The calendar flipped to October Thursday night and with it, we saw the opening game of week 4 of the NFL slate. We had an AFC North tilt between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns where the winner would head into the weekend with the top spot in the division to themselves for a few days. The game was more entertaining than I had expected, though there were moments that made me wonder if I watching the NFL or a Football Follies video.
In the end, Pittsburgh rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to tie the game with 1:42 remaining. However, they left too much time for Deshaun Watson and the Browns (who would have thought I’d be typing that sentence in 2026?) to move the ball. Cleveland booted the winning field goal with 10 seconds left to give them a 27-24 victory. The Browns beat the Steelers for the fifth straight time at home and improved to a shocking 8-0 on Thursday Night Football.
QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Rodgers was a mixed bag in this game for Pittsburgh. He finished up just shy of the 300-yard mark (299) and tossed three scores for the second straight week. In the process, he became just the third QB age-42 or older to have back-to-back weeks with multiple TD passes. The other two were Tom Brady and Vinny Testaverde. He also snuck in the game-tying two-point conversion after Cleveland was called for being offsides. On the flip side, he was just 22 of 40, tossed a pair of picks (one of the Steelers' final offensive snap) and was sacked five times in the contest. Still, seeing signs of life offensively from their aging quarterback has to be a boost for fans of the black and gold.
On the other side of the field, Deshaun Watson played a fairly solid game for the Browns. He led Cleveland to three touchdowns in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, he managed to lead the Browns on drives of 40 and 36 yards that ended in field goals. Watson had a good command of the offense most of the way, hitting 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He ran for 22 yards as well but there were mistakes. The pick came on a tipped ball that was confirmed after replay. He also fumbled twice, losing one on a read option when T.J. Watt knocked the ball loose, and was fortunate to recover the other one when Cam Heyward knocked it loose. He also badly missed a wide-open Harold Fanning Jr. on a 3rd down with under four minutes to play.
RUNNING BACKS
This marked the second straight game that Rico Dowdle was out of the mix for the Steelers and Jaylen Warren took full advantage. He had 176 yards of total offense (127 rushing, 49 receiving) against the Bengals last week. This week, he had 17 carries for 93 yards and added three catches for 33 yards, giving him 126 total yards in the contest. To say no one else was a factor might be an understatement. Travis Homer was the only other running back to get any touches, not that he did anything with them. It will be interesting to see if Dowdle actually carves out a spot once he’s healthy or if Warren has earned the right to be the bell cow.
Cleveland was mediocre with the run game in the first three weeks of the season. The Browns seemed to lean into Quinshon Judkins, who had 17 of the Browns’ 20 rush attempts that were taken by running backs. Watson had the other seven attempts for Cleveland. The problem is, he wasn’t overly effective, averaging 3.1 yards per carry, though he did manage to find the end zone. He was a bigger factor in the pass game, catching six balls for 43 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin scored on his lone touch, racking up a 28-yard score, yet never saw the ball again. Raheim Sanders had two carries (nine yards) and two receptions (seven yards) in the game. Judkins seems to be more effective as a receiving threat than he is trying to run between the tackles.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Rodgers worked the ball around in the contest, hitting five different receivers. D.K. Metcalf got the most work in terms of snaps (69) and targets (nine), catching five balls for 115 yards. He had a couple big plays in the fourth quarter to help spark the Steelers rally. Michael Pittman Jr. badly outsnapped Roman Wilson (51-22) but it was Wilson turning in the better stat line (three catches, 74 yards, TD to two catches, 15 yards) in the game. For that matter, Germie Bernard (28 snaps, two catches, 11 yards) got more run than Wilson but Wilson had a better showing. He had a 49-yard gain and caught a 12-yard score. Wilson should be the #3 receiver at worst at this point, whether Mike McCarthy realizes that or not is a different story.
Cleveland’s rookie receivers got the bulk of the run in this contest as Denzel Boston (62 snaps) and KC Concepcion(60 snaps) were on the field for more than 90% of the snaps. Boston had four grabs for 89 yards (on seven targets), including a 60-yard play. Concepcion caught five balls for 64 yards (on eight targets) in the contest. Boston may well be the #1 receiving option for the Browns at this point at the position. Jerry Jeudy (24 snaps, three catches, 36 yards) was a distant #3 though he did make a couple key catches to move the chains late in the game. Once you get past him, there’s no reason to keep looking.
TIGHT ENDS
One thing we saw McCarthy and company lean into in this game was the dual tight end sets. Pat Freiermuth (54 snaps) and Darnell Washington (50 snaps) saw a near-even split in terms of action in the game. Freiermuth (17 yards) and Washington (27 yards) each caught three passes, including one for a score. Washington drew a critical pass interference penalty on fourth and 10 from the Cleveland 11 to give the Steelers a first and goal situation. They scored the tying touchdown on a pass to Freiermuth on the next play.
On the other side of things, Harold Fannin Jr. (58 snaps) is far and away the top option at the tight end position for the Browns. He had three catches for 27 yards and a score on five targets in the contest. That gives him 17 grabs for 153 yards and three scores on the season, all of which have come in the last two weeks. Blake Whiteheart (22 snaps) is the second tight end though he wasn’t even targeted in this contest. If you don’t have Fannin Jr., save your time on the waiver wire and look elsewhere for a second tight end.
MISCELLANEOUS
In a game that was ultimately decided by the kicking game, it was surprising to see the result we got. Chris Boswell, who is normally automatic, hit his lone extra point attempt but was one of two on field goal attempts. He hit from 31 as the first half ended but missed wide left on a 48-yard kick with 5:26 to play in the first half. That was made longer as Rodgers was sacked on third down. Andre Szymt drilled all three extra point attempts and hit a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, connecting from 44 and 56 yards. The 56-yard boot came with 10 seconds remaining and gave the Browns the win.
Overall in the game, the Browns held a 372-361 edge in total offense despite losing in first downs (24-22) and time of possession (31:11 to 28:49) in the contest. Both teams turned the ball over twice and it was a sloppy game in terms of penalties. The Browns were flagged 14 times for 88 yards in the contest while Pittsburgh took eight penalties for 50 yards. As it stands, Cleveland is 3-1 and leading the AFC North after their third straight win. Pittsburgh falls to 2-2 with the loss but they have to at least take some solace in seeing their offense clicking the last two weeks after sputtering in the first two weeks of the year.
Next Thursday’s week 5 opener features a couple of NFC squads that could be in desperation mode. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, likely with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels under center, travels to the Lone Star State to take on Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
--Chris Kubala
