PITTSBURGH -- They were not, Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Todd Peterson acknowledged on Sunday evening, the sounds he had planned on hearing.

Instead of the roar from 62,894 throaty partisans at Heinz Field, the signal that a 24-yard overtime field goal had split the pipes and provided the club its initial victory of the season, Peterson heard the sickening thud of leather meeting sinew. And then the groan as Steelers fans reacted to the fact Cleveland defensive lineman Alvin McKinley had risen up in the middle of the line and swatted away the potential game-winner.

And then there was the blunted field goal attempt, caroming to the right, and with everything around it transpiring in slow motion.

"All I could think of was, 'Grab it and go,' that was it," said Peterson, who scooped up the deflection and began running for the end zone. "I mean, you know the rule, OK? But things happen so quickly in this game that you don't have time to (mentally) review the rules. You react. That's what you do."

	“	If somebody says he's seen this kind of ending before, well, he's lying, man. ”
		— Earl Holmes, Browns linebacker

The reaction of the veteran kicker, in fact, salvaged the rejection of the kick. While Peterson didn't recover the ball himself, his heads-up play prompted the rest of the team to swarm on the ball. And because it wasn't fourth down, the Steelers got another chance and a becalmed Peterson knocked home a 31-yard game-winner. The Steelers then breathed a sigh of relief at having concluded one of the strangest finishes in the history of overtime, prevailing by a 16-13 count.

So now the feisty Browns, who lost their regular-season opener earlier this month when linebacker Dwayne Rudd threw his helmet, were defeated Sunday because an opponent actually kept his head.

"It was crappy way to lose a game," said Browns safety Robert Griffith.

Indeed, for a game in which special teams gaffes and glory played such a big role, Peterson and the Steelers unwittingly authored a snippet that is certain to be featured on NFL highlight reels for years to come. It could have been a lot simpler, of course, but this was the Steelers and the Browns. And in this fabled Turnpike Series, a twice-annual bloodletting of franchises that have warred for years, perhaps it was appropriate the 100th meeting between the clubs finished in thrilling fashion.

Around the NFL, there have been overtime contests decided by special teams plays -- with kickoff returns for touchdowns, blocked field goals, even a botched play earlier this year when Tampa Bay punter Tom Tupa threw an interception while under pressure in his own end zone -- but not like this one.

The situation: With 8:02 remaining in the overtime and the Steelers at the Cleveland 6-yard line, Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher sent his field goal unit on the field to end the afternoon's struggle. But when McKinley skied to swat away a kick Peterson adamantly insisted was not low, it set of a wacky chain reaction.

Peterson scooped up the ball and, with only one Browns defender between he and the goal line, looked like he might score. But he was wrestled to the ground by an unidentified Cleveland defender ("Yeah, I thought maybe I could score, but anyone else on the field has to be a better athlete than me," Peterson allowed) and fumbled.

The ball was recovered by Steelers special teams ace John Fiala.

By rule, the ball belonged to the Steelers, who still had two downs on which to convert the field goal. Which is precisely why Cowher opted to kick on second down and not wait until fourth down. Then again, when he made that decision, Cowher was anticipating the possibility of an errant snap, one that holder Tommy Maddox could have fallen on, to retain possession.

Because the blocked kick did not cross the line of scrimmage, flutter into the end zone or go out of bounds, it was able to be recovered by the Steelers. Had any of those other possibilities occurred, Cleveland would have taken possession. But instead, given a second chance, Peterson ripped the 31-yard kick straight down the middle.

But not before Cowher called him over, asked if he was shaken, and then suggested perhaps the Steelers run another scrimmage play -- since it was only third down -- before kicking. Peterson opted to get right back up on the horse and make the kick.

"To me, it made no sense to run another play, and that's what I relayed to (Cowher) when he asked," Peterson said. "I mean, it's a 31-yard field goal. It was right down the middle. I didn't need to calm down. I needed to go right back out there and win the game."

Peterson would not have had the opportunity to win it had his Cleveland counterpart, the normally reliable Phil Dawson, connected on a 45-yard kick five minutes earlier. The official play-by-play credited Pittsburgh safety Lee Flowers with blocking that kick, which wafted toward the goal posts, and then fell a few yards short. But defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen said the ball went through his hands and hit him right in the head.

"I jumped and just came right in," von Oelhoffen said. "I got lucky."

The Steelers got lucky in dodging a defeat that would have been directly tied again to special teams shortcomings. The only Cleveland touchdown, on a 4-yard run by tailback Jamel White on the first play of the fourth quarter, came after Browns linebacker Kevin Bentley blocked a Josh Miller punt.

Bentley and fellow rookie linebacker Andra Davis stormed through a big hole in the right "A" gap between the Pittsburgh center and guard. The game was tied 6-6 at the time, and the special teams play provided the Browns field position at the Pittsburgh 41-yard line. Cowher said the punt block rush was similar to one used by Jacksonville against the Steelers last year.

There is nothing, however, to which he can compare the end-game sequence which ensued in overtime. Nor could veterans in either locker room recall a series of events as strange as what transpired on Peterson's kicks.

"If somebody says he's seen this kind of ending before," said Cleveland linebacker and former Steelers star Earl Holmes, "well, he's lying, man."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.