CLEVELAND -- Likely, most Browns fans didn't see this coming.
Building off the momentum of the historic 25-point comeback win over the Tennessee Titans last week, it wouldn't be surprising to think the Browns could outscore the Pittsburgh Steelers at home.
However, to hold the Steelers fourth-ranked offense to just one touchdown -- and that coming in garbage time with 2:36 to play in the game after the Browns had built a 31-3 lead -- was surprising.
The Steelers moved the ball and amassed 359 yards, they but couldn't put the ball in the end zone as the Browns improved to 3-2 with a 31-10 win in front of 67,431 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Steelers dropped to 3-3.
Before holding the Steelers to just 10 points, the lowest points the Browns had allowed was in a 23-21 loss to the Ravens in the third game.
The Browns did all this short-handed on defense as two starters up front were inactive in Phil Taylor (knee) and Ahtyba Rubin (ankle) due to injury. Billy Winn, who rotates in the front also was inactive with a quad injury.
Armonty Bryant, who was starting for Taylor at end, injured his leg early and did not return. The Browns were down to three defensive linemen for the rest of the game in Desmond Bryant, John Hughes and Ishmaa'ily Kitchen.
The contributions of those three were big as Kitchen had six tackles and a quarterback hurry, while Hughes had one tackle and tipped a pass that was intercepted by Buster Skrine. Desmond Bryant had three tackles, including a key sack and two quarterback hurries.
Mike Pettine was asked what the key to the play of the defense was.
"A little less pressure I thought -- we rushed four," the head coach said. "I don't know what our blitz totals were, but it wasn't many. We wanted to make sure ... we didn't want to give up the chunk plays. We were conceding some rushing yards with some of the spacing we were in, but at the same time, especially when we got the lead, we didn't want to get anything over our heads."
Pettine was asked if the game plan was out of necessity due to the shortage of personnel.
"A little bit of both," he said. "That was the plan going in, but it became more the plan. I was joking with (defensive coordinator) Jimmy (O'Neil) that his callsheet could have been on the back of a business card."
Skrine thought that everybody came in and did their job.
"Coach Jim O'Neil does a great job coaching everybody together on all aspects of the defense," Skrine said. "We just keep each other accountable. The guys that came in did their job and we had a good day."
With cornerback Joe Haden battling a hip injury all week and linebacker Paul Kruger needing a pain-killer to play after suffering a back injury, the defense found a way to get it done.
"It's a credit to them and their prep," Pettine said. "They were very resolute in, 'Hey, we're going to go.' Kruger got an epidural I think to get his back right for the game, and then Joe just worked through it and came out and played extremely well."
Haden was pleased with the defense's play.
"It was a long time coming," Haden said. "For us, to finally put a whole game together, it was great. We've been doing well in certain parts of games and in certain halves, but we just wanted to come out here and get an identity for our defense of what we wanted to be, and I think everybody just did a really good job making tackles, making plays and staying into the game, for the entire game."
Haden had four tackles and two passes broken up. Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown had seven receptions for 118 yards, but the Browns kept him out of the end zone.
"We felt comfortable the whole game," Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby said. "We knew that we had prepared well and practiced hard all week. Coach Pettine told us all week that we were going to win. The guys came in very focused and prepared and we just went out and executed."
Right tackle Joe Thomas, who's suffered through many losses to the Steelers, summed up the win this way: "It was just a team win. We had so many injuries across the board. It's hard to believe we could beat a college team today. The guys that came in there and stepped up played like Pro Bowlers, every single one of them.
"We won the game as a team," he said. "Every throw (we) made was a huge throw, every catch that we made, every run that we had was enormous. All you can say is that is was a family win today."
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