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CLEVELAND — After the backups couldn’t complete a fourth-quarter comeback Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers will see if the varsity can do any better next week in the AFC playoffs.
A 24-22 victory by the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium, in a game in which Cleveland nearly frittered away a 15-point lead, served as prelude to a postseason matchup between the two teams at Heinz Field.
With the loss, the Steelers (12-4) will enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. The Browns (11-5) will be No. 6 after capturing their first playoff berth since 2002. The reward for the Browns is a third meeting against the Steelers, who scored a 38-7 victory at Heinz Field in October.
With the Steelers resting many starters on offense and defense, the Browns scored two touchdowns in a four-minute span of the second half to break open a close game. The Steelers, however, fought back behind backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, who threw touchdown passes to Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the fourth quarter.
Rudolph, returning to Cleveland for the first time since his skirmish with Myles Garrett in November 2019, completed 22 of 39 passes for 315 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Garrett was relatively quiet, registering four tackles and a pass deflection.
Claypool caught five passes for 101 yards and a 28-yard touchdown. He became the Steelers’ all-time rookie receptions leader with 62, surpassing Troy Edwards by one catch, and his ninth receiving touchdown tied him with Louis Lipps for the most by a Steelers rookie.
Matthew Wright, replacing an injured Chris Boswell, kicked three field goals. His third, a 42-yarder, pulled the Steelers within 10-9 with 8 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter. It came on a drive in which Rudolph had a 41-yard completion to Claypool that put the Steelers at the Browns 36.
The Browns answered with Baker Mayfield’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper with 3:48 to play in the quarter.
Mayfield broke off a 28-yard run that gave the Browns a first down on the Steelers 16. A completion to KhaDarel Hodge put the ball at the 2, and Mayfield hit Hooper alone in the end zone on the next play to push the Browns’ lead to 17-9.
The Browns added to their lead after Rudolph was intercepted by M.J. Stewart. Jarvis Landry’s 3-yard touchdown run hiked Cleveland’s lead to 24-9.
Facing pressure from linebacker Jacob Phillips, Rudolph’s third-down pass for Smith-Schuster was short, and Stewart intercepted at midfield. Stewart was on his way for a possible touchdown return when Benny Snell’s diving tackle knocked him out of bounds at the 20.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Landry went in motion, took the handoff and darted inside for the score.
Rudolph bounced back by directing a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. On fourth-and-10, Claypool made a contested catch in the end zone for a 28-yard score that pulled the Steelers within 24-16 with 10:07 remaining.
The Browns turned the ball over on downs at the Steelers 35, giving Rudolph one more chance. Rudolph unleashed a 47-yard completion to Diontae Johnson that put the ball at the 10 with 2:11 to play. Rudolph found Smith-Schuster for a 2-yard touchdown with 1:23 left to make it 24-22. Rudolph’s 2-point pass attempt for Claypool was too high.
The Browns recovered the onside kick attempt and got a first down to run out the clock.
Facing a defense that didn’t include starters Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Terrell Edmunds and Joe Haden, the Browns scored on their first possession and held a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
Nick Chubb’s 47-yard touchdown run with 9:29 left in the first quarter capped an 85-yard drive. Chubb broke through an arm tackle by Minkah Fitzpatrick on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run. Chubb finished with 108 yards on 14 carries.
In the second quarter, Mayfield’s 42-yard completion to Rashard Higgins, who beat Justin Layne in single coverage, set up Cody Parkey’s 23-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage.
Rudolph and backup Josh Dobbs led the Steelers on an 11-play drive that produced Wright’s 29-yard field goal with 4:10 left in the half. Rudolph had a 41-yard completion to Johnson on a third-and-11 that put the ball at the Browns 25. Dobbs entered for three plays on the drive, and he reeled off a 13-yard run before the drive stalled.
The Steelers got the ball back one more time before the half was over. Rudolph had a 26-yard completion to Smith-Schuster on another third-down throw, and Wright kicked a 46-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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Sports | Steelers/NFL
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