Watson conjured five times in the first two months of the season was nowhere to be found.
Watson, under pressure on the opening possession, passed for 324 yards, many of them on deadline. He came out briefly in the first quarter after taking a late shot from Pittsburgh’s Jaquan Brisker. Shedeur Sanders stepped in for a few chaotic plays, his stint ending on a Harold Fannin Jr. fumble.
The Browns also fumbled on their next possession.
“There’s no doubt about it, we’re certainly capable of doing a lot better than that,” first-year Cleveland coach Todd Monken said. “It’s a good lesson from this young team that week to week. At the end of the day, in this league, you speak with your game, and we didn’t play well enough today.”
Cleveland: Defensive tackle Maliek Collins injured his elbow in the first half. Cornerback Tyson Campbell was evaluated for a possible concussion.
Browns: Visit New Orleans next Sunday.
Steelers: After a bye, visit Cincinnati on November 15.
—
See the AP’s full NFL coverage here
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and the Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Gn sports
