The Cleveland Browns stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday night’s AFC Super Wild-Card game with a 48-37 win.
The Browns, who are making their first playoff appearance since 2002, scored 28 unanswered points to start the game and never looked back. This is the first playoff game that Cleveland has won since 1994.
Cleveland built their first-half lead by capitalizing on Pittsburgh’s mistakes. They scooped up an errant snap that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was unable to control and took it in for a touchdown.
Roethlisberger also threw three interceptions in the first half to allow the Browns to build a 28-point lead.
The Steelers battled back in the second half pulling within two scores but were not able to complete the comeback.
The Browns, who have been the league’s punching bag and easily the worst franchise of the last 20 years, have finally built a strong core on both sides of the ball. Most importantly, they have found their franchise quarterback after countless misses at the position.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 263 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions to lead the offense.
As for the Steelers’ starting quarterback, it will be interesting to see if Roethlisberger will be returning next season.
“Big Ben” has faced an incredible number of injuries over his 16-year career and might look to retire after this crushing playoff loss to the Browns.
The Steelers started the season with 11 straight victories but hadn’t looked like a Super Bowl contender since losing three straight after the dominant start.
