The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns played a thrilling game that went right up until the final seconds back in Week 1. The two AFC North rivals meet for the second and final time this season after coming off wins on Sunday, all but assuring that one team finally notches up its first winning streak of the season.
Things are also heating up down in the AFC South, where it’s tied up at the top. Head on over to our Colts vs. Texans preview after sampling this AFC North showdown between the Steelers and Browns.
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Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns Preview
Where: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
When: Sunday, October 12, 1:00PM ET
Line: Pittsburgh Steelers (+2) at Cleveland Browns (-2); total: 47.0 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have the sad distinction of the being the first team not to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars by more than two touchdowns this season, but they’ll take their 17-9 road win anyway. The Steelers still covered the six-point spread, making it just their second win against the spread in five games this season.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were once again the big players for the Steelers offense. Roethlisberger completed over 72 percent of his passes for the third game running, while Bell and Brown continued to lead the team in rushing and receiving, respectively.
All three had monster games back in Week 1 when they accounted for most of the 503 yards of offense against the Browns. Roethlisberger had a season-high 365 yards, Bell had a career-high 197 total yards and Brown had 115 yards receiving. All three should be favored to at least come close to those numbers again with a Cleveland defense that hasn’t improved much since then.
The main concern lies in their own defense, especially against the run. The Steelers just couldn’t stop the Browns’ rushing attack as they gave up 191 yards on the ground. The run defense has gotten somewhat better in the last three games, though, and has given up just over 53 yards on average against the Panthers, Bucs and Jags. A similarly resolute effort will be required against the Browns, whose running game is a huge part of its offense.
The Steelers are 13-2 (5-2 in Cleveland) against the Browns in the Mike Tomlin era.
Betting on the Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ valiant second-half comeback from 17 points down against the Steelers in Week 1 came up just short, but Cleveland went all the way last Sunday with another crazy comeback as it rallied from a massive 25 points down to beat the Tennessee Titans, 29-28.
Running back Ben Tate, who was injured in Week 1 against the Steelers, marked his return in style as he ran for 123 of the Browns’ 175 rushing yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for a season-high 292 yards and three touchdowns.
But as great as the Browns’ second-half revival was, it’s important to remember they were down by over three touchdowns to a Titans team that had Jake Locker and Charlie Whitehurst playing quarterback for a reason: their defense has not played well.
The run defense in particular has been awful. The Browns gave up 149 rushing yards against the Titans, which is actually an improvement from their last two games, where they gave up 177 and 160 yards to the Saints and Ravens.
However, this team has found a way to stick around even as the defense continues to give up yards. Credit must go to a surprisingly prolific offense, led by Hoyer. Through four games, Hoyer has thrown for over 1,000 yards with six touchdowns against just one interception, and has led two game-winning fourth quarter drives.
With Hoyer growing more and more confident by the week – he has consecutive 290-plus yard games – he should be in a much better position to attack a Steelers pass defense that’s right down there with the Browns, per DVOA.
The Browns’ four games this season have been decided by a total of eight points, and their first three games came down to the final kick of the game. All four of their games have also gone over totals line.
Writer’s Prediction
The Browns (-2) finally put together a complete performance at home as they take down the Steelers. Create a betting account now and go down to the wire with the weekly NFL action.
