Both the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers are clinging to their dim playoff hopes, so expect these teams to go all out when they take the field at Heinz Field this week. At the very least, these two teams hate each other no matter what’s on the line. Check out our preview below of this Browns-Steelers Week 17 showdown.
The Browns failed to get a crucial win at Lambeau Field in Week 16. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ defense were simply too much for Cleveland, which lost that game to the tune of a 24-22 score. Baker Mayfield put up a poor performance. While he passed for two touchdowns, he also shot the Browns in the foot with four interceptions, while going just 21/36 from the pocket. The Browns can only hope that Mayfield will be better in Week 17. Or they can just feed running back Nick Chubb plenty of touches. Chubb rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries against the Packers. In the Browns’ 15-10 home loss to Pittsburgh, Chubb rushed for 61 yards on 16 carries.
The Browns are 7-3-1 against the spread in their last 11 January games.
The Steelers got absolutely embarrassed by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16’s 36-10 road loss. Pittsburgh was dominated on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. But from facing off with Kansas City’s high-octane offense, the Steelers are going to face a much easier one in the form of the Browns. In their win against Cleveland, the Steelers sacked Mayfield four times and didn’t allow a passing touchdown. The Browns also went just 3/10 on third downs and got held for only 306 total yards. While Ben Roethlisberger isn’t any longer the Big Ben who used to be so reliable in the pocket, he can still put together a nice performance with the help of some great talent around him like running back Najee Harri, Diontae Johnson, and Chase Claypool.
The Steelers are 18-6-2 against the spread in their last 26 games as a home underdog.
