National Football League
Pittsburgh 24, Cleveland 10
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 30, 2012
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 28°
Head Official: Walt Coleman
Attendance: 51831


Steelers 24, Browns 10: Ben Roethlisberger threw two of his three touchdown passes in the second half as host Pittsburgh ended its season by snapping a three-game losing streak.

Roethlisberger was 15-of-23 for 134 yards for Pittsburgh (8-8), which had only 212 total yards but turned two Cleveland fumbles into TDs.

Thad Lewis completed 22 of 32 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his NFL debut for the Browns (5-11), who lost their final three games overall and finished 1-7 on the road.

After a scoreless opening quarter, the teams traded field goals before Roethlisberger connected with Leonard Pope for a 1-yard touchdown with 47 seconds remaining in the second. Cleveland pulled even when Lewis hit Greg Little with a 7-yard scoring strike less than four minutes into the third, but Roethlisberger threw a 9-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown with 4:39 left in the period to give Pittsburgh a 17-10 lead.

Roethlisberger put the game away when he hit Plaxico Burress over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown on third-and-10 with 3:20 remaining in the contest.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland K Phil Dawson missed only his second field goal of the season when his 39-yard attempt early in the second quarter was wide right. Dawson entered the game 28-of-29. ... Lewis made his first career start as both Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy were inactive with shoulder injuries. Browns RB Trent Richardson also did not play due to a sprained left ankle. ... Burress made two catches for 24 yards after hauling in only one pass over the first two games of his second career stint with Pittsburgh.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Cleveland   Pittsburgh
Brandon Jackson Player Jonathan Dwyer
8 Attempts 11
54 Yards 52
6.8 Avg Yards 4.7
0 Touchdowns 0
25 Long 12
Receiving
Cleveland   Pittsburgh
Benjamin Watson Player Emmanuel Sanders
7 Receptions 2
64 Yards 28
9.1 Avg Yards 14.0
0 Touchdowns 0
15 Long 16
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Cleveland 320 138 182 1 1 0 2.0 0
Pittsburgh 212 91 121 3 1 1 4.0 3