Browns fans resisting the idea of abandoning the stadium on the lakefront for a cozy domed stadium in Brook Park showed they mean what they say Nov. 21 when they packed Huntington Bank Field for a snowy Thursday Night Football game with their rival Steelers. It could have been a game from half a century ago before free agency when the Browns-Steelers rivalry ran deeper than it does now, back when Browns cornerback Ron Bolton spit in the face of Steelers receiver John Stallworth and Mean Joe Greene of the Steelers kicked Browns offensive Bob McKay in the crotch. Nothing as drastic as those two incidents unfolded, but the tension was as high as it was in those muddy games at old Cleveland Stadium. The Browns won, 24-19, but victory wasn’t secured until Denzel Ward batted down a pass to the end zone thrown by Russell Wilson from the Cleveland 35 on the final play of the game. Take a listen to what Kevin Stefanski had to say about the fans, Nick Chubb, Jameis Winston and Myles Garrett after the #Browns beat the #Steelers, 24-19, Thursday night in the snow at Huntington Bank Field. pic.twitter.com/aaO7UYgAAG — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 22, 2024 The Browns took an 18-6 lead with 12:16 left on a two-yard run by Jameis Winston, fritted the lead away and trailed, 19-18, but grabbed it back with 57 seconds to play on Nick Chubb’s second two-yard touchdown run of the game. “As far as the actual cool factor, this probably takes the cake,” eight-year veteran Myles Garrett, who sacked Wilson three times in the first half, answered when asked where this game ranks among the many he has played on all levels. “Rivalry, Thursday night, we’re the only show in town and the snow starts pouring down. “This is a classic we’ll be watching in 20 years. This was a fun one. We have to take this momentum and carry it to the next one.” The Browns’ next game is a Monday Night Football contest in Denver on Dec. 2. Steeler fans were in the stadium, as they always are when the game is played in Cleveland. They waved their yellow Terrible Towels when Wilson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren for the 19-18 Pittsburgh lead with 7:57 remaining, but their celebration was premature. Ain't gonna lie. It's a good night to be in the press box. #Browns 10, #Steelers 6. 1:56 left third quarter. pic.twitter.com/q5ru75VKoa — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 22, 2024 The Browns, sick of losing in this season of woe and sick of hearing non-stop for three days how the defense was a no-show when it allowed three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in the Nov. 17 35-21 loss to the Saints, did not play like a 2-8 team (now 3-8). A team with true 2-8 talent would have folded when the Steelers moved in front midway through the fourth quarter. The Browns unmasked the Steelers as a team that might not be the best in the AFC North despite the first-place 8-2 record they boasted before the game began. Jordan Hicks delivered a clean hit on Wilson just as Wilson threw the ball on the final play. Players say they play one game at a time, but the relief they felt was palpable in the locker room. Hicks dived headlong into the snow when the clock read 0:00, flipped on his back and then moved his arms and legs to make snow angels. A couple of his teammates followed his lead. “I haven’t done that since the first time my kids (aged 6, 4 and 2) saw snow when I was with Minnesota,” Hicks said. “I felt like a kid again playing in that.” Winston was born and raised in Alabama. He played his college ball at Florida State. He played with the Buccaneers and Saints in the first nine years of his NFL career. Playing in his fourth game as the Browns’ starting quarterback, Winston played as though he has been playing in bad weather his entire career. But in fact he said it was the first time he ever played in the snow. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 219 yards. “It was beautiful, especially when you get a win,” Winston said. David Njoku hauls in a two-point conversion Nov. 21 against the Steelers. (Brian Fisher – for The News-Herald) Winston was careful with the ball the entire night — until he made two critical turnovers in the fourth quarter, one on a strip sack and one on an interception. He shook off those mistakes to lead the go-ahead touchdown drive. He completed a pass to Jerry Jeudy five yards to the Pittsburgh 43 with 2:36 to play and then on third-and-six from the 29 hit Jeudy on a diving catch near the left sideline for 15 yards to set up Chubb with the winning touchdown. “I say it all the time,” Winston said. “It’s one play at a time. Coach (Kevin Stefanski) talked about resilience, and I wanted to display that to our team. The guys had my back, and we kept fighting.” This part of the story will be continued, but the Browns don’t have to search for a quarterback next season. He is already on the roster, and he wears No. 5 on his back.