CLEVELAND — Seven yards from the end zone, seven points from a tie score and an AFC North-clinching win within reach, Aaron Rodgers dropped back.

The 42-year-old quarterback had already tested the Cleveland Browns’ Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward on second and third down; both throws fell incomplete. On fourth down with just over 20 seconds remaining, Rodgers took one more shot, flicking a back-shoulder jump ball to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

“The ball went up,” Valdes-Scantling said. “(Ward) did a good job of playing through me. I thought it should have — or could have — got a call, but no call was made.”

That play was the final whimper from a Steelers offense that looked anemic without DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III and Darnell Washington. But the quote? That’s an even better way to sum up a woulda, coulda, shoulda afternoon at Huntington Bank Field.

Entering Sunday, it appeared everything was lined up for a memorable afternoon in Cleveland. The Steelers had responded to Week 13 “Fire Tomlin” chants with a three-game winning streak. Coming off their signature win of the season in Detroit seven days ago, they needed only to knock off the Browns to clinch the AFC North.

In another world, Mike Tomlin would have been pounding his chest and blowing kisses into the camera with an AFC North Champions hat pulled over his head and an important milestone in his pocket. On Sunday, Tomlin woulda, coulda, shoulda tied legendary coach Chuck Noll with a franchise-record 193 regular-season wins — and he would have done so in 34 fewer games.

Instead of matching Noll, Tomlin delivered one of the worst losses of his 19-year Steelers tenure.

Sure, the Steelers have lost to Browns teams plenty of times. They are 1-6-1 in Cleveland since 2018; Sunday made it four straight losses at Huntington Bank Field. They’ve lost to lowly non-contenders in the past, especially on the heels of signature wins. They’ve blown chances to clinch the division and control their own destiny, including as recently as last year when they lost to the Ravens in Baltimore. In some ways, Sunday’s result was more predictable than it was shocking. But it’s hard to remember a game against such an inferior opponent game with so much at stake that the Steelers completely squandered.

“I didn’t think we played poorly,” Tomlin said. “We just didn’t make enough plays. We never made that signature play that kind of got us over the hump.”

The Browns entered the game with as many wins (three) as quarterbacks started. On a wet, dreary afternoon, the Steelers spotted Shedeur Sanders and company 10 points on their first two drives. During a first-quarter, 86-yard touchdown drive, Sanders beat one safety (Chuck Clark) for 42 yards and the other (Kyle Dugger) for a 28-yard touchdown.