CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� The Pittsburgh Steelers have had multiple chances to clinch the AFC North.
They鈥檙e down to their final one.
Aaron Rodgers was limited to 168 yards passing and failed to lead a scoring drive on six second-half possessions, allowing the Cleveland Browns to top Pittsburgh 13-6 on Sunday.
The Steelers (9-7) could have locked up a playoff berth with a victory over last-place Cleveland, or if the Baltimore Ravens (8-8) had lost to Green Bay on Saturday. The Ravens remained alive with a 41-24 triumph over the Packers.
As a result, Pittsburgh will host the Ravens in Week 18 with the division crown and the final AFC postseason spot on the line in a winner-take-all matchup.
鈥淭he competitor in me is saying, 鈥榃e lost this game. We lost a chance to clinch today,鈥欌�� Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also like, 鈥楤ring it on. Baltimore is coming in.鈥�
鈥淲inner takes all. Let鈥檚 win it at home.鈥�
The Steelers lost in Cleveland for the fourth year in a row and didn鈥檛 reach the end zone against the Browns for the first time since Dec. 10, 2009. Chris Boswell made a pair of field goals in the second quarter before missing a 54-yarder early in the fourth.
Rodgers completed 21 of 39 passes without an interception, but his team did not score a touchdown for just the seventh time in his 256 starts over 21 seasons. He is 1-6 in those games.
鈥淲e鈥檝e handled adversity well when we had to play our best football, other than today,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淚 have full confidence we鈥檒l go home and win next week. It鈥檚 not difficult (to bounce back). It鈥檚 our job, playing all 17 games.鈥�
Andre Szmyt accounted for the only points in the second half, making a 33-yard field goal with 1:40 remaining to extend Cleveland鈥檚 lead to 13-6. Shedeur Sanders threw a 28-yard TD pass to fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. to put the Browns up 10-0 in the first quarter.
Though Pittsburgh was out of timeouts with 100 seconds left, Rodgers found tight end Pat Freiermuth for consecutive gains of 29 and 11 yards to set up a first-and-goal from the 10. A 3-yard toss to Adam Thielen was followed by three straight misfires to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward broke up Rodgers鈥� fourth down throw in the end zone, making some contact with Valdes-Scantling, before being mobbed by his Browns teammates.
鈥淚t was definitely interference,鈥� Rodgers said.
Valdes-Scantling was targeted a game-high nine times by Rodgers because both of his starting wide receivers were inactive. DK Metcalf was suspended by the NFL for an on-field incident with a fan in Detroit and Calvin Austin III had a hamstring injury.
Tight end Darnell Washington also was lost in the second quarter with a broken arm. Rodgers called them 鈥渢hree impact players for us,鈥� but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin refused to accept their injuries as a reason for the loss.
鈥淲e get challenged with the attrition component all the time and we make no excuses regarding that,鈥� Tomlin said. 鈥淲e have capable men. We adapt, adjust and keep moving.
鈥淚t’s back to work for us. We’ve been here before and certainly have a big week ahead of us before the big game in Acrisure Stadium next weekend.鈥�
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