Browns' big TNF win over Steelers came after one confusing call

The Cleveland Browns' win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Thursday Night Football action had it all - major lake effect snow, multiple turnovers, two touchdowns for Nick Chubb, three sacks for Myles Garrett, and most improbable of all, a Browns victory at the end of it.

While the Browns saw themselves slip a bit in the draft order ahead of 2025 just for this week, it was still nice to see Cleveland pull the win out against a divisional rival in the Steelers during a classic primetime contest. With all the noise surrounding the team after Week 11, especially around head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns now have a full week of rest before they get right back into primetime against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football after Thanksgiving.

Read more: Myles Garrett just cemented himself as a future Hall of Famer on TNF

However, the win didn't come in straightforward fashion. Only after multiple confusing whistles and the accepting, then declining, then accepting again of a penalty from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did the Browns have the chance to move the chains on a crucial 3rd and 7 play late in the fourth quarter.

The entire sequence there began with a questionable intentional ground call that never was. Jameis Winston threw a pass right into the ground as he was about to get sacked on 3rd and 7, but there were zero Browns receivers in the area. Instead, a call was made to penalize the Browns for just five yards instead of a potential 15 yards because the referees ruled that the only penalty was that a Cleveland offensive lineman touched the ball illegally.

That didn't end the weirdness of the play there. Tomlin flip flopped multiple times between declining and accepting the penalty, even calling a timeout in between decisions to kill more time, but ultimately declined the penalty to keep it 3rd and 7 instead of 4th and 2. After that, the Browns chugged back down the field and ended that drive with a second touchdown for Nick Chubb.

The Browns have now defeated two divisional rivals on the season. Despite how down this year has been - and will likely continue to be - it's always a great time for Browns fans to be able to witness a win during a snowy, nasty game such as this between AFC North rivals. While that penalty call was questionable and crucial, Cleveland's takeaway shouldn't be that they stole one, but that they obviously don't have to think too hard about their draft and free agency strategy in the offseason next year.

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