The Cleveland Browns can’t get out of their own way. Never has that been more apparent than at the end of the second quarter of a Week 11 showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two straight flags gave Pittsburgh a pair of untimed downs and all the opportunity the Steelers needed to score a touchdown before heading into the locker room. Defensive holding and pass interference penalties stripped any momentum from the Browns’ sails and left the fans at FirstEnergy raining garbage on their home field.
The Steelers led, 6-0, when a 2nd-and-goal stop seemed to force the visitors into the locker room despite a trip deep inside the red zone. Instead, a defensive holding call gave Pittsburgh an untimed down.
Rather than kick a field goal, Ben Roethlisberger threw to the end zone. This time, a pass interference penalty would allow Pittsburgh a second opportunity to punish Cleveland’s mistakes.
The Steelers didn’t botch a third opportunity to find the end zone. Le’Veon Bell dove into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to 14-0 at the half.