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Browns' offense surges past Steelers

Oct 13, 2014 - 2:11 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Ben Tate rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cleveland Browns past the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-10, on Sunday.

Brian Hoyer completed 8-of-17 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown for the Browns (3-2), who ended a string of four straight losses to the Steelers. Jordan Cameron hauled in three catches for 102 yards and a touchdown and Isaiah Crowell ran for 77 yards and a score on 11 carries

Ben Roethlisberger, who entered the game with an 18-1 record as a starter against Cleveland, was held to 228 yards on 21-of-42 passing with a touchdown and interception for Pittsburgh (3-3), which gave up 31 straight points after the first quarter.

"We didn't do the job today, that's the reality of it," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We didn't produce points that reflected the way we possessed the ball and the yards that we gathered."

Le'Veon Bell rushed for 82 yards on 18 carries, Antonio Brown totaled a game-high 118 yards on seven catches and Lance Moore caught a 26-yard score in the loss.

The Browns' offense came alive in the second quarter, scoring 31 consecutive points after going backwards for a dismal minus-eight yards in the opening frame.

After Miles Austin hauled in a 17-yard pass to move the Browns across midfield, Hoyer hit a wide-open Cameron along the right sideline for a 42-yard pickup before Crowell ran it in from five yards out to give the Browns a 7-3 lead just over three minutes into the second.

Cleveland extended its lead to 14-3 on its next drive, when Hoyer aired out a play-action pass to Cameron over the middle for a 51-yard touchdown.

"Jordan did a good job of adjusting and I saw that there was no one in the middle of the field and I just wanted to give him a chance," said Hoyer on the score. "He did a great job of going up. It was a little bit behind him, but he ripped the ball away and ran in for the touchdown."

Taylor Gabriel's 24-yard grab moved the Browns to midfield on their following possession, Crowell ran 16 yards off a pitch and Austin kept the drive alive with a 12-yard third-down catch to the Steelers' 18. Three plays later, Tate rushed two yards for a first down and then up the middle for an 8-yard score with 2:27 left in the first half to cap an 11-play, 85-yard drive.

The Browns, however, lost starting center Alex Mack on the drive to a lower leg injury for the rest of the game.

Billy Cundiff capped a 6-play, 58-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal to make it a 24-3 game with 3:23 left in the third.

Buster Skrine then picked off Roethlisberger's tipped pass at the Steelers' 37. The Browns made the most of the turnover by marching 39 yards down the field in seven plays, culminating with Tate's 1-yard score early in the fourth.

On Cleveland's next series, Mike Mitchell's hard hit knocked the ball out of Crowell's hands and Cortez Allen recovered the loose ball at the Cleveland 44. The Steelers worked the ball down to the 2-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after Kelvin Beachum's unnecessary roughness penalty backed them up 15 yards.

Moore caught Roethlisberger's dart over the middle and extended the ball into the end zone for a 26-yard score to cap the scoring with 2:45 to play.

After both teams went three-and-out to begin the game, the Steelers moved down to Cleveland's 7-yard line after a defensive pass interference call on Skrine. Pittsburgh ran three straight rushing plays before settling for Shaun Suisham's 20-yard field goal with 5:09 to play in the first.

The Steelers again moved the ball deep into Cleveland territory later on and appeared to be in position to add another field goal, but holder Brad Wing bobbled the snap and was tackled for a 15-yard loss early in the second.

Game Notes

Cleveland beat Pittsburgh for the first time since Nov. 25, 2012 ... The Browns have scored at least 21 points in every game this season. The last time the team accomplished this feat to start a season was in 1969 ... Hoyer improved to 6-2 as the Browns' starter ... The Browns outgained the Steelers, 368-359 ... Cleveland defensive back K'Waun Williams (head) and defensive lineman Armonty Bryant (knee) left the game with injuries ... Cleveland will travel to Jacksonville next Sunday, while Pittsburgh will host Houston next Monday.