The regular season finale is upon us, with the Pittsburgh Steelers traveling to take on the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The NFL’s second-leading receiver, Antonio Brown (1,647 yards, 9 TDs), will be a player to watch in this game. It will air Sunday, Jan 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
The last time the Browns and Steelers met was in Week 10, when Pittsburgh dominated Cleveland 30-9. Gary Barnidge had a good outing in that game, pulling in six receptions for 65 yards and one TD. Travis Benjamin had a great game as well, adding 113 yards on seven catches. Antonio Brown had a great performance for Pittsburgh in that game, grabbing 10 receptions for 139 yards and two TDs. Ben Roethlisberger had a great game as well, adding 379 yards and three TDs through the air.
The Steelers are favored by 10 points against the Browns this week and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 47 points.
Sitting at 3-12 Straight Up (SU) and 5-9-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Browns will look to improve heading into Week 17. In their five most recent matchups, the Browns went 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. Cleveland is averaging 137.4 rushing yards in its last five games, an improvement over its season average of 96.2. During their last five games, the Browns have also done an improved job in pass coverage, giving up an average of 195.6 passing yards. It is critical for the Steelers to prepare for Cleveland’s big-play defense, which ranks fifth in the league with 1.9 turnovers per home game. Special teams is a weakness for Pittsburgh that the Browns may use to their advantage. On average, the Steelers have allowed 95.9 return yards per game.
Across the field, the Steelers head into Week 17 with records of 7-5-3 ATS and 9-6 SU. Over their last five games, the Steelers have a SU record of 3-2 and a 2-2-1 record ATS. Pittsburgh has made opposing defenses suffer as of late, averaging 31 points per game over the last five games. This improved stretch brought its season average to 26.3 PPG. Pittsburgh will look to continue relying on its passing attack, where its 283.3 passing yards per game ranks fifth in the league. Over the last five games, the Steelers have improved their run defense, allowing an average of 88.6 rushing yards per game. The Steelers have been outplaying their opponents’ offensive lines this year. Pittsburgh’s defense ranks fourth in the league with an average of 2.7 sacks per game. Cleveland will want to keep its intensity through the fourth quarter against the Steelers, who average a league-leading 8.9 points in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Penalties are a common occurrence for Cleveland. The Browns are one of the most penalized teams in the league with 7.5 infractions per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pit, ATS Winner – Pit, O/U – Under
Notes
Cleveland is 2-7-1 ATS in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 7 games.
Cleveland is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games.
Cleveland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Cleveland is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh.
Cleveland is 3-21 SU in its last 24 games when playing Pittsburgh.
Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh.
Cleveland is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is 7-3 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Cleveland is 2-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Cleveland is 1-7 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 1-2 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Since the start of last season, Pittsburgh is an even 6-6 SU against AFC North opponents, while Cleveland is just 3-7 SU against division foes.
According to season yardage rankings, Pittsburgh is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 13th-ranked rushing attack will face the bottom-ranked run defense of Cleveland, while its sixth-ranked run defense will look to contain the 19th-ranked rushing game of the Browns.
