BEREA, Ohio — After holding opponents to a total of 17 points in the past six quarters, the Cleveland Browns seem convinced they turned the defensive corner.

It started on Oct. 5 in Nashville when they shut out the Tennessee Titans in the second half. That was with backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst at the controls for the Titans.

For the defense to be legitimate it had to perform well against a veteran with a pedigree. The Browns did just that by holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to 10 points and their nemesis, Ben Roethlisberger, to 21-of-42 passing for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Roethlisberger was 18-1 against the Browns before Sunday.

Two rookie quarterbacks are up next for the Browns, who travel to Jacksonville next Sunday to meet Blake Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014. On Oct. 26, the Browns host Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders. Both teams are winless.

“Inside, we knew what this team had, and we just needed to show it on the field for an entire game, not just bits and pieces,” cornerback Joe Haden said. “It feels good to be a part of this team because I already know what we have in this locker room, and everybody just keeps fighting and being locked in the entire game. It’s special.”

The Browns beat the Steelers handily despite a rash of injuries to the defensive line. They might have a similar challenge when they face the Jaguars.

Defensive end Phil Taylor had knee surgery on Oct 6, so he won’t be ready for Jacksonville. End Armonty Bryant suffered a knee injury in the Pittsburgh game and is out for the season. Starting nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin missed the Steelers game with an ankle injury, and end Billy Winn was scratched because of a quadriceps injury that kept him out of practice all the previous week.

Head coach Mike Pettine during his Monday press conference said a defensive lineman would have to be signed to replace Bryant. He added Rubin’s status will be evaluated later in the week.

There was one huge negative in the victory. Center Alex Mack suffered a broken left fibula in the second quarter and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

The first-round draft pick from 2009 never missed a snap before the injury. There is a slight chance he might be back in eight to 10 weeks if it is a clean break.

“It’s not just losing his play, but it’s an emotional letdown as well,” Pettine said Monday. “He exemplified everything you’re trying to get done.”

Notes: Defensive end Armonty Bryant will require surgery to repair torn knee ligaments and will be out for the season. . . Defensive back K’Waun Williams is in the NFL concussion protocol program and will be evaluated on Wednesday. . . . . With C Alex Mack out, offensive lineman Nick McDonald could be activated from the non-football injury list and eventually play center.

REPORT CARD VS. STEELERS

–PASSING OFFENSE: B — Brian Hoyer completed fewer than half his passes while going 8 for 17 for 217 yards, yet he still posted a 113.0 passer rating. He picked up yardage in chunks. He completed one pass for 42 yards to tight end Jordan Cameron to set up a rushing touchdown and hooked up with Cameron for a 51-yard touchdown. A 24-yard completion to rookie Taylor Gabriel was the key play in setting up one of Ben Tate’s two rushing touchdowns.

–RUNNING OFFENSE: A — Starting center Alex Mack suffered a broken leg in the second quarter. Right guard John Greco moved to center and Paul McQuistan came off the bench to fill in at right guard. The Browns continued pounding the ball after the line shakeup. The Browns used more than twice as many running plays — 38 carries — as passes against the Steelers. Tate led the way with 78 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Isaiah Crowell scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on a 5-yard run. This is unquestionably the most improved segment of the Browns this year.

–PASSING DEFENSE: B-plus — The Browns rushed four most of the day and concentrated on coverage. The strategy worked. Ben Roethlisberger was held to 21-of-42 passing for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Roethlisberger was 18-1 against the Browns before Sunday. WR Antonio Brown got his seven catches for 117 yards, but the Browns were willing to concede the short stuff. They succeeded in not giving up chunk plays.

–RUNNING DEFENSE: C-plus — Le’Veon Bell rushed for 109 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown run, in the opener. His longest carry Sunday was 12 yards while rushing for 82 yards on 18 carries. The Browns tackled more efficiently and maintained their gaps much better than they did on Sept. 7 in Pittsburgh. Oddly enough they succeeded with starting end Phil Taylor (knee) and nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin (ankle) out of the lineup. Ishmaa’ily Kitchen filled in for Rubin and finished with six tackles.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: A – A botched field goal try by the Steelers led to a 15-yard loss when holder Brad Wing had to abort the play and was tackled by Browns linebacker Craig Robertson. Billy Cundiff kicked off six times for the Browns. Three resulted in touchbacks and three other times Dre Archer was tackled inside the 20. The coverage gave a boost to the Browns defense.

–COACHING: A – Whatever Mike Pettine is selling, the players are buying. The Browns made adjustments on defense by putting less pressure on Ben Roethlisberger, and offensive line coach Andy Moeller had his men ready when center Alex Mack went down with a broken leg. The Browns’ run offense is dramatically improved from a year ago. Credit for that goes to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The Browns scored three more rushing touchdowns Sunday and now have eight on the season — twice as many as all 2013.