The Monday Night curse is starting to make a name for itself, as it took another victim during week two of the ’23-’24 season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Cleveland Browns 26-22 in an action-packed Monday Night Football.
T.J. Watt became the all-time Steelers sack leader in the win. Along with the history, he scored the game-winning touchdown on Monday night.
The rivalry game closed out a week featuring six interdivisional matchups.
The Browns were flying high from a massive defensive showing, holding the explosive Cincinnati Bengals offense to just three points to open the season. A rainy Sunday in Cleveland limited the passing game in the Ohio Bowl. The Browns dominated the game on the ground. Star RB Nick Chubb broke the century mark on 18 carries, and the Cleveland defense proved they were not a unit to take for granted.
The Steelers were looking for redemption after getting obliterated by the 49ers in week one. After their subpar showing a Sunday ago, the storylines surrounding the Steelers were not superb. Fans and media alike were calling for the head of offensive coordinator Matt Canada after the 30-7 loss.
The AFC North hosts a callous brand of football, and the game between two blue-collar cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland is a guaranteed battle. It was tough, and the game was won on the defensive side of the ball, as neither offense could gain any momentum.
The game had instant fireworks. Cleveland started with the ball, and the first play from scrimmage was intercepted by the Steelers and taken back for six points to start the game, which ignited the crowd at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
The first half was very sloppy. There were four turnovers in the first quarter alone as the tensions became the focal point instead of the football. In total, there were 13 penalties for over 100 yards of damage.
Deshawn Watson, a controversial player in the NFL and disliked by many for the Browns, and Kenny Pickett, the second-year quarterback out of Penn, both had abysmal games. The Steelers constantly gave Cleveland the ball back and good opportunities to score, and the Browns couldn’t manage to move anything past the Steelers’ defense.
The Browns’ second drive of the game was their longest and most methodical, but they couldn’t push the ball into the end zone as they settled for three.
It got messy after the Browns got on the board. The following five drives went as so:
Steelers: Three plays, seven yards. Interception.
Browns: Four plays, negative six yards. Missed FG.
Steelers: Three plays, seven yards. Punt.
Browns: Eight plays, 53 yards. Fumble
Steelers: One play, negative five yards. Fumble
Thanks to excellent field position after the fumble recovery, the Browns reached the red zone for the first time of the night. They breached the 20-yard line thanks to RB Nick Chubb, who had been the only reliable factor of the Browns offense to this point. That’s when tragedy struck.
Chubb, who had a 35% touchdown rate inside the 10-yard line in 2022, was handed the ball on the Steelers eight. He looked to get the Browns their first lead of the game.
He broke into the second level of the defense when Steelers All-Pro free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick dove to make a tackle. Chubb, who tore his PCL, MCL, and LCL in his left knee all in the same play as a Georgia Bulldog, injured the same knee six years later. The injury was so gruesome that ESPN didn’t show the replay, and when it was shown on the jumbotron in Pittsburgh, a collective gasp ran through the crowd. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Chubb will be out for the remainder of the season in his postgame press conference.
With two quarters and some change left in the game, it was tough to recharge the energy in the building, especially after Browns second-string RB Jerome Ford caught a three-yard touchdown pass to put Cleveland on top.
Canada and Pickett lucked out as a WR George Pickens found an opening in the secondary and went 56 yards after the catch to take back the lead in the second quarter.
The Steelers defense had a terrible start to their season but has improved significantly every quarter since then. After letting up the touchdown, they really turned it on.
T.J. Watt, one of the most explosive edge rushers the league has ever seen, ended the Browns two minute drill with his 81.5 career sack. In his 89th career game, Watt is just 19.5 sacks from becoming the fastest player to 100 career sacks in NFL history. Aaron Donald currently holds the lead with 138 games.
Ford and the Browns did their best after losing their workhorse back, coming out of the half strong with a four-play 75-yard touchdown drive. Ford bit off a huge chunk of the drive with a 69-yard dash. Cleveland went up 22-19 after Watson finished with a five-yard rush and completed the two-point conversion.
The score stayed the same as it got messy once again. Punt, Punt, Punt, Fumble, Punt were the next five drives.
Cleveland got the ball back with nine minutes left in the fourth, looking to put another touchdown on the board and put the game away. Browns fans could taste the 2-0 record. The Steelers defense had other things in mind.
Pittsburgh linebacker Alex Highsmith got to Watson on his 2nd and nine dropback, strip-sacking him. Watt picked up the ball in stride and took it back to the house for the Steelers’ second defensive touchdown of the game.
Now overflowing with momentum, the Steelers’ defense turned the Browns over on downs on their last attempt with the ball to win the thriller 26-22.
The Browns brought a familiar face back to the building after the tragic injury. On Wednesday morning, they resigned RB Kareem Hunt. The six-year NFL vet has been a member of the Browns for the past four years but wasn’t resigned as he became a free agent in the 2022 offseason.
The Steelers, who still didn’t look complete, travel to Las Vegas to play their second consecutive prime-time game against the Raiders on Sunday Night Football.
Contrarily, the Browns, who looked better than most expected coming into the season, go home for an 11 o’clock matchup against the Tennesee Titans.
The two sit tied in the middle of the AFC North standings, above the 0-2 Bengals and below the 2-0 Ravens.
