Browns stun Steelers 13-6

Published 11:06 pm Thursday, December 10, 2009

CLEVELAND — Pittsburgh’s hell hath frozen over.

And the victory-starved Browns and their frozen fans savored every moment of it. When time expired Thursday night with a 13-6 Browns victory secured, linebackers Matt Roth and Kamerion Wimbley and safety Mike Adams rushed to the Dawg Pound to celebrate.

Since Steelers coach Mike Tomlin vowed his team would “unleash hell in December,” the defending Super Bowl champions have gone 0-2.

But for the Browns (2-11), who had lost 12 in a row to the Steelers, 18 of the Past 19 and eight in a row at home, none of that mattered on a frigid night on Lake Erie. Temperature at kickoff was 15 degrees with a wind-chill of minus-6 and it had dropped to 14 degrees and minus-10 wind chill to start the fourth quarter.

Utilizing an aggressive pass rush that resulted in eight sacks of Ben Roethlisberger, the talents of Wildcat quarterback/return man Joshua Cribbs and a little help from rookie running back Chris Jennings, the 10-point underdog Browns stunned the Steelers. It was the Browns’ first triumph over the Steelers since Oct. 5, 2003, a 33-13 victory at Pittsburgh and their first at home since Sept. 17, 2000.

It also snapped the Browns’ seven-game losing streak and a string of 10 consecutive losses at home.

Inside linebacker David Bowens secured the victory by sweeping across the middle to bat away Roethlisberger’s fourth-down pass for Santonio Holmes with 1:43 remaining. Roethlisberger, who turned in the second-best passing day of his career in the first meeting this season, completed 18-of-32 passes for 201 yards.

In a Browns’ defensive effort more befitting the days of Turkey Jones and Terry Bradshaw, the Browns pressured relentlessly. Their eight sacks were the most since they had the same number against the Houston Texans on Oct. 20, 2002.

Handing the Steelers their fifth consecutive loss, the Browns also might have knocked the Steelers (6-7) out of the AFC playoff race. The Steelers completed a dubious triple — losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and the Browns, three of the league’s worst teams. The Steelers were playing their fourth consecutive game without star strong safety Troy Polamalu, sidelined with a knee injury.

Running out of the Wildcat, Cribbs led the Browns in rushing with eight carries for 87 yards.

Rookie Jennings, a Canadian Football League and University of Arizona product, broke a string of 18 consecutive games without a rushing touchdown by a running back with his 10-yard sweep around the right side with 41 seconds left in the first half. Jennings, who started the season on the practice squad, gained 73 yards on 20 carries.

Cribbs contributed to 10 points as the Browns jumped out to a 13-0 second-quarter lead.

In the first quarter, Cribbs’ 55-yard punt return, his second-longest of the season, set up the first of two 29-yard field Phil Dawson field goals. Cribbs dropped Daniel Sepulveda’s punt, cut left, then right before being dragged down by Sepulveda at the Steelers 8.

Using Cribbs in the Wildcat formation — a strategy the Browns seem to feel works best against the Steelers — Cribbs ripped off the longest run of his career in the second quarter, a 37-yarder. He broke through two tackles, including one by Steelers linebacker James Farrior, who appeared to have him wrapped up.

That run was the key play in the Browns’ 74-yard touchdown drive capped by Jennings’ run.

But aided by a roughing the passer penalty on Browns linebacker Marcus Benard, the Steelers drove 58 yards to a 27-yard Jeff Reed field goal to cut the deficit to 13-3 at halftime.

Reed added a 42-yarder with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter, when the Browns snuffed the Steelers drive with a sack by rookie defensive lineman Brian Schaefering, the Browns’ seventh, and Roethlisberger’s third-down incompletion to Hines Ward, who played despite being questionable with a hamstring injury.