The Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to take the tradeoffs — even if it wasn’t by choice — as Mike Tomlin made it clear that his concentration was on focusing energies on what was available instead of what wasn’t.

On a day the Steelers got outside linebacker Alex Highsmith back from injury, they scratched George Pickens. That did little to reduce the tension between them and the Cleveland Browns, even if the mercurial wide receiver played a prominent role in their bad blood.

Highsmith sparked the defense with the first of three sacks of Browns quarterback Jameis Winston, who was coming off a career-best 497 passing yards on “Monday Night Football” but was pressured into throwing two interceptions.

Russell Wilson overcame a slow start to convert a pair of crucial third-and-1 runs and throw two third-quarter touchdown passes in a 27-14 win Sunday afternoon before 66,845 at Acrisure Stadium.

The victory helped the Steelers (10-3) increase their lead in the AFC North to two games and avenged their lone divisional defeat, a 24-19 loss to the Browns on Nov. 21 in a snowstorm in Cleveland. Pickens got into a scuffle with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome Jr. through the end zone on a Hail Mary as time expired, and the rivals exchanged a war of words in the two weeks between the games.

“You have to win these games,” said Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward, who had two sacks. “There’s a sense of urgency in our locker room. We don’t overlook anybody. We understand we got to play up to it. They got the job done last time. But it wasn’t about getting revenge or anything. It was about we need to get back to playing our football.”

The Steelers needed to do it without a key playmaker in Pickens. A late addition Friday to the injury report, Pickens was scratched with a hamstring injury when the team’s medical staff determined after pre-game workouts that it wasn’t worth the risk.

“We didn’t feel like he was going to be able to play the type of number of snaps we thought would be worth putting him in a uniform for, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem.”

After passing for 414 yards in a 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals a week earlier, Wilson completed 4 of 8 passes for 14 yards in the first quarter and had 46 passing yards in the first half as the Steelers relied on a pair of Chris Boswell field goals.

“You can’t panic in those situations,” Wilson said. “It’s a four-quarter game for a reason.”

With Pickens out, Wilson turned to trade-deadline acquisition Mike Williams and seldom-used Scotty Miller. The duo combined for six catches for 74 yards, with each providing a 20-yard pass play for a first down in the second half. Wilson finished 15 of 26 for 158 yards and touchdown passes to Van Jefferson and Pat Freiermuth.

But it was the defense that got the Steelers rolling early. After missing three games with a left ankle injury, Highsmith returned and immediately made his presence felt by sacking Winston to force the Browns to punt from their own 5.

The Steelers started their second drive at the Cleveland 36, and Najee Harris broke a 20-yard run. But they were called for an illegal formation on third-and-1 and settled for Boswell’s 30-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead at 9:32 of the first quarter.

The Browns answered with a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore and capped by Winston’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy for a 7-3 lead.

The Steelers got a momentum-changing play when nickel back Beanie Bishop pressured Winston, who pump-faked then threw a pass that was intercepted by second-year nose tackle Keeanu Benton and returned to the Cleveland 31.

“Sometimes when you’re struggling a little bit to gain some traction, the short field will get you going,” Tomlin said. “I can’t say enough about that play.”

A pass-interference penalty on Newsome Jr. put the Steelers in the red zone, and Harris scored on a 1-yard run to give them a 10-7 lead at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter.

After failing on their first five third-down attempts, the 36-year-old Wilson converted a pair of third-and-1s: running an option keeper for a 6-yard gain and a quarterback sneak for another first down.

“We don’t want to make a living doing so,” Tomlin said, “but we’re also willing to take what the defense gives us.”

Williams was called for offensive pass interference, however, and Boswell’s 54-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 13-7 lead with 4:21 left in the first half. The Browns had a chance to cut into their deficit, but Dustin Hopkins missed a 38-yard field goal wide left with 23 seconds left in the half.

Jerome Ford opened the second half with a 56-yard kick return to the Steelers’ 39, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. then was flagged for unnecessary roughness for his retaliatory hit of wide receiver Michael Woods II in the facemask. But Woods was called for offensive pass interference to push the Browns back to the 25, and Hopkins missed again, on a 43-yard attempt wide right.

The Steelers immediately capitalized, responding with an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive that saw Wilson complete a third-and-10 pass to Freiermuth for 21 yards and a pair of 14-yard runs by Jaylen Warren. That set up Wilson’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson for a 20-7 lead with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.

When the Browns went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield, Elandon Roberts dropped Ford for a 5-yard loss. The Steelers took advantage of the short field, as Wilson completed a 22-yard pass to Williams on the visiting sideline then drilled a 20-yard touchdown to Freiermuth over the middle for a 27-7 lead with 3:51 left.

The Browns converted two fourth downs on a 14-play, 79-yard scoring drive that ended with Winston throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Njoku to cut it to 27-14 with 7:19 remaining.

One play after a 20-yard pass to Miller — a catch that survived a Browns challenge — Cordarrelle Patterson was stripped by Isaiah McGuire, and the fumble was recovered by Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett. But two plays later, Winston overshot Moore on a pass over the middle, and it was intercepted by Steelers cornerback James Pierre.

The Steelers were forced to punt, but even that resulted in a turnover when Kadarius Toney muffed it and Ben Skowronek recovered at the Cleveland 20. It was the latest example of the Steelers capitalizing on the Browns’ mistakes this time with role players making critical plays.

“We’ve got to build off of positivity,” Tomlin said. “That’s what good teams do this time of year. Somebody makes a play, the other side of the ball backs it up, so forth. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to play complementary football, whether it’s putting the fire out or building upon the good. I just like the trajectory of our group in that regard. But it’s needed. As the road gets narrow, you’ve got play really good complementary football in an effort to keep rolling.”

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