Browns pull off ultimate snow job, upset Steelers in tough conditions

CLEVELAND — For visuals, drama and nostalgia, the Browns and Steelers playing in a snow globe in prime time is hard to beat. A Browns upset over their hated rival takes it to another level. Two revenge touchdown runs by Nick Chubb makes it a game that will be remembered for a long time. With large snowflakes falling for much of the game then much harder and swirling in the second half, the Browns beat the Steelers 24-19 on Thursday night at Huntington Bank Field. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski called it an "unbelievable atmosphere." "It's a special night for our fans, and I think they deserve it," he said. "The guys showed they're a resilient team." Chubb scored his second 2-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left to cap a comeback that had been a blown lead. Quarterback Jameis Winston jumped with joy as Chubb scored in front of the Dawg Pound. The Steelers got in position to throw a last-play Hail Mary, but the Browns knocked it down in the end zone, and some of the players slid in the snow. The Browns are 3-8 after their second win in the last nine games. The Steelers are 8-3 after their five-game winning streak was snapped. The Browns led 18-6 midway through the fourth quarter, only to watch the Steelers score two touchdowns in 102 seconds to take a 19-18 lead. Winston had thrown an interception on the Browns' penultimate possession but led the winning nine-play, 45-yard drive. The drive started at the Steelers 45-yard line after a 16-yard punt by Corliss Waitman. On fourth-and-3 from the 38, Winston threw a 5-yard out to receiver Jerry Jeudy, who slid in the snow as he caught it. On third-and-6 from the 29, Winston hit Jeudy on a crossing route for 15 yards. A penalty moved the ball to the 9-yard line. Chubb took over from there. Chubb said Tuesday he didn't have any extra emotion heading into his first game against the Steelers since the injury, but the crowd chanted for him to get the ball on the goal line, and the coaches made sure he got the chance to score … twice. His first touchdown gave the Browns a 7-3 lead with four minutes left in the first half. It was Chubb's second touchdown since returning Oct. 20 after missing 13 months following a gruesome left knee injury suffered in Pittsburgh in Week 2 last year. He has 51 rushing touchdowns for his career. "He's the consummate pro," Stefanski said of Chubb. "He's the best I've been around. He wanted to help his team win." The snowy scene for home Browns games will disappear when the planned dome in Brook Park is built. For one night in a lost season, it felt like the perfect setting to have some fun. Nobody had more fun than defensive end Myles Garrett. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year had three sacks and a forced fumble, all in the first half. He seemed determined to prove to Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt the award was well-deserved. "He knew we needed the big guy and he came through," Stefanski said. Garrett has three sacks in two of the last three games. He got three sacks in a four-play span Nov. 3 in a loss to the Chargers. He has 10 sacks for the season, making him the only NFL player with double-digit sacks in each of the last seven seasons. The temperature at kickoff was 37 degrees with a windchill factor of 27. Light snowflakes fell throughout the half. Light no longer applied as the third quarter turned into the fourth. The grounds crew shoveled some of the yard lines so they were visible. Brownie the Elf was completely covered. Garrett quoted a Dylan Thomas poem Tuesday — Don't go gently into that good night — to capture the mentality the Browns needed for the final seven games with their playoff hopes all but extinguished. He certainly didn't go gently. In addition to the sacks and forced fumble, he had a big hit on Wilson, who hung in for a clutch completion to set up a field goal. The Browns-Steelers rivalry is always loaded with subplots, and the Garrett-Watt matchup was one of the major ones. When Garrett broke through last year with his first DPOY award, Watt tweeted "Nothing I'm not used to." "I've never complained about the trophy not being at my house and vice versa. He shouldn't be feeling two ways about knowing it's going to me," Garrett said when asked about Watt's reaction. "So just going to play the game. I don't play against T.J., he doesn't play against me. We'll have a plan to go out and do what we're supposed to, win the game and dominate on defense. "It's up for grabs this year, and we'll see the best man win." Garrett was asked if Watt ever said anything to him after the post that received 5.5 million views. "No, he didn't say nothing to me," Garrett said. "He's going to have to apologize when I see him." Watt won the award in 2021 when he tied the NFL season record with 22.5 sacks. He entered Thursday as the prohibitive favorite to win the award this year. He didn't have a sack Thursday. "I have respect for everybody in the league," Watt told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review during the week. "Obviously, he's a guy who has been a top pass rusher in the league for a long time. But I don't compete directly against him. It's our team versus their team, and at the end of the day, I just want the Pittsburgh Steelers to come out with a win." The Browns finally got something going in the second quarter after going three-and-out on their two possessions in the first quarter, totaling 19 yards to 105 for Pittsburgh in the first quarter. They went 80 yards in 12 plays and 6:53, and Chubb scored from 2 yards for the lead. Jeudy caught three passes for 39 yards to get the drive going. Winston, a 10-year vet, had never played the Steelers and was excited for his first experience in the rivalry. He played mistake-free until the fourth quarter, when he lost a fumble and threw and interception. He finished 18-for-27 for 219 yards, an interception and a 76.0 passer rating. He had a 2-yard touchdown scramble for an 18-6 lead in which he ran right and leaped into the end zone as he was hit. The defense gave up the two fourth-quarter touchdowns but had several critical stops early in the game. Garrett got a third-down sack of Russell Wilson for a loss of 8 yards on the first possession to force a 58-yard field goal from Chris Boswell, who missed wide right. Boswell had been 29-for-30 with the only miss from 62 yards in Week 3. Pittsburgh's second drive reached the Cleveland 38-yard line for fourth-and-2. Backup quarterback Justin Fields entered, took the snap and was stuffed for a 2-yard loss by safety Grant Delpit. The Browns have won seven straight overall on Thursday night and nine in a row at home on Thursday night. They're 10-2 all time at home on Thursday night. Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @scottpetrak on X.