2020 Steelers Season Recall: Cleveland Browns embarrassed 38-7
Steel City Underground presents our 2020 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 6 of the 2020 NFL season 4-0 and facing their first AFC North division opponent: the Cleveland Browns.
For yet another week Heinz Field would host a limited amount of fans as the Steelers took the field and struck first with a field goal following a promising opening drive.
The Browns, however, would not have much promise in their opening possession.
Following a Kareem Hunt rush and a Baker Mayfield scramble, Cleveland’s quarterback would step back to pass on 3rd-and-3… and find Minkah Fitzpatrick on an errant throw, as the Steelers safety stepped in front of the intended target and took the interception to the house, extending the Steelers lead to 10-0.
That would be the narrative all day as the Browns opened with three punts and two picks in their first five possessions. They would eventually get on the board with around a minute left in the second quarter – but by this time the Steelers already added two more touchdowns and jumped out to a 24-0 lead.
Halftime would see the Browns first score close the gap to 24-7. Neither team was able to score with their first second half possessions.
The Browns would take their second possession, and fight for yards – first with a challenge on a Jarvis Landry drop, which would be ruled a catch – and then attempting to convert a 4th-and-1 with Hunt, who was stuffed for a one-yard loss that would setup a short 28-yard Steelers scoring drive which would elapse over five minutes of game clock.
That possession would seven-straight Steelers run plays, with the Browns unable to stop anything, including a Ben Roethlisberger sneak on their own 4th-and-1 conversion. One play later Chase Claypool would add to his rookie touchdown total as the Steelers extended their lead to 31-7.
Baker Mayfield was then replaced by Browns backup quarterback Case Keenum, as the Steelers also started to cycle out some starters on both sides of the ball.
The final Steelers scoring drive would feature both Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland, as Pittsburgh kept the ball on the ground for eight of their nine plays. Snell would burst up the middle for the final nail in the coffin, a one-yard touchdown run, polished off with a Chris Boswell PAT that would be the last points scored by either squad.
The Browns twelve drives would end with six punts, three turnovers on downs, and the lone touchdown drive along with the pair of possessions ended with picks.
The Steelers improved to 5-0 on the season with a 38-7 manhandling of the Browns, as they held their opponent to 145 passing yards, 75 rushing yards.
