Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

To those who believe “almost winning” is the definition of losing, we present what unfolded for nearly four hours under a steady rain in FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday.

The Browns almost beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season-opener.

But they didn’t lose.

They produced six defensive turnovers.

But they didn’t win.

They made up a 21-7 deficit late in the fourth quarter, survived a shanked punt in overtime that gave the Steelers’ prime field position, and then sweated out a 42-yard game-winning field goal attempt by the Steelers that was wide left.

They avoided losing.

And then they avoided winning when Zane Gonzalez’ 43-yard field goal try was blocked by rampaging Steelers defensive force T.J. Watt with 13 seconds left.

When Ben Roethlisberger went back on the field at the Steelers’ 33 with no timeouts left, any Browns fan under the age of 40 had to still be worried. With 11 career victories in Cleveland, Roethlisberger is the winningest quarterback in the history of FirstEnergy Stadium – which includes all 29 Cleveland quarterbacks to start a game in that time – and his ability to humiliate the franchise that spurned him in the 2004 draft knows no bounds.

But Roethlisberger’s 41st pass on the soggy day fell incomplete in the middle of the field and an instant classic was officially christened – a 21-21 deadlock, the first tie in 68 years of the Browns-Steelers rivalry, spanning 131 meetings in the regular season.

It was the first tie game in an NFL season-opener since 1971, and the first tie involving the Browns since a 10-10 stand-off with Marty Schottenheimer’s Kansas City Chiefs in 1989.

“A tie,” coach Hue Jackson said behind burning eyes. “A tie.”

“There is no way that we should not have won this game,” said safety Jabril Peppers.

“It is a sour feeling,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Imagine being the Steelers, or their fans.

They held a 21-7 lead and had possession as the fourth quarter hit the halfway mark. Watt and fellow rusher Bud Dupree, and tackle Cameron Heyward were so dominant, inciting four Browns’ false-start penalties in the first half alone as the Browns’ left tackle-left guard experiment blew up like an overheated beaker in a chemistry class. The only plays Taylor was making was with his legs; he led the Browns with 77 rushing yards and a 20-yard touchdown.

And then Myles Garrett took over.

Garrett stripped capable LeVeon Bell fill-in James Conner (135 yards rushing, two touchdowns) from the backside, and Peppers picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Steelers’ 1-yard line before losing it out of bounds. Carlos Hyde then punched it over the goal line for a 21-14 Pittsburgh lead.

Less than a minute into Pittsburgh’s next possession, Garrett strip-sacked Roethlisberger and linebacker Joe Schobert recovered at the Steelers’ 37.

Taylor couldn’t even gain a first down this time and the Browns had to punt. But the force of Garrett’s presence was giving the Browns hope and striking fear in the Steelers.

“I was being the person they got in the draft … trying to be the guy who can make the plays when we need them,” Garrett said.

The Steelers were forced to punt with 2:20 to go, and Taylor finally did something with his arm. He connected with Rashard Higgins for 38 yards and then threw one up for Josh Gordon single-covered by cornerback Cameron Sutton. Gordon went up for the slightly underthrown ball just inside the right corner of the end zone, plucked it off the helmet of Sutton, and then got both feet to touch the end zone before he crashed out of bounds. The PAT tied the game with 2:03 left in regulation.

It sure was feeling like Garrett and Gordon were going to produce the Browns’ first win in an opener since 2004.

But regulation ended for the Browns with Taylor underthrowing Gordon and Sutton intercepting at the Steelers’ 8. Taylor also missed Gordon streaking past Joe Haden on a deep post route in the third quarter. They hooked up only one time -- the touchdown – on only three targets.

“I would not say [it was due to lack of practice and game reps],” Taylor said. “We just have to continue to keep growing.”

The Browns won the coin toss to start overtime, but punted after three plays. They went three-and-out on two more possessions, sandwiched around Chris Boswell’s 42-yard miss.

And then, with everyone exhausted and the clock under 1 minute, Roethlisberger coughed up his fifth turnover – three were on picks, with rookie Denzel Ward netting two – and two on fumbles. This one came when rookie linebacker Genard Avery ambushed Ben from behind, knocking the ball in the air like a pitiful pass. Schobert caught it and rumbled 28 yards to the Steelers’ 12. But on the runback, Garrett was whistled for blocking Maurkice Pouncey above the waist, and the Browns took possession at the Steelers’ 24 with 36 seconds left.

After a Hyde carry lost one year, Taylor hurried to stop the clock with a spike.

Gonzalez’ game-winning attempt from 43 yards was blocked by Watt, who destroyed Browns right tackle Chris Hubbard, an ex-Steeler, for four sacks among his 11 tackles on the afternoon. Hubbard was on the other side on this play, however.

The Steelers loaded up over the Browns’ left side of the line and were in the backfield so quickly that Jackson said, “I felt like somebody was offside over there.”

But replays showed otherwise. The Steelers just refused to lose this game.

And the Browns refused to win.