Thursday Night Football: Browns at Steelers
By Covers.com
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-14, 38.5)
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Steelers have an outside chance of wrapping up a playoff berth this week, and playing one of their favorite opponents certainly won't hurt their chances. Pittsburgh goes for its fourth consecutive victory and eighth win in nine games when it hosts the struggling Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. It shapes up as a mighty uphill struggle for the punchless Browns, who have dropped 14 of the last 15 to the Steelers and haven't won in Pittsburgh since 2003. The Steelers are in a four-way tie with New England, Houston and Baltimore for the best record in the AFC.
LINE: The Steelers opened as two-touchdown favorites and haven't moved much off that key number. The total has dropped from 40 to 38.5 points.
WEATHER: Temperatures will fall into the high 20s in Heinz Field. The will be a slight 6-mph winds, blowing WSW.
ABOUT THE BROWNS (4-8, 3-7-2 ATS): Cleveland is playing the first of three straight road games before closing out the season at home against Pittsburgh. The Browns managed only 233 yards of total offense in a 24-10 loss to Baltimore last week. It marked the 10th time this season they have been held to 17 points or fewer. Cleveland allowed 290 yards rushing by the Ravens, including 204 by Ray Rice. QB Colt McCoy failed to throw for 200 yards for the third straight game and suffered a sprained knee that will limit his mobility against the Steelers.
ABOUT THE STEELERS (9-3, 6-6 ATS): Pittsburgh played perhaps its best all-around game of the season in a 35-7 win over Cincinnati. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for a pair of TDs as the Steelers scored 28 points in the second quarter. Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of scoring passes to WR Mike Wallace and Pittsburgh’s defense did the rest, limiting Cincinnati to 13 first downs and 232 yards. Mendenhall’s rushing totals are down, but he has run for five touchdowns in the last four games. LB James Harrison turned in his second three-sack effort in the last four games.
TRENDS:
* Over is 7-1-1 in the last nine meetings in Pittsburgh.
* Over is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings.
* Favorite is 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 meetings.
* Browns are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 meetings.
* Browns are 2-5 ATS in their last seven meetings in Pittsburgh.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Wallace needs 23 yards to reach 1,000 for the second straight season.
2. Josh Cribbs of the Browns has returned three kickoffs for TDs against the Steelers.
3. Cleveland and Pittsburgh rank 1-2 in passing yards allowed, but in the Browns’ case it’s because opponents are content to run all over them.
PREDICTION: Steelers 27, Browns 10. Roethlisberger improves to 13-1 against Cleveland.
Browns at Steelers
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The AFC North race has turned into a battle to the finish line between the Steelers and Ravens, as each team enters Week 14 with a 9-3 record. Pittsburgh gets first crack at pulling into first place by themselves, hosting Cleveland on Thursday night. Besides the division title on the line, the Steelers have an excellent opportunity to help their cause for a potential first-round bye or even home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Amazingly, this is only the first meeting between these two old rivals, who are also set to meet in Week 17 in Cleveland. The Steelers probably need to win out to clinch the division title after losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Ravens, but Pittsburgh is playing its best football at the moment. Mike Tomlin's club is riding a three-game winning streak, including a key sweep over the Bengals to knock Cincinnati backwards in the division race.
The Steelers held the Bengals to their lowest-point total of the season in last week's 35-7 drubbing of Cincinnati at Heinz Field. In fact, it was Cincinnati's first loss this season by double-digits as Pittsburgh put the game away with 28 second quarter points. The Steelers improved to 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS at home this season, while limiting an opponent to 17 points or less for the fifth time at Heinz Field.
The Browns (4-8) started the season at a surprising 2-1 after wins over the Colts and Dolphins, but Cleveland's true colors came out over the last nine games. The sputtering Browns' offense averages just 14.6 points per game, while scoring 14 points or less in seven of the previous nine contests. Baltimore dominated Cleveland last Sunday, 24-10, as the Ravens easily cashed as seven-point road favorites. The Browns racked up just 233 yards of total offense, while Ray Rice rushed for 204 yards by himself, helping Baltimore to its ninth win on the season. With the loss, the Browns dropped to 3-7-2 ATS and 1-4 ATS in the underdog role.
With Cleveland's ineptitude offensively and Pittsburgh's strength coming on the defensive side, 'unders' haven't been cashing at a steady rate for these two teams. The Steelers are 6-6 to the 'over,' while the Browns own a 7-5 mark to the 'under,' including six 'unders' in the previous eight games. Pittsburgh is a perfect 3-0 to the 'under' in three home games as a seven-point favorite or higher, which is the case on Thursday.
This series has been owned by the Black and Gold, winning 14 of the previous 15 meetings dating back to 2003. The only victory by the Browns in this stretch came on a Thursday night in December 2009, a 13-6 triumph in Cleveland as 9½-point underdogs. The Steelers cruised past the Browns twice last season, winning each game by double-digits. Pittsburgh beat up Cleveland in Colt McCoy's debut in October 2010 by a 28-10 count, cashing as 14-point 'chalk.' McCoy threw only one touchdown pass and five interceptions in two losses to the Steelers last season, while Ben Roethlisberger put up opposite numbers with five touchdowns and just one interception.
These two teams have gone in different directions from a divisional record standpoint recently. Pittsburgh owns an 8-3 ATS mark in its last 11 divisional contests (including two losses to Baltimore this season), while Cleveland is just 1-6 ATS the previous seven games against the AFC North. Meanwhile, the Steelers haven't been great at home off a win since last season, putting together a 2-7 ATS record, including an 0-3 ATS ledger in 2011.
The Steelers are listed as 14-point favorites across the board, while the total is set at 39. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 30's, as the game is set to kick off at 8:25 PM and will be televised on the NFL Network.
NFL Week 14
Browns (4-8) @ Steelers (9-3) - Pittsburgh won 14 of last 15 series games, with last four wins all by 13+ points; Browns are 0-7 here, with six of seven losses by 11+- they scored 14 or less points in last six series games. Steelers won seven of last eight games; they’re 5-1 at home, 3-2 as home favorites, winning at Heinz by 24-21-4-8-28 points, with only loss to Ravens. Browns lost five of last six games; they’re 1-3 as road underdogs, losing on foreign soil by 7-10-18-3 points, with only win at winless Indy. Teams are 8-2 vs spread (2-0 as favorites) week after playing the Bengals. Home teams are 2-5-21 vs spread in AFC North divisional games (over is 5-2-1 in those games). Under is 6-2 in Cleveland’s last eight games, 3-1-1 in Steelers’ last five. Browns are 0-7 when they allow 20+ points.