Well, here we are about to witness the Browns become the 3rd team in 35 years to leave the season with a winless record. And yes, this will happen. The Steelers opened as 13-point favorites and were bet down to 11-points by the end of this week. Pittsburgh is coming off a 34-6 smackdown of the Houston Texans in Week 16 and is entering the final week of the season with a 12-3 straight up and 7-8 against the spread record. The latter stat is the shining light for bettors, who should also note that Ben Roethlisberger and company are also 0-3 against the spread this season when giving up 10 or more points. Still, over 80 percent of TopBet bettors like the Steelers to cover the 14-point spread. Can the Browns keep this one close on their quest to keep their name out of the infamous history books?
Cleveland is really starting to feel the lash from their fanbase after last weeks debacle in Chicago. Cleveland saw a go ahead pick 6 get turned into an offsides call that ultimately resulted in a Chicago touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Cleveland now sits at 0-15 and the things are uneasy in Northeast Ohio. With Hue Jackson already said to be retained after this season, from a parade planned if the team goes winless, things have not been good for the Browns. They’ll have one last chance to shock the NFL world here on Sunday and they’ll certainly need a lot of things to go right here against Pittsburgh.
It’ll start with QB DeShone Kizer, who simply has to take care of the ball. Kizer has just 9 touchdowns to 21 interceptions this season and he continues to make crucial mistakes left and right. Along with him, the Browns need to find some defensive stability. The Browns are giving up 27.9 points per road game this season, one of the worst marks in the NFL.
Pittsburgh is becoming quite the force as of late and they come into this one red hot.
They went into Houston on Christmas Day and absolutely obliterated the Texans and will still be playing for something here on Sunday as they have a shot at the top spot in the AFC.
That is bad news for the Browns, who will see the starters for Pittsburgh, who rank 3rd in total offense and 4th in total defense. Ben Roethlisberger leads the 2nd best pass offense in the NFL and has seen this Steelers offense rack up 25.2 points per game. Roethlisberger has compiled 4251 yards in total, as he continues to just simply pick apart opposing secondaries.
Pittsburgh has also had the huge edge ATS wise in this series. The Steelers have gone 3-1-1 ATS over the past 5 meetings against Cleveland. They have also gone 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 Week 17 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Are the Cleveland Browns going to finish the season without a victory? I do think so but at least they will cover the spread this Sunday. That is sort of a win right? Pick: Cleveland Browns (+11)
