Browns vs. Steelers Week 4: Andre Szmyt Drills a 56-Yarder as Deshaun Watson Strikes Late Again

Andre Szmyt gave his quarterback a landmark: get to the Pittsburgh 42. Deshaun Watson got past it, a late sack shoved the ball back to the 38, and none of it mattered. Szmyt's career-long 56-yard field goal split the uprights with 10 seconds left Thursday night, and the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 at Huntington Bank Field.

That makes three straight weeks of Watson leading a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, and it lifted Cleveland to 3-1. Pittsburgh (2-2) clawed out of a 21-7 hole to tie it with 1:42 left, which turned out to be far too much time.

A Nine-Minute Statement, Then a Brown-and-Orange Avalanche

Pittsburgh's first possession was the kind of drive that makes a defensive coordinator stare at the ceiling: 17 plays, 78 yards and 9:48, finished by Roman Wilson taking a shovel pass on a jet sweep 12 yards for a 7-0 lead. Cleveland's offense managed 31 yards on its first two possessions, by the Browns' own count.

Then Denzel Ward changed the temperature of the building. On the second play of the second quarter, he tracked Aaron Rodgers' throw for Michael Pittman Jr. and picked it off at the Cleveland 44. Four plays later, Jaleel McLaughlin shed two tacklers and slipped 28 yards into the end zone to tie it.

The Browns kept stacking. Watson hit Denzel Boston for 60 yards on the first snap of the next possession, and Quinshon Judkins plowed in from 2 yards out three plays later. After Chris Boswell pushed a 48-yard try wide left, Cleveland went 62 yards in 11 plays, capped by Harold Fannin Jr. catching a 2-yard score on third-and-goal, his third touchdown in two games.

It was the first time since Week 13 of the 2020 season, against Tennessee, that the Browns put up at least 21 points in a second quarter, per the AP. Boswell's 31-yarder with eight seconds left before halftime made it 21-10.

The third quarter was a staring contest. T.J. Watt forced and recovered a Watson fumble at midfield, but Mike Hall Jr., who had gone out late in the first half with a right ankle injury and come back, dropped Rodgers for a 10-yard loss on third-and-15 to shove Pittsburgh out of field goal range.

Then the Steelers woke up. Robert Spears-Jennings intercepted Watson early in the fourth, Rodgers found DK Metcalf for 43 yards, and a rolling Rodgers hit Darnell Washington for a 21-yard touchdown. The two-point try failed and Szmyt answered with a 44-yarder, but Pittsburgh marched 80 yards in eight plays, tying it on Rodgers' 3-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth and a Rodgers sneak for two.

Watson Is Running a Fourth-Quarter Cinematic Universe

Watson finished 24 of 33 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and 181 of those yards came in the first half, which the AP noted was his most since Houston traded him to Cleveland in 2022. On the winning drive he went 4 of 5 for 46 yards, including two completions to Jerry Jeudy for 27. Patience paid: Jeudy had one catch for nine yards through Cleveland's first 11 possessions, according to the Browns.

"Happy for Deshaun. Not happy about the sack there at the end, but three straight fourth-quarter comebacks really cool for him and our team," coach Todd Monken said.

Szmyt went 2 for 2, and the 56-yarder topped his previous career best of 55, according to the team. The AP put his streak of made field goals at 22.

Rodgers was productive and maddening in equal measure: 22 of 40 for 299 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and five sacks absorbed. Metcalf caught five balls for 115 yards and Jaylen Warren ran 17 times for 93. Cleveland's secondary framed his night, with Ward's momentum-flipping pick early and Grant Delpit's interception of Rodgers' final heave at the Cleveland 18.

The Landmark, the Sack and the Kick

With the score tied, Szmyt kept his pitch to the offense simple.

"If they sent me out there, then they're expecting me to make it," Szmyt said. "But I told them, 60-yard (field goal), we're good."

The Browns covered 36 net yards in seven plays, and even Payton Wilson's 4-yard sack could not drag them out of range. Then the kicker sent it straight through, like he was aiming for Lake Erie.

"I knew it was money. He told me the landmark, so he was just lining it up and we see it all the time," Watson said.

"As soon as I hit it and I looked up, I knew it was good," Szmyt said.

Defensive lineman Adin Huntington was even more blunt. "I knew he wasn't going to miss that kick," he said. "Ain't no way."

For Pittsburgh, it was last Sunday in reverse. The Steelers beat Cincinnati on a late Boswell field goal, then four days later landed on the wrong side of the same script.

The Receipts, Flags Included

• 14 for 88: Cleveland's penalties and penalty yards. The Browns won anyway, which is either resilience or sorcery.
• 5 sacks, 10 QB hits: Cleveland's pressure on Rodgers, per the AP.
• 8: Straight Thursday night wins for Cleveland, the longest active streak and fourth longest in NFL history, per the AP. Four came against Pittsburgh.
• 0-10: Pittsburgh's record on the road against AFC North rivals on Thursdays.
• 372 to 361: Cleveland's slim edge in total yards.

First Place, With a Bill Attached

The Browns moved into first place in the AFC North, per the team. After a 34-10 opening loss at Jacksonville, they have won three straight by a combined 10 points, every one settled late. That is not a sustainable business model, but it is a wildly entertaining one.

It came with a cost. Cleveland lost defensive tackle Mason Graham to a left knee injury in the first quarter. Pittsburgh lost defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, carted off with a foot injury, and cornerback Jamel Dean to an ankle injury.

Steelers coach Mike McCarthy tipped his cap to Cleveland's plan. "I think it was an aggressive game plan by them. I kind of expected some of it, and we were one play short," he said.

Pittsburgh hosts Indianapolis on Oct. 11. Cleveland visits the New York Jets the same day.

One Throw Short, One Kick Long

Rodgers delivered his own review with refreshing honesty: "I missed some throws I usually hit." The Browns have a quarterback who keeps hitting the ones that matter and a kicker who treats 56 yards like a slightly longer walk to an extra point. In a division usually decided in the trenches, Cleveland is winning it on the scoreboard clock.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and ClevelandBrowns.com.