In another clear example of the Pittsburgh Steelers being a second-half team, they got off to a slow start against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and cruised to a 27-14 win at Acrisure Stadium, giving them their Improved season record to 10:3.

Without standout receiver George Pickens due to a hamstring injury, the Steelers’ offense was slow to get going, and the Steelers’ defense also got off to a slow start. But thanks to two missed field goals by Cleveland and a strong second half on both sides of the football, Pittsburgh was able to jump out to a 27-7 lead in the third quarter and ultimately put the game on ice, ending the Browns’ slim chances at the playoffs .

QB Russell Wilson bounced back with a solid second half, while Scotty Miller got a helmet for the first time in two games due to Pickens’ injury and made a big play. Pat Freiermuth found the end zone for the second straight game and Jaylen Warren provided a real spark for the Steelers in the running game.

Defensively, Alex Highsmith returned to the lineup and dominated, while Cameron Heyward had a two-sack game, continuing to set the stage for another first-team All-Pro honor.

Let’s get to some notes.

QB – B-

It was pretty ugly early on for Russell Wilson as he struggled to connect with anyone in the passing game with Pickens out. The Steelers had no answers in the passing game in the first half as no one could win on their routes, which resulted in Wilson either throwing the ball away or trying to shorten and extend plays.

His halftime numbers were ugly, and he also missed several throws, including an early throw to Mike Williams that was uncatchable after Williams gained on his route and got behind the defense.

In the second half, however, Wilson settled down and beat Freiermuth to a 21-yard gain on a play that saw him break out of the pocket and throw, extending the play before a crucial conversion. He also fired a dart to Van Jefferson for a 10-yard touchdown and later hit Mike Williams with a back-shoulder dime for 22 yards before hitting Freiermuth down the seam for a 20-yard touchdown that put the game away reach.

He later made a great throw to Scotty Miller for a fade route down the left sideline to make it 21 for a 3rd-and-7 conversion. The numbers at the end – 15 of 26, 158 yards and two touchdowns – aren’t great. But Wilson shook off a slow start and played in big spots, similar to his first start against the Jets in Week 7.

It was good enough for a win.

RB-B

Najee Harris managed a 20-yard run early in the game, but things slowed down for him after that as the Browns attacked downhill and put pressure on the Steelers’ top running back.

That’s when Jaylen Warren showed up, on a day the Steelers desperately needed him. Warren was a key catalyst for the Steelers’ running game, as he consistently came out of a cannon, ran hard, and really put the Browns’ defense under pressure.

Warren had a huge 14-yard run in the third quarter to help set up Jefferson’s touchdown. He bounced off defenders the entire game and looked like a bowling ball with legs. Warren finished with 47 yards on nine carries in the Steelers’ 10th win of the season. He added two receptions for 25 yards and made some checkdown plays.

Harris finished the game with 53 yards on 16 carries and managed a touchdown in the first half, but was largely pressured before a 9-yard run on 3rd-and-5 to secure the win.

WR-C

Without Pickens, it was a bit of a frustrating day for the receivers. No one was able to consistently assert themselves, which led to some difficult pass attempts for the Steelers.

However, Mike Williams made some big plays, including his 22-yard gain on a back-shoulder throw from Wilson, which Williams caught with one hand and got both knees inbounds for the explosive play. Williams had another big play that was ruined by an offensive pass interference call in which he pushed off despite not knowing what OPI looked like at the end.

Williams had three balls for 36 yards in the win.

Scotty Miller was the story of the day as a receiver. He completed three passes for 38 yards, including a 21-yard catch down the left sideline in which he dragged both feet inbounds to convert on 3rd-and-7. He struggled to take the lead throughout the game, which led to some difficult throws from Wilson, but Miller made the big play at the end and stepped up in a big way.

Van Jefferson was wide open for his touchdown, even though it was a great route from him on the RPO. That was his second TD of the season. Calvin Austin III had just one catch for four yards and didn’t seem to be on the same page with Wilson when it came to targeting.

TE – B-

For the second straight time, Pat Freiermuth found the end zone, this time on a 20-yard route up the seam in which he played around Browns safety Grant Delpit and gained inside leverage for the score. Freiermuth also had a huge 21-yarder on a third down to move the chains early in the third quarter, allowing for a difficult-contested catch with a defender draped all over him.

Darnell Washington performed well as an additional protector in the passing game and was often on the same side to support Myles Garrett, who was quiet until the end of the game. Washington only had one goal in the game. MyCole Pruitt also had an early target, but it went for -1 yards and resulted in a Steelers punt.

OL-C

Overall, I thought the offensive line was solid against the Browns and continued to play like it did in the second half of Week 12. The Steelers held Myles Garrett without a sack until the end of the fourth quarter. That came on a play in which Dan Moore Jr. and Isaac Seumalo were blocked well for the most part before Wilson ran into the sack.

Other than that, the Browns weren’t really able to do much for Wilson. The Browns only had seven QB hits on the afternoon.

The running game didn’t go so well, as Cleveland really grabbed everything and attacked downhill. Most of the yardage from behind was hard won as Cleveland handled things really well at the line of scrimmage. But the Steelers’ OL helped end the game late on the ground, which was very encouraging.

DL – B-

Just days after being named the Steelers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate, Larry Ogunjobi got off to a great start with three pressures in the first half. But then he had to miss the game due to a groin injury.

After Ogunjobi was eliminated, Cameron Heyward took over. Heyward had two sacks, five tackles and was a force throughout the game. He dominated his match against Joel Bitonio just weeks after Bitonio defeated him in Cleveland.

Keeanu Benton had a strong game with his first NFL interception. He only had one tackle, but I thought he played well against the run and created a pass rush at times. However, the defensive line was thin without Ogunjobi and the Browns ran the ball well, averaging 4.2 yards on 25 carries, while Nick Chubb, Jerome Ford and Jameis Winston had some success on the ground.

LB – B+

Welcome back, Alex Highsmith! In his return from an ankle injury, Highsmith had six pressures, one sack and three tackles and played the run well after missing the last three games. He was outstanding from the jump.

TJ Watt had a huge TFL on the first play from scrimmage, but things quieted down a bit after that. He suffered three pressures in the afternoon but was held without a bag. He had four tackles and played the run well.

Nick Herbig played around 40% of the snaps in a reduced role with Highsmith back and didn’t have much of an impact since he wasn’t on the stat sheet.

Inside, Patrick Queen had a few missed tackles, but was solid in coverage with a key pass breakdown against David Njoku and played the run well with 13 tackles. Elandon Roberts had a great TFL on a fourth down play and also forced a turnover on downs. This guy thrives when attacking downhill.

Rookie Payton Wilson also played a lot with the football and finished the game with four tackles and a tackle for loss. Overall, a nice day for the linebacker room.

DB – C+

At times it felt too easy for the Browns. Luckily it was only 212 yards.

Minkah Fitzpatrick and Donte Jackson hit Jerry Jeudy on a 35-yard touchdown on the Browns’ second drive of the game. That’s been a common occurrence in recent weeks, although it was the longest touchdown pass the Steelers have allowed this season.

Fitzpatrick had five tackles and his best play may have been drawing a personal foul penalty on Browns LT Germain Ifedi. I’m still waiting for the splash from Minkah. It’s coming. Outside of the Jeudy TD, he does his job well for the most part.

DeShon Elliott had a hell of a game, finishing the game with a team-best 13 tackles. He was constantly busy with football. He was also good in coverage, but allowed Njoku’s late touchdown, which was an insane catch by the Browns TE.

Donte Jackson again left something to be desired at the perimeter, while Joey Porter Jr. took a major personal foul penalty in retaliation. That means he locked up Jeudy when he was on his heels. Porter also finished with six tackles. Beanie Bishop Jr. resumed the slot corner role, playing 58 snaps compared to 13 for Cameron Sutton.

Bishop finished the game with six tackles.

Damontae Kazee almost made a great play early by skipping a pass intended for Njoku, but he dropped what should have been an interception. A few plays later, Jeudy scored a goal.

Nice to see James Pierre catch the ball this time and take advantage of a bad throw from Jameis Winston for an interception late in the game. But that put the game on hold.

Special Teams – B

Another great day for Chris Boswell. What else is new?

Boswell made both field goal attempts that day, including one from 54 yards. It was fitting that he cashed in while the Browns’ kicker missed both field goal attempts.

In the punting game, Corliss Waitman did a good job, averaging 52.3 yards on six punts. Although he had a bad 38-yard punt early in the game, he rebounded in a big way. He uncorked a 60-yard punt to turn the field over and a 58-yard punt late that Kadarius Toney parried to give the Steelers the ball and end the game.

For the second time this year, Ben Skowronek recovered a fumbled punt. He was very good as a shooter and it was nice to see him rewarded with the fumble recovery late in the game.

However, kick coverage was a mess as the Steelers missed a couple of tackles on Jerome Ford’s 56-yard kickoff return early in the second half. This needs to be cleaned up in the future.