The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) battle the Cleveland Browns (2-7) this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s second-leading receiver, Antonio Brown (1,002 yards, 3 TDs). While Pittsburgh’s season has had its high points, the team has struggled lately, losing two of its last three. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov 15 and will air on CBS.
This week marks the first meeting of the season for Pittsburgh and Cleveland. These two AFC North rivals split their matchups last season. Cortez Allen led the Steelers defensive effort in the last meeting, recording six tackles. Karlos Dansby led the defensive effort for Cleveland, recording five tackles and one sack.
Pittsburgh is a four-point favorite against the Browns. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently at 41 points.
Sitting at 5-4 Straight Up (SU) and 4-3-2 Against The Spread (ATS), the Steelers will look to improve heading into Week 10. In their five most recent matchups, the Steelers went 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. They should have success at home against the Browns, who have one of the worst scoring defenses in the league at 29.2 points allowed per road game. A focal point of Pittsburgh’s offense is the running game, which ranks fifth in the league with 133.4 rushing yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense stands a solid chance against the Browns who average only 19.7 points per road game. Pittsburgh’s defense could have an advantage on the Browns and their struggling run game this season. Cleveland averages 82.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 31st in the NFL. An important aspect of the game will be if the Steelers can benefit from Cleveland’s propensity to commit turnovers. They currently rank 29th in the league with 1.9 turnovers per game. Pittsburgh will look to take advantage of the inability of the Browns to prevent scoring in the fourth quarter, allowing an average of 9.3 points. Pittsburgh does an excellent job avoiding costly penalties. They accumulate the fourth-fewest penalties among NFL teams, averaging 5.9 per game.
Across the field, the Browns head into Week 10 with records of 3-5-1 ATS and 2-7 SU. Over their last five games, the Browns have a SU record of 1-4 and a 1-3-1 record ATS. Cleveland could rely on its passing attack against a defense that allows 273 passing yards per game, ranking 26th in the league. The Browns should not have difficulty keeping Pittsburgh’s offense off the field. This season, the Steelers have had an average time of possession of 29:23 per game, ranking 25th in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pit, ATS Winner – Pit, O/U – Under
Notes
Pittsburgh is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh’s last 7 games.
Pittsburgh is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games at home.
Pittsburgh is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Pittsburgh is 20-3 SU in its last 23 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games when playing Cleveland.
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Cleveland is 1-0 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Pittsburgh is 4-2 SU when leading after three quarters.
Remarkably, Pittsburgh is winless (0-3) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 4-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
The Pittsburgh passing attack is ranked 19th in the league, while the Cleveland pass defense is only ranked 21st. The Browns’ passing game is ranked 15th, compared to the 26th-ranked pass defense of the Steelers.
Cleveland has allowed 29.2 points per game on the road, which is ranked only 26th in the league. Pittsburgh has put up 27.2 points per contest at home (ranked 12th overall).
