The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns meet this Sunday in an AFC North matchup that should have been an easy game to predict if not for question at the quarterback position for both teams.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger will probably be sidelined with a left foot injury suffered in the Week 9 win against the Oakland Raiders. Backup Landry Jones will most likely get the starting nod and fans will have to hope that he is the Landry Jones that has filled in admirably in relief and not the Landry Jones that laid an egg as a starter against the woeful Kansas City Chiefs.
The Browns look as if they plan on starting Josh McCown if he proves to be healthy on game day. McCown, dealing with a rib injury, missed last Thursday’s game against the Bengals and didn’t practice on Tuesday, however, Coach Mike Pettine has said that he will give the start to McCown over Johnny Manziel if his ribs didn’t need extra protection.
The Steelers have traditionally dominated the series against the Browns and a win Sunday would go a long way into putting the Pittsburgh into a position for a playoff spot. If the Steelers can win this game without Roethlisberger, they will be 6-4 heading into the bye week. This will put them at to 3-4 in the conference and 1-2 in the division. If they lose, they go into the bye week with a 5-5 record which would be difficult but not impossible to ride into a playoff run.
Breakdown:
Pittsburgh leads the series 66-58 in the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs.
The Steelers will most definitely utilize their 5th ranked running game to monopolize on a dreadful Brown run defense that is ranked dead last at #32. DeAngelo Williams has been stellar when asked to carry the ball. In games this year that he has had more than five carries, he has averaged over 6 yards per play and 111 yards per game.
The Browns will find it hard to take on Pittsburgh’s 12th ranked run defense with a running back corps that only averages 82.3 yards a game and is currently ranked 31st.
In the air the Steelers offense is 19th overall, with a good percentage of that low ranking due to several missed games by Roethlisberger. The Browns pass defense is ranked 22nd and has allowed 254 yards per game. The Steelers will stick to their game plan If Jones starts and draw up high percentage passes mingled with the occasional long ball.
The Steelers enter this week with a pass defense that is ranked 26th overall and will take on a Browns passing attack ranked 15th. A banged up McCown or backup quarterback Johnny Manziel will work to the Steeler’s advantage.
Matchups:
DeAngelo Williams Vs Browns Front Seven
Williams decimated an Oakland run defense, that is ranked 7th in the league, for the tune of 170 yards. The Browns are going to have to find some way to contain the Steelers running back early or he is going to put up monster numbers. Inside linebacker Karlos Dansby is leading the Brown in tackles and will tasked with shutting down the Pittsburgh ground game.
Landry Jones Vs Browns Secondary
Though the Browns secondary appears to be better than the Steelers on paper, they really have some serious holes that the Steelers coaches can take advantage of. Starting defensive backs Joe Haden and Donte Whitner will miss this game due to concussions, so the top two pass defenders on the Browns defense are inside linebacker Dansby and outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo.
Browns LG Cameron Erving Vs Steelers Defense
Browns first round pick Cameron Erving will get his first start this week and will face right defensive end Stephon Tuitt, OLB’s Jarvis Jones and James Harrison and ILB Lawrence Timmons. Erving is lucky enough to be placed in between Pro Bowlers Alex Mack and Joe Thomas, but by his own account, left guard is the position that he has practiced at the least on the front line. Look for Timmons and company to confuse Erving with various stunts and blitzes.
Prediction:
Even with Landry Jones behind center, this is a game that the Steelers should easily win. The Browns organization is still in shambles due to mismanagement, poor coaching, and terrible draft picks. That being said, the Steelers somehow seem to struggle against teams that they obviously should beat.
Next: Steelers vs Browns: What to watch
DeAngelo Williams has the potential to rack up huge stats this week and in doing so could open up the passing game for the receivers. With the injuries to the Browns secondary, I look for Wheaton, Bryant and Brown to collect solid yardage, with Miller being used as a safety valve. We will probably also see Antonio Brown steal some ground yardage from Williams on reverses to take advantage of a porous Cleveland run defense.
Score: 17-6