Steelers bulldoze Browns 27-6 to take AFC North lead, extend home streak over rivals to 23 straight

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers spent all week hearing the chatter coming from Cleveland, then spent all Sunday emphatically and repeatedly putting their longtime rivals in their place.

Maybe better days are coming for Deshaun Watson, Jared Verse and company. They're just not here yet.

At least not in Pittsburgh, where the Browns remain the Browns.

Jaylen Warren tied a career high with 143 yards rushing and a touchdown on his 28th birthday, and the Steelers (6-2) moved into first place in the AFC North with a dominant 27-6 victory.

The Steelers sacked Watson eight times, and Pittsburgh piled up 200 yards on the ground to beat the Browns (5-3) for the 23rd straight time in the regular season at Acrisure Stadium, tying the NFL record for consecutive home victories over an opponent. Green Bay won 23 in a row against Detroit from 1992 to 2014.

“It kind of sends a message to the rest of the division, like we’re here to play,” Steelers right guard Brock Hoffman said. “We’re here to be physical. We play the game the right way on both sides of the ball up front, and that’s what we want as our identity.”

It's an identity Cleveland (5-3) is trying to build, too. The Browns believe they're on their way, and Verse raised eyebrows in the run-up by saying it was time for Cleveland to take the two-hour drive southeast and “make Pittsburgh ours.”

It didn't quite turn out like that. It rarely does when the Browns play the Steelers on the road.

The Pittsburgh offensive line that Verse openly questioned spent three-plus hours bullying the Browns in general and the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year in particular.

“I stand by everything I say,” said Verse, who was held to one assisted tackle. “As a man, you have to naturally do that. We could’ve definitely did more to present ourselves as the team that we are. I don’t know who the hell that team was that walked out there.”

Verse called out Steelers left guard Mason McCormick for slamming him into the ground head-first during a Pittsburgh field goal attempt in the first quarter, describing it as “an uncalled-for play.”

McCormick, who said he didn’t know it was Verse in the moment, drew a flag for unnecessary roughness. Not that it mattered. By the fourth quarter, the Steelers were up by three touchdowns, the clock was running, and Verse’s swagger had been replaced by silence.

“Well, what can you say when you’re down 27-6, whatever the score was?” Pittsburgh left tackle Troy Fautanu said. “There’s not really much else you can say.”

The Steelers avenged a road loss to the Browns (5-3) a month ago by reminding Cleveland that while the faces may change, the result when the Browns play in Pittsburgh does not.

Warren, in the midst of a breakout year, and backfield mate Rico Dowdle ran through gaping holes on a day the Steelers ran for three touchdowns, two more than they had managed all year coming in.

“It was good to see that,” Warren said. “Especially (after) the shaky start of the year. Like I said, (Dowdle), that's my brother. Seeing him successful makes all of us happy. That's what makes us great.”

Dowdle's 56 yards rushing included a 9-yard sprint up the middle to the end zone in the first quarter that gave Pittsburgh a lead it never came close to squandering. The Steelers scored on four of their next five possessions, including a 1-yard plunge by tight end Pat Freiermuth on a tush push on the penultimate play of the first half that put Pittsburgh up 20-6.

The play carried some risk. There were 5 seconds on the clock at the snap, and the Steelers didn't have any timeouts. If Freiermuth had been stopped, the half would have ended, potentially giving the Browns some juice. Instead, the left side of the Pittsburgh line surged forward and the play ended with the ball — and at least a half-dozen men in black and yellow — well over the goal line, Freiermuth included.

“It's a group we have tremendous faith in,” Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said.

When Aaron Rodgers hit 6-foot-7, 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington for a 58-yard catch-and-rumble early in the third quarter that set up Warren's 1-yard touchdown dive, the Steelers were firmly in control and the late magic Watson summoned five times over the season's first two months was nowhere to be found.

Watson, under pressure from the opening possession, passed for 324 yards, many of them in garbage time. He exited briefly in the first quarter after taking a late shot from Pittsburgh's Jaquan Brisker. Shedeur Sanders came in for a couple of chaotic plays, with his stint ending on a fumble by Harold Fannin Jr.

The Browns fumbled on their next possession, too.

“There’s no doubt about it, we’re certainly capable of a hell of a lot better than that,” first-year Cleveland coach Todd Monken said. “It’s a good learning lesson from this young team that it’s week to week. Bottom line in this league is you speak with your play, and we didn’t play well enough today.”

Cleveland: Defensive tackle Maliek Collins sustained an elbow injury in the first half. Cornerback Tyson Campbell was evaluated for a possible concussion.

Browns: Visit New Orleans next Sunday.

Steelers: After a bye, visit Cincinnati on Nov. 15.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) celebrates after sacking Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) loses the ball as he is hit by Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Patrick Queen (6) and Alex Highsmith (56) during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington celebrates after catching a pass for a 58-yard gain against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) intercepts a pass intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — In the sleepy Alaskan fishing community of Petersburg, nobody has seen Dan J. Sullivan for weeks.

His rustic home stood dark a day after FBI agents visited friends who donated to his quixotic campaign to unseat the Republican senator with the same first and last name — Dan S. Sullivan. The only display of politics at his home was a yard sign from the League of Women Voters: “Stand Up for Democracy: Vote 2026.”

What may have begun as a ploy to harm the reelection prospects of Sen. Sullivan has taken a serious turn as the Trump administration weighs criminal charges over a campaign tactic known as “ballot stacking.”

“It just seems like such a waste of our taxpayer money,” said Sharon Hunter, a Petersburg resident who, with her husband, donated $1,000 to Dan J. Sullivan, a former elementary school teacher. FBI agents knocked on her door Saturday during a round of interviews with the campaign’s dozen contributors.

“I’m a bit incredulous about their whole angle,” Hunter said, “because they’re targeting a person who’s been a real contributor in this community.”

Recruiting candidates to draw votes away from an opponent has been a part of Alaska's quirky politics for years. This time around, the state's open primary and ranked choice voting systems add another wrinkle, making it easier for lesser-known candidates to play spoilers when no contender secures a majority.

The tactic has drawn fresh scrutiny as the incumbent Sullivan fights off a serious challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. representative, in a race that could determine control of the Senate.

Peltola has denied any role in the alleged chicanery as she has sought to distance herself from a New York Times article published last week that linked a group backing the former congresswoman to a Democratic operative trying to recruit decoy candidates.

“This is Alaska. We’re not in the business of tricking each other up here,” Peltola told supporters at a rally in Anchorage last week.

Dan J. Sullivan’s entry into the race has drawn scrutiny since June, when the Alaska Division of Elections tried to remove him from the primary ballot, determining he had not filed his candidacy as a Republican in “good faith.” That finding was overturned by state courts. To avoid any confusion, state officials identify Dan S. Sullivan on the ballot as a Republican and the incumbent.

Dan J. Sullivan repeatedly said he entered the race on his own accord and had no contact with Peltola's campaign — “zero, none, zilch,” he told The Associated Press in June. He answered “no” when asked if any Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.

“This is my choice,” he said at the time.

A federal lawsuit brought by the Trump administration to revive efforts to undermine the former teacher's candidacy — and challenge a potential Peltola win by blocking certification of the election results — was dismissed on Sunday by a federal judge. The Justice Department quickly appealed.

AP's efforts to reach Dan J. Sullivan since The Times article have been unsuccessful. Several of the donors AP interviewed said they have not spoken to him in quite some time.

The senator, meanwhile, is seeking to ride the controversy to a third term.

“My costume is the real Dan Sullivan – not the fake guy,” he quipped to trick-or-treaters Saturday night.

The controversy has thrust Petersburg, a fishing community of 3,000 known as “Little Norway” for its late 19th century settlers, into the center of a federal investigation and a crush of media attention.

It's the type of small town where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business, and more than a dozen residents said they liked and admired Dan J. Sullivan, calling him a creative teacher who ran an after-school program, Little Kids Rock, to teach guitar.

At a lively Halloween party at Kito’s Kave, a local dive, a patron poked fun at the surge of interest by dressing up as an FBI agent. Another wore a “Petersburg Election Scandal” prison placard around her neck. The charge: “Being a Registered Voter in Alaska."

Retired fisherman Ed Wood said he wrote a $1,000 check to Dan J. Sullivan's campaign to repay the support Sullivan and his wife gave to a costly, decade-long battle to block the state from logging a forested hillside that sits above Petersburg.

Another donor, retired boat seller Charles Flint, described Sullivan as a “liberal thinker” who sometimes voted for Republicans. Flint said that Dan J. Sullivan never told him why he entered the race.

“He probably viewed himself more as a spoiler than a legitimate long shot,” said Flint, who has a “Mary for U.S. Senate” yard sign supporting the Democrat outside his coastal home. “I’m sure he’s probably thinking now, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done this.’”

Friends said they are certain that Dan J. Sullivan never expected to generate so much attention, let alone from federal law enforcement.

FBI agents have descended on the town in recent days as federal authorities expanded a monthslong criminal probe into allegations that Democratic campaigners sought to recruit candidates to run against the incumbent senator. Most of Dan J.'s donors live in Petersburg and together contributed $7,150. Those questioned said the agents asked them whether they had felt deceived by the lesser-known Sullivan.

Anna Holmes and her husband contributed $500 to Dan J. Sullivan's campaign and were surprised when FBI agents showed up Friday night to question them. The agents told the couple they were investigating “campaign finance” violations, Holmes said.

They also asked the couple whether they had intended to contribute to Sen. Sullivan’s campaign.

“I told the agent I would not have done that,” said Holmes.

Not everyone in Petersburg defended Sullivan.

Amanda Ohmer said she was shocked when her son's former teacher entered the Senate race in May as a Republican, three days after Peltola visited Petersburg on a campaign stop. Ohmer said she believed he was a well-known liberal and attended an anti-Trump protest in town.

“You don’t see a Republican at a No Kings protest,” said Ohmer, a bartender at the local Moose Lodge.

She said she supported the federal investigation and is irked by friends who’ve rallied around Dan J. Sullivan.

“It’s sleazy,” said Ohmer. “Just because Republicans do it, too, doesn’t make it right.”

Electoral dirty tricks such as promoting so-called decoy candidates are not uncommon in Alaska, a state with a history of tight races. About 60% of 600,000 registered voters identify as independents — one of the highest percentages in the country.

As recently as 2024, the Alaska Republican Party fought to keep on the ballot an imprisoned felon with no ties to the state who was running as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives seat then held by Peltola.

Peltola lost that race.

Mustian reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Nicholas Riccardi in Washington contributed reporting.

A building sits along the ocean Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Petersburg, Ala. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman) Photo taken with smartphone.

Retired businessman Charles Flint looks at his phone during an interview Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Petersburg, Ala. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman) Photo taken with smartphone.

A child in a Halloween costume walks down North Nordic Drive in Petersburg, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman) Photo taken with smartphone.

FILE - Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race who shares a name with the incumbent seeking reelection, talks in front of a welcome sign near downtown Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

A yard sign stands outside the home of Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate running to unseat Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, in Petersburg, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman) Photo taken with smartphone.