The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns will get a third installment this year.

The Browns' 24-22 victory over the Steelers on Sunday, coupled with wins by the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills in the early games, sets up a meeting between the No. 3-seeded Steelers and No. 6 Browns in the wild-card round of the playoffs at Heinz Field next week.

With the AFC North locked up a week ago, the Steelers rested quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and five other starters as the Browns earned their first playoff berth in 18 seasons.

And now? Another meeting against the Browns -- the most important one of the season -- looms large.

The Steelers blew out the Browns 38-7 in the regular-season meeting at Heinz Field in Week 6, ending a four-game win streak by the Browns. Though the Steelers played without Roethlisberger, center Maurkice Pouncey, tight end Eric Ebron, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive tackle Cam Heyward and cornerback Joe Haden, along with a couple of other starters, they kept Sunday's game close through the fourth quarter. They got a strong performance by Mason Rudolph, who stretched the field with deep, accurate throws and set a career high with 315 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“We were playing and playing to win," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Pressure is ever present -- you are either feeling it or applying it. It was our goal today to apply it so that was to be aggressive, particularly with the downfield throws. I thought Mason’s performance was great.”

Rudolph pulled the Steelers within two points with a 47-yard touchdown throw to Diontae Johnson with less than two minutes remaining, but the ensuing two-point conversion throw was too high and went out of the back of the end zone. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield picked up a first down with a minute remaining to seal the win.

Even with a loss, the Steelers got a strong performance by their backup quarterback, who still has a strong shot to be the future of the organization. And they escaped without any significant injuries -- though the availability of Haden, Ebron and Cassius Marsh is in doubt with the trio being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.

QB breakdown: In his lone start this season, Rudolph did exactly what he was supposed to do. He played with more confidence and accuracy than he possessed a year ago, and he set a new career high with 315 passing yards, going 22-of-39 with two touchdowns and an interception. Rudolph stretched the field more often than he did last season and connected on two 41-yard bombs to Johnson and Chase Claypool along with a 26-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Just before the two-minute warning, he hit Johnson for a 47-yard pass in traffic. With the playoff berth clinched, the Steelers allowed Rudolph to take some risks that paid off. He connected with Claypool for a 28-yard touchdown on fourth-and-10 in the fourth quarter to pull within a score. It wasn't quite a coming-out party for the third-year quarterback, but it was enough to give the backup a strong vote of confidence going into the final year of his rookie contract.

But perhaps the more important performance for the immediate future was that of third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs, who was brought in for packages in the oft-one-dimensional run game. Dobbs managed to break off a 13-yard run, and he finished as the Steelers' second-leading rusher behind James Conner with two carries for 20 yards.

Truly solving the Steelers' run game woes will take an overhaul of the running back room and offensive line in the offseason, but bringing in Dobbs for some packages in the playoffs could be a short-term fix. To do that, though, the Steelers would have to have three active quarterbacks -- something coach Mike Tomlin would prefer to avoid.

Silver Lining I: Conner got off to a better start against the Browns, carrying the ball four times for 22 yards in the first quarter -- eclipsing his total in each of the past two games. Conner finished with nine carries for 37 yards -- still a low total -- but he showed some stronger runs, including a 9-yard carry. The Steelers need more of that against the Browns in a week.

Silver Lining II: If he experienced any rookie wall this season, Claypool proved he's well through it with a five catch, 101-yard, one-touchdown game Sunday. Claypool disappeared for a stretch late in the season as Tomlin limited his snaps to keep him from getting too worn out with the playoffs on the horizon. Sunday marked Claypool's first 100-yard game since he put up 110 receiving yards and scored four touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 11.

Claypool scored his ninth receiving touchdown of the season, most among all rookies, on the 28-yard grab in the fourth quarter -- also good for his 11th score of the season, which is tied for most among all rookies, regardless of position. The 11 scores are tied for sixth by a rookie receiver since 1970, and the touchdown grab tied him with Louis Lipps (1984) for first among Steelers rookie single-season receiving touchdowns.