Steelers facing must-win situation in season finale against Baltimore after 13-6 loss at Browns

CLEVELAND — The Pittsburgh Steelers have had multiple chances to clinch the AFC North.

They’re 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.

“The competitor in me is saying, ‘We lost this game. We lost a chance to clinch today,’” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “But it’s also like, ‘Bring it on. Baltimore is coming in.’

“Winner takes all. Let’s win it at home.”

The Steelers lost in Cleveland for the fourth year in a row and didn’t 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.

“We’ve handled adversity well when we had to play our best football, other than today,” Rodgers said. “I have full confidence we’ll go home and win next week. It’s not difficult (to bounce back). It’s our job, playing all 17 games.”

Andre Szmyt accounted for the only points in the second half, making a 33-yard field goal with 1:40 remaining to extend Cleveland’s 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’ fourth down throw in the end zone, making some contact with Valdes-Scantling, before being mobbed by his Browns teammates.

“It was definitely interference,” 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 “three impact players for us,” but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin refused to accept their injuries as a reason for the loss.

“We get challenged with the attrition component all the time and we make no excuses regarding that,” Tomlin said. “We have capable men. We adapt, adjust and keep moving.

“It’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.”