T.J. Watt scooped up a fumble by DeShaun Watson and ran 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 26-22 in a game overshadowed by a serious knee injury to star Browns running back Nick Chubb.

The Steelers (1-1) beat Cleveland (1-1) for the 20th straight time at home in the regular season when outside linebacker Alex Highsmith — who returned an interception for a touchdown on the game's first snap — beat Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. off the edge and chopped the ball out of Watson's hands.

Watt picked it up and raced in as Pittsburgh extended their home winning streak on Monday night to 21 straight dating to 1991.

Cleveland played most of the final three quarters without Chubb, who was carted off the field with what appeared to be his second major left knee injury. He suffered a dislocation and three torn ligaments while in college at Georgia.

Jerome Ford, Chubb's replacement, ran for 106 yards and caught a three-yard touchdown pass, but the Browns' miscues cost them a chance to win at Pittsburgh in the regular season for the first time since 2003. Cleveland beat the host Steelers in the playoffs after the 2020 season.

Watson completed 22 of 40 for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Steelers avoided their first 0-2 start since 2019. Kenny Pickett connected on 15 of 30 passes for 222 yards, a third of them coming on a 71-yard catch-and-run TD by George Pickens in the second quarter that briefly brought the home crowd to life.

Earlier in Charlotte, Tony Jones Jr. ran for two touchdowns, rookie Blake Grupe kicked two field goals and New Orleans beat Carolina 20-17 to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2013.

Jones replaced the injured Jamaal Williams late in the first half and ran for 34 yards on 12 carries.

The Saints' defence did the rest, holding Panthers rookie Bryce Young to 153 yards passing in his home debut. New Orleans limited Carolina (0-2) to 239 yards and sacked Young, the top overall pick in the draft, four times.

The Saints nearly made it two full games without allowing a touchdown before giving up a three-yard scoring toss from Young to Adam Thielen with 1:16 left in the game. Young's two-point conversion pass to Thielen got the Panthers within three, but New Orleans recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Derek Carr, who threw for 305 yards in the Week 1 win over Tennessee, finished with 228 yards passing and one intercept.

"There's so much that we have to clean up," Carr said, "but it feels good to get to do it when we're 2-0."

The Saints pulled even with unbeaten Atlanta and Tampa Bay atop the NFC South, while Carolina fell into an early hole.