James Conner ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown hooked up for two scores through the air Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a slow start to down the visiting Cleveland Browns 33-18.
Roethlisberger passed for 257 yards for Pittsburgh (4-2-1).
Baker Mayfield threw for 180 yards with touchdowns to Antonio Callaway and Seth DeValve for Cleveland (2-5-1). Greg Joseph kicked two field goals but missed a field goal and an extra-point attempt.
Cleveland scored on its game-opening possession for the first time this season, on Joseph's 34-yard field goal. He added a 45-yarder with 2:34 left in the opening quarter to make it 6-0, but missed wide right 1:31 into the second quarter on a 41-yard attempt that would have made it 9-0.
The Steelers got their first first down of the game on the ensuing possession, on Roethlisberger's 15-yard pass to Brown on third-and-11. That drive ended with those two combining for a 43-yard score for a 7-6 lead at 11:26 of the second quarter, as Brown got behind the Browns' Denzel Ward and raced into the end zone.
Joe Haden intercepted a Mayfield pass on the next drive, setting up an 87-yard Pittsburgh scoring drive. Roethlisberger's ninth straight completion was a screen to Brown for a 1-yard touchdown, making it 14-6 with 8 seconds left in the first half.
The Steelers got a safety for a 16-6 lead at 8:07 of the third quarter when Cleveland's Desmond Harrison was flagged for holding in the end zone.
A series of Pittsburgh errors followed. The Browns recovered the free kick at the Pittsburgh 24 when returner Ryan Switzer chose not to field the ball. Two Steelers penalties -- roughing the passer and holding in the end zone -- set up Mayfield's 1-yard scoring pass to Callaway, on which defensive pass interference was called but declined. Joseph shanked the extra point left, leaving it 16-12.
Pittsburgh responded with a 75-yard drive, with Conner running 12 yards into the end zone behind a Brown block for a 23-12 lead.
Chris Boswell's 42-yard field goal boosted it to 26-12, and Conner popped a 22-yard scoring run with 2:04 left to make it 33-12.
Mayfield threw a 24-yard scoring pass to DeValve with 6 seconds left to cap the scoring.
--Field Level Media