Pittsburgh had a 14-13 lead at halftime Thursday night, but then the offense, which struggled through Weeks 1 and 2, started sputtering again, with three straight three-and-outs.
Cleveland, behind a 220-yard, two-TD night from Jacoby Brissett, had taken control by that point, on its way to a 29-17 win on Thursday Night Football.
Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky had another subpar effort, completing 20 of his 32 pass attempts for 207 yards, and an 81.1 passer rating.
The first half was encouraging, but coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t looking for any silver lining.
“I wasn’t looking to be encouraged. I was looking to win the game,” Tomlin said. “I would expect us to get better in all phases, so I don’t know if I share that perspective.”
We’re to the point where reporters are asking Tomlin if he’s thinking of making a quarterback change, going to first-round pick Kenny Pickett, who won the backup job in camp.
“I’m not in that mindset,” said Tomlin. “I’m interested in reviewing this tape and looking at the totality of it and figuring out how we collectively get better. So, the answer to that question is definitively no.”
Trubisky said afterward that he thought the offense moved the ball well in the first half, when the Steelers scored on a pair of 75-yard drives, the first culminating with a 5-yard TD run by Najee Harris, the second on a 1-yard sneak by Trubisky.
The opening drive of the second half ended at the Browns 46, then came the trio of three-and-outs.
The only scoring drive of the final 30 minutes was a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a Chris Boswell field goal with 1:48 left.
“We are getting there, it is just not where it needs to be and we need to get a victory,” Trubisky said. “The first half we made steps in the right direction, but the second half just was not good enough.”
The loss drops Pittsburgh to 1-2 on the season. The Steelers are averaging just 18.0 points and 279.7 yards per game through three games.
“Everyone just has to be on board with what we need to improve on, be brutally honest about the film, and where we are overall,” Trubisky said. “I am looking forward to getting back to work. It is worth these next couple of days to see where we are going to get better. We can rest and recover but we have to make improvements.”