The last time the Cleveland Browns (+5,000 to win the AFC North) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (+150) went head to head, the game ended up in a tie. That was way back in Week 1. Since then, the Browns have won two games, while the Steelers have collected three wins, including Week 6’s 28-21 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Who will take home the win this time around?
The Browns are coming off yet another overtime loss. In their fourth overtime venture this season, the Browns picked up a 26-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road. Of those four overtimes, one was played with the Steelers which ended in a 21-21 tie way back in Week 1. The Browns are a much different team then than they are today, though. Tyrod Taylor has already been replaced by rookie Baker Mayfield as the starter under center, while another rookie in Nick Chubb is now the team’s starting running back following the trade of Carlos Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry, however, is still with the team and with a better quarterback throwing at him, he’ll look to replicate his solid performance in the first meeting with Pittsburgh in which he had 106 receiving yards on seven catches. It’s also fair to say the Week 8 Browns are more confident in themselves than the Week 1 version of the team, as they have finally broken their winless streak since.
The Browns are 2-1-1 ATS in their last four road games against Pittsburgh.
Betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2-1)
Despite all the rumors that Le’Veon Bell will finally end his holdout during the Steelers’ Week 7 bye, the talented running back remains a no-show as of this writing, so it’s safe to assume that he won’t be there to punish the Browns this coming weekend. The Steelers, however, don’t really need Bell to deal damage on Cleveland’s faulty defense. After all, they still have James Conner, who burned the Browns in Week 1 for 135 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 57 yards. The Browns can make plays on defense, but they’re just to inconsistent that it’s going to be hard to rely on them bottling up Conner, Juju Smith-Schuster, Antonio Brown, and Ben Roethlisberger altogether. Big Ben had 335 passing yards and a touchdown and had three interceptions in Week 1, but he definitely can be counted on to do much better than that. On defense, the Steelers will look to replicate their explosive pass rush performance in the first date with Cleveland in which they sacked Taylor seven times.
The over is 3-1 in Pittsburgh’s last four home games.
