The Pittsburgh Steelers fumbled an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot in their second faceoff against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Huntingdon Bank Field.
The 13-6 final score fell in stark contrast to the Steelers’ 23-9 victory over the Browns at Acrisure Stadium in October. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin cited the Browns’ defense for Pittsburgh’s downfall, calling it the “best unit in the AFC North Division.”
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski relished the opportunity to reverse October’s outcome. It was the Steelers’ fourth consecutive loss to the Browns in Cleveland.
“Love that we get to even that season series versus a division rival, get to do it in front of our fans,” he said. “I’m just extremely grateful for that group in there, how hard they play for 60 minutes. That’s what they do at practice (and it) shows up in games.”
The Steelers will need to beat the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium next weekend to secure the AFC North crown, wrote Jimmy Watkins of Cleveland.com.
“Nobody — not even the home fans, who are split between rooting for draft position and their own football sanity — needed the Browns to beat the sloppy Steelers 13-6 on Sunday more than the even sloppier Ravens,” Watkins wrote.
After scoring 10 points in the first quarter, the game shifted to a defensive battle for the Browns, wrote Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature.
Browns Quarterback Shedeur Sanders told media after the game that the win was bittersweet.
“I feel like, offense, we’ve got to do our part,” Sanders said. “I’ve got to do my part a little bit more. We can’t be happy with only 13 points on the board. We’ve just got to be able to score more points.”
The Browns defense came ready to play, said Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal.
“It was one of those games where the Steelers would chip away in terms of yardage but couldn’t get across the goal line,” Easterling said.
The victory was not without drawbacks for the Browns, who are no longer in reach of the 2026 NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick. But that is not a major concern for the team, Easterling wrote.
“No one signed up to lose,” Garrett said. “No one signed up to lose at all. So I don’t care what the situation is with the record. Not a single one of us want to line up and lay down to a team or a man that’s in front of us.”
Garrett, who leads the NFL with 22 sacks, needed one more to break the record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and tied by T.J. Watt in 2021. He is confident he will achieve that mark against the Cincinnati Bengals next week, Garrett told media after the game.
Browns DE Myles Garrett sad he came close to a sack and breaking the record. pic.twitter.com/Oj59HtfBGa
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) December 28, 2025
The best explanation is the the extra attention to Garrett + no vertical threat without DK = a Steelers passing game that played in a phone booth for much of the afternoon https://t.co/TW6nxiu62Q
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) December 29, 2025
