Steelers vs Browns: Who the experts are taking in week 6

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 4-0 for the first time since 1979 and they hope they follow in that season’s footsteps. They will have to beat a tough Cleveland Browns team that comes to the Steel City with full confidence.

The Steelers were able to leave Heinz Field last week with another victory after a hard-fought battle with the Eagles. It was a close game and one that exposed the defense. Lesser talents were able to outplay what is supposed to be a top defense. This has been a common occurrence so far this season and one Pittsburgh hopes to put to rest against this talent-rich offense with the Browns.

Cleveland enters this game after overcoming struggles with lesser opponents and seeing them claim four victories in a row, giving them a 4-1 record. Their lone loss came against Baltimore in a beatdown that showed maybe the Browns could be pretenders. This will be their first litmus test ever since that very tough game against the Ravens in week one. This is a game the Browns normally lose with their history of being laughingstocks across the league, this game could help alter that thinking with a win.

This game is a tough one to call as both teams have great records but have struggled and showed their faults during their games. The schedule is grueling and no matter the outcome of this game, both teams are shaping up to have good seasons. Experts from CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and Sporting News have different opinions about the game. A good handful of experts are taking the Browns but the Steelers are still favored both by these experts and by Vegas.

The X-factor for the Steelers in this game and probably going forward is the defense. It seems like the defense is still figuring itself out, especially when it comes to the secondary and their poor play up to this point. The front will need to shut down the Browns running attack and force Baker Mayfield to throw the majority of this game if they want to secure victory. Mayfield will make mistakes if he doesn’t have the run game to help balance the offense. If the secondary can rebound from their poor performance last week and cause turnovers, this could be a blowout victory. This defense is still skeptical and makes many believe this will be a high scoring game.

The Steelers offense is not the issue as they have found many ways to consistently move drives down the field and score points. They have many different weapons and can take advantage of the Browns, even if they have some really solid pieces on the opposing defense. This is another game the Steelers should win but this will be another shootout unless the defense can correct its coverage issues.

Prediction: Steelers 28, Browns 27

The hope for the Steelers is to leave their home stadium with a record of 5-0 and with their first division win in their pocket. It will probably be a shootout again unless the defense can correct their problems.