Cleveland Browns edge past Pittsburgh Steelers in snowy Thursday Night Football showdown

CNN
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The weather at Huntington Bank Field was the main talking point as the Cleveland Browns hosted the division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football.

What started as a wintry mix quickly turned into blizzard-like conditions in the second half as the Browns found a way past the Steelers 24-19 after a late touchdown by running back Nick Chubb.

With the starting temperature at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the first half was a defensive tug-of-war between both teams.

Steelers kicker Chris Boswell opened the scoring with a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter. But on the ensuing possession, the Browns’ offense orchestrated a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a two-yard rushing touchdown by Chubb. Cleveland added a field goal before halftime to go into the locker room with a 10-3 lead.

Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett was a constant thorn in Pittsburgh’s side throughout the first half, with the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year entering halftime with three sacks and a forced fumble.

Just as both teams were settling in after the break, the stadium turned into a winter wonderland as snow covered not only the pitch, but fans, players and coaches alike.

Despite the conditions, Cleveland extended its lead in the fourth quarter after Browns quarterback Jameis Winston dove into the end zone for a two-yard score and later successfully completed a two-point conversion to make it 18-6.

But Cleveland blew their 12-point lead as the Steelers scored two unanswered touchdowns to take a 19-18 lead with just over six minutes left.

But late in the fourth quarter, a punt by Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman gave the Browns some life, culminating in Chubb finding the endzone for his second touchdown of the game to give Cleveland a 24–19 lead.

Chubb’s scores were the 50th and 51st rushing touchdowns of his career as he continues his comeback from a serious knee injury suffered early last season.

That meant the Steelers had less than a minute with one timeout left to drive the field to pull out the win. In the final few seconds, Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson attempted a Hail Mary, but it was defended by Browns safety Grant Delpit.

As Cleveland celebrated the win, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens and Browns cornerback Greg Newsome appeared to get into a fight, but it was quickly broken up.

Pickens was asked about the fight, but quickly said it was “nothing.” He later took a jab at Cleveland, saying he doesn’t think the Browns “are a good team at all” and that the snow conditions “kind of saved them.”

With the win, the Browns improve to 3-8 on the season, while the Steelers drop to 8-3.

In the lead-up to Thursday’s game, Winston had two phrases to describe games played in the cold and snow: “exciting football” and “November football.”

He was also his usual prosaic self talks with Amazon Prime’s Kaylee Hartung before kickoff: “The horse prepares for battle, but victory comes from the Lord. So I depend on the Lord.”

Despite the enthusiasm, it was Winston’s first time playing in a game where the temperature was below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and also in the snow.

After the game, the 30-year-old told the Prime broadcast that it was “beautiful” to get his first taste of playing in the snow.

“When I woke up this morning and I FaceTimed my wife and my boys to school, my baby was eating the snow,” Winston said. “So I was like man, it would be wonderful to eat the snow. And we got this win, so I’m definitely going to eat some snow today.”

Winston, a former first overall pick out of Florida State, described some of the challenges he faced playing in these conditions for the first time.

“Vision was everything. I had to take the visor off, but the vision was good. Man, I’m just glad I could see a win today,” Winston laughed.

Winston and the Thursday Night Football team then had fun in the snow making some snow angels and throwing snowballs.

Pittsburgh next heads to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on December 1st, while Cleveland travels to Denver to play Bo Nix and the Broncos on Monday Night Football on December 2nd.