But in spite of keeping the Browns from converting a first down on four fourth-quarter possessions, the Steelers couldn’t find the end zone.

Aaron Rodgers made one late foray into Cleveland territory on the Steelers’ final drive. Passes of 29 and 11 yards to Pat Freiermuth advanced the Steelers to the Cleveland 10 with 32 seconds remaining. But a 3-yard pass to Adam Thielen was followed by three incompletions to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and the Browns ended up on top of the Steelers in Cleveland.

The Browns scored 10 of their points on their first two possessions.

They capped their first drive with a 50-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt, and increased their lead on the next possession with a 28-yard touchdown pass by rookie quarterback Shadeur Sanders to rookie tight end Harold Fannon.

With 5:11 left in the first quarter, the Browns had a 10-0 lead.

The Steelers cut into the lead early in the second quarter on a 44-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. The key play of the drive occurred when Connor Heyward motioned under center on third-and-1 and ripped off a 29-yard gain around right end to set up the kick, which cut the Steelers’ deficit to 10-3 with 14:54 left in the first half.

The Steelers squandered a scoring opportunity midway through the second quarter after outside linebacker Jack Sawyer dropped into coverage and intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 27 yards to the Cleveland 31.

Alex Highsmith hit Sanders while he was throwing and the ball bounced off the helmet of defensive lineman Logan Lee and into Sawyer’s hands. But with big tight end Darnell Washington out of the game, on fourth-and-1 Rodgers’ deep pass to Scotty Miller fell incomplete to give the ball back to the Browns at their 22.

The Steelers forced a punt, and Boswell finished the half with his second field goal of the quarter. He knocked a 40-yarder through the uprights with no time left to cut the Steelers’ deficit to 10-6, their first halftime deficit in seven games.

The key play of the field goal drive was a 23-yard pass from Rodgers to Freiermuth that gave the Steelers a first down at the Cleveland 28 with 18 seconds left in the half.