Steelers notebook: Long drive for opening score wasn’t always pretty

The Pittsburgh Steelers orchestrated their longest touchdown drive in four seasons, but that doesn’t mean their nearly 10-minute series was always pleasant to watch.

The Steelers offense held the ball for 9 minutes, 48 seconds in the first quarter Thursday night in Cleveland, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Roman Wilson for a 7-0 lead. There were 17 plays and 78 yards on the drive, but what made the possession exceptionally long were two penalties against the Steelers and five flags (three accepted) on the Browns.

In game time, the possession was the Steelers’ longest since Week 15 of the 2022 season, when they sustained an 11-minute, 43-second touchdown drive at Carolina.

On Thursday’s flag-filled drive, the Browns defense committed three infractions on the same play. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Jared Verse and an illegal contact penalty by Myles Harden were declined as the Steelers instead accepted roughing the passer against Maliek Collins.

The Steelers weren’t immune, however.

After picking up a first down with a 7-yard catch, receiver DK Metcalf was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for tossing the football at Grant Delpit when the Browns safety was getting up from the ground.

The 15-yard penalties against Metcalf and Collins accounted for two of the three longest gains or losses. They equaled a 15-yard catch by Metcalf on the third play of the drive.

The Steelers had a couple of 17-play drives last season. One led to a touchdown at Chicago in Week 12, and the other resulted in a field goal at Detroit in Week 16.

Browns defensive tackle Mason Graham, who ranked second in the league in sacks, limped off the field in the first quarter with a knee injury. The second-year pro entered as Cleveland’s sack leader having accounted for four of the team’s seven. He ranked second in the NFL.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder was a two-time All-American at Michigan and drafted by the Browns with the fifth-overall pick in the 2025. Graham had 15 tackles, six tackles for loss and five QB hits in his first three games this season.

A week after gaining a career-high 176 yards from scrimmage, running back Jaylen Warren was one of the Steelers’ three captains against the Browns. Joining Warren were safety Jaquan Brisker and linebacker/special teamer Cole Holcomb.

The Browns tapped into the nearby Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for Thursday’s in-stadium entertainment. Cheap Trick, inducted into the Hall in 2016, headlined the halftime show for the primetime game streamed on Amazon Prime.

Formed in Rockford, Ill., Cheap Trick is known for hits such as “Surrender,” “I Want You to Want Me” and “The Flame.” The release of the band’s 1978 live album “Cheap Trick at the Budokan” went triple platinum in the United States and earned acclaim.

Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, served as guest DJ. The rapper will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 14.

Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, a 2006 inductee, served as an honorary Browns captain for the coin toss.