Ben Roethlisberger and the No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) host Baker Mayfield and the No. 6 Cleveland Browns (11-5) in the first round of the AFC playoffs Sunday at Heinz Field. Follow along for live updates during the game.
What you need to know
- How to watch: Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. Eastern on NBC; stream at nbcsports.com.
- What to watch for: Cleveland, which is making its first playoff appearance in 18 years, will be playing without its head coach, Kevin Stefanski, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Roethlisberger and the Steelers started 11-0 but had a late losing skid, and will look to get its high-powered passing offense back on track.
- Complete NFL schedule and results
Browns hold 35-10 lead over Steelers at halftime
By Des Bieler
The long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan base was due for some good things to happen. But it was hard to imagine so many good things would happen over the first 30 minutes of their team’s playoff game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns went to the locker room with a 35-10 lead after the Steelers kicked a 49-yard field goal just as the second quarter ended. Shortly before that, Cleveland tight end Austin Hooper scored on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield, but the major fireworks came in a first quarter in which the Browns set franchise and post-merger NFL playoff records by sprinting out to a 28-0 lead.
Cleveland was efficient on offense, particularly on the ground, where running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined to carry the ball 12 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Mayfield was no slouch, either, completing 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The Browns’ cause was aided enormously by a slew of Steelers miscues, most notably three interceptions by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The tone of Pittsburgh sloppiness was set on the first play from scrimmage, when a high snap sent the ball over Roethlisberger’s head and eventually into the end zone, where it was recovered for a Browns touchdown.
In terms of passes completed to his own teammates, Roethlisberger went 20 of 30 for 177 yards and a 42.6 rating in the first half. Pittsburgh’s one touchdown was scored by running back James Conner, but he gained just 32 yards on 10 carries.
This is the Browns, so it’s too early too assume the lead is safe, but if it holds up, Cleveland will get its first playoff win since 1995. It is also looking to win at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field for the first time since 2003, one season after the Browns’ most recent playoff appearance. Finally, the Browns have not won a playoff game outside of Cleveland since 1969, so the team has all sorts of opportunity here to shed the shackles of past disappointment.
Steelers score to cut deficit to 28-7
By Des Bieler
The Pittsburgh Steelers took most of the first half to get on the board, during which they fell behind 28-0, but they have finally scored points. Running back James Conner ran in a touchdown from one yard out to cut the Cleveland Browns’ lead to 28-7 with 1:44 left in the first half.
The Steelers needed to convert on a fourth-and-one play, and nearly failed to do so, just before Conner’s touchdown. Ultimately, though, they were able to go 89 yards on 13 plays to get a score they desperately needed.
Earlier in the second quarter, the Browns failed to take advantage of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s third interception of the game, which defensive lineman Porter Gustin caught on a diving play. At another point, the Steelers punted on a fourth and nine at Cleveland’s 38, despite the fact that they were down by four touchdowns.
Browns’ first-quarter explosion was the biggest since ...
By Des Bieler
The Cleveland Browns didn’t just jump out to a stunning lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they attained some superlatives, too.
The 28-0 lead by the Browns was the first after just one quarter of play in a postseason game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. According to Pro Football Reference, in a 1969 AFL playoff game, the Oakland Raiders, coached by John Madden, took a 28-0 first-quarter lead against the Houston Oilers en route to a 56-7 win.
Pro Football Reference also dug into its database to report that Sunday’s 28-0 lead was the largest for the Browns after one quarter in any game, regular season or playoffs, since at least 1940. It was just the 15th game since 1940 in which any NFL team had such a large lead after the first quarter.
Browns turn third Steelers turnover into 28-0, first-quarter lead
By Des Bieler
We’re still in the first quarter, but somehow Kareem Hunt has two touchdowns, the Pittsburgh Steelers have three turnovers and the Cleveland Browns have scored four times to take a 28-0 lead.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw his second interception, again on a pass that was too high for its intended target, and the Browns again showed they are in no mood to spare their longtime tormenter any mercy. Three plays after the pick was returned to Pittsburgh’s 15-yard-line by Browns safety Sheldrick Redwine, Hunt ran eight yards to reach the end zone a second time.
NBC announced on its telecast that it was the first 28-0, first-quarter lead in NFL playoff history.
Browns take 21-0 lead on Kareem Hunt TD
By Des Bieler
Which team is playing without its head coach, after barely practicing for the past two weeks because of coronavirus issues?
That team would be the Cleveland Browns, but you would hardly know it from how their playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has started. The Browns are up by a shocking 21-0 count, with more than four minutes remaining in the first half.
This time, the Browns got the ball back on a Steelers punt, rather than a turnover, but the result was eventually the same. Cleveland went 65 yards in just six plays, with running back Kareem Hunt capping the drive with an 11-yard run on which he bulldozed into the end zone despite the efforts of Pittsburgh defenders.
It’s very much as if the Browns are unleashing 18 years of frustrations, after not having played in a postseason game since 2003 — when they lost to the Steelers.
Browns turn interception into swift 14-0 lead
By Des Bieler
Well, alrighty then. Just over five minutes into the game we have a 14-0 Cleveland Browns lead. In the playoffs. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Heinz Field.
After a stunning Steelers fumble handed the Browns their first score mere seconds into the contest, another Pittsburgh gaffe set up the second. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger floated a high, short pass that was picked off by Cleveland’s M.J. Stewart Jr., and it took the Browns just three plays to capitalize.
On a third-and-four play from Pittsburgh’s 40, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield found wide receiver Jarvis Landry over the middle. Landry took it the rest of the way, with the help of a solid block downfield by wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. What a start for Cleveland!
Browns score quickly on Steelers fumble, lead 7-0
By Des Bieler
The Cleveland Browns waited 18 years for another playoff game. It took them only 14 seconds to score.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, from the Pittsburgh 22, a bad snap went over the head of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and rolled back toward his end zone. After a scramble involving a number of players from both sides, Cleveland’s Karl Joseph came away with the ball in the end zone for a stunning score.
Cleveland Coach Kevin Stefanski, four Browns out after positive tests
By Des Bieler
The Cleveland Browns will be without head coach Kevin Stefanski and four players for the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of positive tests for the coronavirus.
Stefanski, guard Joel Bitonio and wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge returned positive tests this week, and cornerbacks Kevin Johnson and Denzel Ward tested positive earlier this month and have not yet been cleared to return. In Stefanski’s place, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as the Browns’ acting head coach Sunday.
Stefanski can’t coach the Browns remotely because the NFL has long disallowed any outside communication into games between kickoff and the final whistle. The first-year coach has been calling plays for Cleveland, so he will be replaced Sunday in that role by offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
On Saturday, the Browns activated three players off the covid/reserve list: tight end Harrison Bryant, starting safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. — whose positive test this week was later deemed to be a false positive — and starting linebacker Malcolm Smith. The team said Sunday that Robert Jackson would start in place of Ward and that Michael Dunn would replace Bitonio at left guard.
Cleveland also announced that six players will be inactive for the game: cornerback Brian Allen, wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley, wide receiver Marvin Hall, safety Jovante Moffatt, tackle Alex Taylor and safety Tedric Thompson.
The Steelers’ inactive list includes: defensive end Isaiah Buggs, safety Antoine Brooks Jr., quarterback Josh Dobbs, linebacker Jayrone Elliott, guard Danny Isidora and running back Anthony McFarland.
Styx records national anthem for Browns-Steelers game
By Des Bieler
The rock band Styx announced via social media Sunday, several hours before the start of the Browns-Steelers game in Pittsburgh, that it had recorded a version of the national anthem for the event. The band added the hashtag #HereWeGo, a nod to the Steelers’ traditional fight song and a clear indication of the team for which Styx will be rooting.
Styx’s roots are in Chicago, where it formed in 1972, but the band has had a special relationship with Steelers fans because of their fondness for Styx’s 1979 hit, “Renegade.” That song has become a staple of fourth-quarter stands by Pittsburgh’s defense after it helped spark a rally during a 2002 playoff game against the Browns.
“‘Renegade’ is a song that has taken on a life of its own, and as a football player from Pittsburgh, I just wanted to let those guys know I appreciate it — the fact that they allowed us to play that song, because it brought us so much joy,” former Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis said in 2015 of Styx, which has also performed the national anthem in person before Steelers games. “But it also brought some wins. It helped the defense pick it up. It made a difference with us, and those guys need to hear it from me how important that was.”
How will this season’s playoffs work?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament that determines champions from the AFC and NFC, who then square off in the Super Bowl. The tournament has three rounds before the Super Bowl that take place over three weekends. The first round is followed by the divisional round and then championship Sunday.
The format changed this year. Rather than six teams from each conference making the playoffs with the top seeds from each conference earning a bye, seven teams make it with only the top seed earning a bye. The change will result in a more robust initial weekend, with three games on both Saturday and Sunday.
The fatal flaw that could stop each NFL playoff team, including the Steelers or Browns
By Neil Greenberg
Each of the remaining playoff teams has a weakness that, if properly exploited, could end its Super Bowl hopes early. Here are the potentially fatal flaws for the Browns and Steelers.
Cleveland Browns: Lack of depth in the secondary
Outside of cornerback Denzel Ward, the team’s highest-rated defensive back in coverage, there isn’t much depth. When targeted this season, Ward held opposing passers to an 86.6 rating. The rest of the team’s secondary allowed a passer rating of 125.8 in coverage. Cleveland’s safeties — Andrew Sendejo, Karl Joseph, Ronnie Harrison and Sheldrick Redwine — allowed 14 touchdowns to three interceptions combined during the regular season.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Scoring efficiency
Offensive firepower appears essential to reach the Super Bowl in the modern era, with only rare exceptions to that rule. Pittsburgh’s offense has been inconsistent this season, scoring 2.1 points per drive, which ranked 20th of 32 teams. After adjusting that efficiency for strength of schedule the Steelers offense ranks 22nd, per Football Outsiders.
Who to pick in Steelers vs. Browns (-6)
By Neil Greenberg
On paper this is a terrible matchup for Cleveland. Pittsburgh pressures quarterbacks at the highest rate in the NFL (32 percent) and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield wilts under pressure. Mayfield’s passer rating plummeted from 108.9 in a clean pocket to 47.7 when facing pass pressure in 2020, which is roughly the difference between Patrick Mahomes and an incomplete pass.
Plus, it has been profitable to bet against Mayfield over the past two years. In games started by him during his rookie season, the Browns went 7-6 against the spread. In the past two seasons they have gone 11-20-1 (.343) against the spread.
Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers -6
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