Spokesman-Review
National Football League
Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 9
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 2, 2011
Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature: 25°
Head Official: Ron Winter
Attendance: 68303

Rashard Mendenhall ran for two touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger threw for two scores and the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched the AFC North title with a 41-9 victory over the host Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Safety Troy Polamalu returned to the lineup and had one of three interceptions for Pittsburgh (12-4), which wrapped up a first-round bye and will host the higher-seeded wild card team on Jan. 15 or 16.

Rookie Colt McCoy threw a touchdown and Phil Dawson added a field goal for Cleveland, which has lost 20 of the last 21 meetings and finished 5-11 for a second straight season under Eric Mangini.

It’s no coincidence the Steelers’ fast start was sparked by Polamalu, who missed the past two games with an Achilles injury.

The All-Pro safety made his presence felt immediately with a diving interception of a tipped pass on the second play from scrimmage. One play later, Roethlisberger hit a wide-open Mike Wallace for a 56-yard touchdown.

Mendenhall’s 1-yard touchdown run on the Steelers’ next possession made it 14-0. Roethlisberger threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller that made it 28-3 with 4:57 left in the first half and the rout was on.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Pittsburgh   Cleveland
Rashard Mendenhall Player Colt McCoy
14 Attempts 4
36 Yards 19
2.6 Avg Yards 4.8
2 Touchdowns 0
7 Long 9
Receiving
Pittsburgh   Cleveland
Mike Wallace Player Benjamin Watson
3 Receptions 7
105 Yards 67
35.0 Avg Yards 9.6
1 Touchdowns 0
56 Long 13
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Pittsburgh 418 100 318 5 2 3 4.0 2
Cleveland 225 43 182 1 1 0 2.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Baltimore. The Steelers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.