Cleveland, OH -- (Sports Network) - Ben Roethlisberger connected on 12-of-19 passes for 186 yards and found Hines Ward for the game's only touchdown as Pittsburgh escaped with a 10-6 victory over bitter AFC North division rival Cleveland in extremely windy conditions.
Ward finished with five catches for 59 yards, while fellow receiver Santonio Holmes logged a game-high 94 yards on five catches for Pittsburgh (2-0), which was coming off a 38-17 thumping of Houston in Week 1. Willie Parker led the Steelers' potent ground attack with 105 yards on 28 carries.
"We were far from perfect but we are 2-0," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We are not going to apologize for our blemishes, but we came into a hostile environment against a very good team. We are very pleased with this win."
Derek Anderson struggled for the second consecutive week after a strong 2007 campaign, completing just 18-of-32 for 166 yards and two interceptions for Cleveland (0-2), which lost just one home game all of last season. Jamal Lewis was held to just 38 yards on 19 carries, and Kellen Winslow brought in seven receptions for a team-high 55 yards in defeat.
"We just didn't make enough plays," Anderson said. "Especially simple things, like throwing and catching."
With the wind blowing furiously, both clubs were relegated to running to ball for most of the game. Cleveland went three-and-out on its first three possessions, while the Steelers only made it into enemy territory once in the first quarter, which ended with a punt.
The first time Cleveland got the ball in the second quarter, Anderson tried to go downfield to his favorite target -- Braylon Edwards -- but was picked off by Bryant McFadden at the Pittsburgh 30-yard line.
The Steelers controlled the ball for the next 6 1/2 minutes, helped by Parker's 13-yard run down to the Cleveland 27 on 4th-and-1. Several plays later Ward dropped a catchable ball in the end zone, but Roethlisberger came back to him on the very next play for an 11-yard score, capping the 12-play, 70-yard drive with 6:26 left in the half.
Cleveland marched down in an attempt to put some points on the board. Using quick-hitting passes and Lewis' hard running, the Browns managed to get down to the Pittsburgh 11-yard line with eight ticks left. Instead of opting for the easy three points, Cleveland took a shot at the end zone and Anderson was picked off by Troy Polamalu, who anticipated Syndric Steptoe's crossing route to seal a 7-0 halftime lead for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers made it a 10-0 game at the 7:58 mark of the third quarter on Jeff Reed's 48-yard field goal, which was aided by Holmes' 48-yard reception from Roethlisberger, who was nursing a right shoulder injury suffered in Week 1.
The Browns seemed poised to make a game of it with a 12-play, 6 1/2-minute possession, but the drive stalled at the 13-yard line and Phil Dawson was called on to boot a 31-yarder through the uprights.
Pittsburgh didn't score on its next drive but took five minutes off the clock. The next time the home team got the ball they converted on three third-downs, but still only came away with a field goal -- a 38-yarder off the foot of Dawson with a little over three minutes left in the game.
A pair of first downs for Pittsburgh forced the Browns to burn all of their remaining timeouts to essentially seal the game, as the Steelers cemented their claim as the team to beat in the AFC North.
"We turned the ball over twice and then on their scoring drive we had penalties that kept the drive alive and allowed them to score," Browns head coach Romeo Crennel said. "Those were the key things in the game. We had our chances and couldn't get it done."
Game Notes
Pittsburgh handed Cleveland its only loss at home last year...Pittsburgh took its first ever lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1950. The Steelers now lead 56-55 and have won 10 straight since 2003 against their division rival...Edwards finished with three catches for 32 yards...Cleveland, which produced just 205 yards of offense in a season-opening loss to Dallas, had 208 yards on Sunday night, while Pittsburgh finished with 281 yards of offense.
