Quinshon Judkins' Sparks 4th-Quarter Rally For Steelers' 1st Win
Judkins ran for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the 4th-quarter to propel the Steelers to their first win of 2028.
ScoringSummary
| Team | Q | Time | Play | Pittsburgh | Cleveland |
 | 1st | 6:20 | Eli Bowen, Returned Interception 82 Yds | 0 | 7 |
 | 1st | 1:47 | Harold Perkins Jr, Returned Fumble 57 Yds | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 6:55 | Gabe Gomez, 5 Yd Pass From Will Howard | 14 | 7 |
| 2nd | 0:45 | Arian Smith, 7 Yd Pass From Glen Wolff | 14 | 14 |
| 3rd | 3:01 | Kyler Kasper, 38 Yd Pass From Glen Wolff | 14 | 21 |
| 4th | 6:49 | Quinshon Judkins, 21 Yd Run | 21 | 21 |
| 4th | 1:54 | Brandon Aubrey, 27 Yd FG | 24 | 21 |
| 4th | 1:01 | Quinshon Judkins, 8 Yd Run | 31 | 21 |
Cleveland, OH. - Nathan Scheelhaase got his first win as an NFL head coach Sunday afternoon, and it came in about the most Pittsburgh Steelers way imaginable.
Defense. Turnovers. A grinding fourth quarter comeback. And a former Brown twisting the knife.
Pittsburgh defeated Cleveland 31-21 at Huntington Bank Stadium in a game that was far messier than the final score suggests, with the Steelers overcoming four Will Howard interceptions — four — to escape Ohio with a victory that the locker room needed desperately after an 0-2 start.
The story of the afternoon began before kickoff, when Browns head coach Robert Saleh made the surprising decision to start rookie quarterback Glen Wolff over Shedeur Sanders. Wolff showed flashes throughout the first three quarters, keeping Cleveland competitive and giving the Browns enough offense to build a 21-14 advantage heading into the final frame. For a Steelers team that has made a habit of late-game collapses in the early going of 2028, the situation felt uncomfortably familiar.
Then Quinshon Judkins took over.
The running back — cut by Cleveland at the end of last year's preseason and signed by Pittsburgh shortly after — delivered the kind of performance that storylines are made of. Judkins carried the Steelers on a 67-yard tying drive almost singlehandedly, contributing 44 of those yards before punching it in himself on a 21-yard touchdown run that knotted the game at 21 and sent the Pittsburgh sideline into a frenzy.
From there, the defense took the wheel.
Rookie safety Jermaine Ward, making a case for meaningful playing time in just his third NFL game, jumped a Wolff pass on the ensuing Cleveland possession and returned the interception into field goal range. Brandon Aubrey converted to give Pittsburgh its first lead of the fourth quarter. On the very next drive strong safety Ji'Ayir Brown met Wolff head on during a designed quarterback run, jarring the ball loose for Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy to scoop up and seal possession. Judkins capped the scoring with his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon to push the margin to ten, and four consecutive Wolff end zone heaves fell incomplete to close out the game.
Scheelhaase was candid in his postgame assessment — and clearly relieved.
"Obviously we need to do a lot more before the fourth quarter," he acknowledged, before allowing himself a brief smile. "But that first win feeling is better than I'd imagined."
Pittsburgh improves to 1-2 and opens Acrisure Stadium for the first time in 2028 next Sunday against the New York Jets.
Will Howard | 16/33, 178 yds, TD, 4 INT
Glen Wolff | 12/22, 156 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Quinshon Judkins | 28 Att, 179 Yds, 2 TD; 4 Rec, 43 Yds
Dylan Sampson | 8 Att, 12 Yds
DK Metcalf | 4 Rec, 53 Yds
Kyler Kasper | 7 Rec, 105 Yds, TD
SS Jermaine Ward (R) | 3 Tkl, INT
LB Payton Wilson | 6 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack, FF
DT Gabriel Downlow-Dindy | 2 Tkl, TFL, FR
CB Eli Bowen | 7 Tkl, 2 INT
EDGE TJ Parker | 4 Tkl, TFL, Sack
MLB Carson Schwesinger | 13 Tkl, INT
