The Steelers, with 58 offensive snaps, missed their season-high by only four, while their 19 first downs matched the season high and their time of possession of 31:52 was a season high.
The Steelers scored on their first drive with a 44-yard field goal by Boswell. A 36-yard pass to Washington on the first snap – out of a jumbo set and play-action by Rodgers – was the key play to the drive. Smith converted a third down to set up Boswell and the 3-0 lead with 10:55 left in the first quarter.
Boswell's 50-yard field goal early in the second quarter boosted the Steelers ' lead to 6-0. Runs of 9, 11, and 9 by Kaleb Johnson, Warren, and Kenneth Gainwell, respectively, set up Boswell's kick with 11:01 to play in the half.
The "All Boswell" first half continued with his 48-yard field goal with 3:38left in the half.
A three-and-out by the Browns offense – punctuated by a TJ Watt-Herbig third-down sack – had set the Steelers up at their own 21. A third-and-3 scramble pass by Rodgers to a diving Warren was followed by a 19-yard Rodgers pass to Metcalf. A 12-yard Rodgers pass to Washington put Boswell in position for his third field goal and 9-0 Steelers lead.
Having gained only 34 yards total offense prior to their final possession of the half, the Browns put together a 72-yard drive that set up Andre Szmyt's 31-yard field goal with no time left to cut the Steelers' lead to 9-3 at halftime.
The Browns had driven to the Pittsburgh 11, but a pass breakup at the goal line by Patrick Queen forced the Browns to settle for the field goal.
The Steelers regained the momentum early in the second half. A batted third-down pass by Watt forced a Browns punt, and what seemed to be a Steelers' three-and-out turned into a first down when the Browns ran into punter Corliss Waitman on fourth-and-4.
The revived Steelers drive continued with a 10-yard jet run by Smith, an 11-yard run off left tackle by Warren, a 25-yard Rodgers throwback pass to Metcalf, and a 10-yard run by Warren. It combined to set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Heyward.
On the TD pass, Rodgers' play-action rollout was aided by a big block from Warren before Rodgers threw back over the middle for the score that gave the Steelers a 16-3 lead with 7:46 left in the third quarter.
"When you run the ball effectively, it tees up some of the action, the play-action, and most of our chunks were born out of run-action," Tomlin said.
Szmyt's second field goal, a 53-yarder, cut the Steelers' lead to 16-6 with 4:08left in the third quarter.
A drop on the drive by Browns tight end Harold Fannin at the Pittsburgh 15 helped the Steelers defense keep the Browns out of the end zone once again.
The Steelers responded by putting the game away with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Metcalf.
A 12-yard pass to Roman Wilson and a 14-yard pass to Washington set up the double-move scoring pass to Metcalf, who faked a slant on Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell as Rodgers fake-pumped. Metcalf then took off for the right pylon and hauled in the scoring strike from Rodgers for a 23-6 Steelers lead with 14:55 to play.
"Thanks to the O-line for blocking their butts off, the defense for giving us the ball back, and 8 (Rodgers) for finding me down the field," said Metcalf.
A goal-line stand by the Steelers on the ensuing possession kept the Browns out of the end zone and forced another Szmyt field goal.
Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel had led the Browns to a first-and-goal at the 3, but a sack by Herbig and a pass breakup by Joey Porter Jr. forced Szmyt's 32-yard field goal that cut the Steelers' lead to 23-9 with 9:29 left.
A Ramsey sack on third-and-8 and a near interception by Juan Thornhill halted the next Browns possession, and a pass breakup by James Pierre was followed by a fourth-down incompletion to end the final Browns possession. Mason Rudolph took three kneel downs to complete the win.
Tomlin was asked about the defense that's held its last two opponents to 70 and then 65 yards rushing, and the Browns to a season-low 248 yards of total offense.
"I just think getting the full complement of our weapons back," he said. "In Ireland we got 25 (DeShon Elliott) back. This week we got 56 (Alex Highsmith) back and 24 (Porter) back.
"Everybody goes through injuries. I'm not seeking comfort in the lack of availability. But if you're asking me why is it starting to look the way that we desire, we've got a full complement of talent. And when we put this band together, we feel like we can do things like you saw today."
Individually, Rodgers completed 21 of 30 passes for 235 yards. It raised his 2025 passer rating to 108.4, which would qualify as the fifth-highest season total of his illustrious 21-year career.
On defense, Elliott led the way with 12 tackles, followed by Queen with 9.
"One area where we certainly fell short is the penalty component," Tomlin said of the Steelers' 10 penalties for 59 yards. "We scout crews, just like we scout teams. We know this crew throws a lot of penalties, and we dropped the ball in terms of our preparedness there. I'll accept responsibility for that. We got to be better. You can't beat anybody when you're beating yourself. And it just felt like at times, we did that today."