Week 1, 2023 / Game 1
Baylor Bears @ #12 Utah Utes / Rice-Eccles Stadium
Pittsburgh's defense the difference in comeback win over rival Cleveland
▶ Utah has been using two quarterbacks while hopefully waiting each week for Cam Rising to get back from his injury.
(0-1) (1-0)
BAY / 0 / 14 / 7 / 10 // 98
UTA / 3 / 21 / 7 / 0 // 127
PITTSBURGH (AP) — T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith knew what was coming. Maybe the Cleveland Browns should have, too. It's the same thing that always seems to be coming when they visit Pittsburgh in the regular season.
A loss. This one painful in multiple ways.
The Steelers star linebackers combined for a scoop-and-score midway through the fourth quarter to pull out an improbable 26-22 victory on Monday night.
The Steelers extended their regular-season home winning streak against their AFC North rivals to 20 and counting in a victory overshadowed by a serious left knee injury to Cleveland star running back Nick Chubb.
The four-time Pro Bowler's sixth NFL season ended two plays into the second quarter after the knee bent awkwardly when he was hit low by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He went to the hospital as a precaution before returning to Cleveland.
“We feel for Nick as a person,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He's a great football player as we know and an even better person. We will support him every step of the way."
Even with their leader sidelined, the Browns were protecting a three-point lead and facing second-and-9 at their own 20 with 7:06 remaining when Watt and Highsmith went to work. The two longtime teammates sensed a play-action pass was coming, so they widened their stance a little bit in an effort to get a better attack angle off the edge.
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Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
3:22 (CAL) - H. Butker, 48 Yd FG
2nd Quarter
11:11 (BAY) - D. Henry, 6 Yd run
8:15 (CAL) - E. Harper, 1 Yd run
2:21 (CAL) - H. Butker, 55 Yd FG
3rd Quarter
2:15 (BAY) - E. Harper, 1 Yd run
0:43 (CAL) - H. Butker, 37 Yd FG
4th Quarter
9:11 (BAY) - T. Hill 56 Yd pass from R. Arnold
7:55 (CAL) - T. White, returned punt 77 yds
3:09 (BAY) - H. Butker, 38 Yd FG
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TEAM STATS: 301 Tot Yds / 13 1st Downs / 3 Sacks / 2 TO
QB Chad Johnson: 14/25, 252 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int
RB Emmanual Smith: 12 Car, 72 Yds, 4 Rec, 25 Yds, 1 Rec TD
WR James White: 4 Rec, 54 Yds
TE Tyler Berry: 3 Rec, 34 Yds, 1 TD
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DE Jerry Johnson: 6 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
FS Collin Joyner: 5 Tkl, 1 Int, 4 Pass Def
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TEAM STATS: 301 Tot Yds / 13 1st Downs / 3 Sacks / 2 TO
QB Chad Johnson: 14/25, 252 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int
RB Emmanual Smith: 12 Car, 72 Yds, 4 Rec, 25 Yds, 1 Rec TD
WR James White: 4 Rec, 54 Yds
TE Tyler Berry: 3 Rec, 34 Yds, 1 TD
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DE Jerry Johnson: 6 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
FS Collin Joyner: 5 Tkl, 1 Int, 4 Pass Def