In Pittsburgh, the Browns chase a rare win and sole possession of the AFC North lead

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Time to find out if the Cleveland Browns are for real.

Maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers too.

A month after the Browns pulled off a last-second home victory over their longtime rivals, an upset in name only at a place the Steelers have struggled to win of late, Cleveland (5-2) heads two hours south to Pittsburgh (5-2) with first place in the AFC North on the line.

It's still far too early to start talking about the playoffs, sure. Yet Cleveland is well aware of what's at stake in a stadium where they've won just twice since it opened in 2001.

“Another opportunity for us to go out there and play and try to get a win for the city and showcase that we’re a team that we can play in this league at a top level,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said.

A level this iteration of the Browns has never seen, at least at the season's midpoint. Cleveland hasn't been 6-2 after eight games since 1994, back when Bill Belichick was a young head coach still finding his way and about a year before the franchise packed up and moved to Baltimore.

The Browns have turned things around behind a gritty defense and a steady dose of some late-game heroics by Watson. All five of Cleveland's wins have been decided in the fourth quarter, including a 27-24 thriller on the road last week in Tennessee.

The Titans, however, are struggling. The Steelers are not. While they've not been particularly dominant so far in head coach Mike McCarthy's first year, they've responded to the loss in Cleveland by ripping off three straight workmanlike victories while remaining very much a work in progress.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has stressed repeatedly that there is room for improvement on offense, which has bogged down in the red zone and whose lone touchdown run of the season came on a 50-yard sprint by Jaylen Warren against Indianapolis three weeks ago.

Still, when it has mattered late, the Steelers have found a way. They scored the last 10 points to pull away from the Colts, rallied from 13 down in the fourth quarter to edge Tampa Bay and expertly drained the final 5:52 off the clock in Paris last Sunday to turn away the Saints.

“When you’re growing up, for me my favorite players all had the ball in their hands late in the game,” Rodgers said. “Quarterback, guard, Michael Jordan, pitchers, because you know that’s the guy making the impact. And so, in the fourth quarter, you want the ball in your hands and have a chance to win the game.”

The winner on Sunday will be alone at the top of one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL as November opens. If the Browns can sweep the Steelers, it will validate their status as legitimate contenders. If Pittsburgh can do what it almost always does when Cleveland visits, the veteran Steelers will head into their bye with momentum and a firm belief their best football remains in front of them.

And if it's close late — and it is almost always close late for both teams — then that's just how they like it.

“At the end of the day, we all know what the goal is,” McCarthy said. “When you get to the playoffs, every game comes down to a one-possession game. So, I think your team, we all train those situations and you try to live them, but there’s nothing like being in them in real time. So, it’s great for everybody.”

For the winners, anyway.

Cleveland (5-2) at Pittsburgh (5-2).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.

Latest odds: Steelers by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Browns 5-2; Steelers 5-2.

Last week: Browns beat Titans 27-24; Steelers beat Saints 16-10 in Paris.

Last meeting: Browns beat the Steelers 27-24 on Oct. 1, 2026, in Cleveland.

Series record: Steelers lead 83-66-1.

Watson against Pittsburgh's pass rush. The Browns have been wildly inconsistent in protecting Watson and his surgically repaired Achilles tendon, but kept Steelers edge rushers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig relatively in check in an upset victory in Cleveland at the start of October. Pittsburgh had just two sacks — matching the season low allowed by the Browns — while Watson passed for 278 yards. The most direct path to disrupting Watson is making him uncomfortable, something Pittsburgh didn't do nearly enough on the road a month ago.

— The Steelers are 24-1 in the regular season at home against Cleveland since Acrisure Stadium opened in 2001.

— Cleveland’s defense is first in the league with 46 tackles for loss and sixth with 20 sacks. They have 11 players with at least one sack.

— Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson leads the league in passer rating (132.2) and completion rate (73.2%) in the final two minutes of the first and second half.

— Cleveland wide receiver Denzel Boston is tied for second in the NFL with three receptions of at least 40 yards.

— Pittsburgh allowed 18 yards rushing last week against the Saints, the second-lowest single-game total surrendered by any NFL team this season.

— Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt has 18 1/2 of his 120 1/2 career sacks against the Browns.

— Pittsburgh running back Jaylen Warren is fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (855) and is in pace to smash his career high of 1,291 set last season.

AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

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