Cleveland (3-9) at Pittsburgh (9-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Steelers by 6 1/2.
Against the spread: Browns 4-8; Steelers 9-3.
Series record: Steelers lead 81-64-1.
Last meeting: Browns beat Steelers 24-19 on Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland.
Last week: Browns lost to Broncos 41-32; Steelers beat Bengals 44-38.
Browns offense: overall (22), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (29).
Browns defense: overall (24), rush (23), pass (20), scoring (26).
Steelers offense: overall (14), rush (9), pass (20), scoring (10).
Steelers defense: overall (6), rush (4), pass (19), scoring (6).
Turnover differential: Browns minus-8; Steelers: plus-15.
QB Jameis Winston. He's coming off a career-game (497 yards, 4 TDs) on Monday that he spoiled by throwing a pair of pick-6s at Denver. Winston has revived Cleveland's offense and perhaps become a legitimate option for the team to consider as its starter in 2025. Another solid performance or win against a division rival could make it harder for the Browns to move on without him.
LB Nick Herbig. The 2023 fourth-round pick is coming into his own in his second season. Herbig's strip-sack of Joe Burrow last week was scooped up by teammate Pauton Wilson, who raced in for a clinching touchdown. Herbig has had at least a half-sack in three of his past four games and with starting OLB Alex Highsmith's expected return, Herbig should be even fresher when he comes on the field in passing situations.
Browns CB Greg Newsome II vs. Steelers WR George Pickens. Grab your popcorn anytime these two face off or are in each other's vicinity. They fought on the final play when the Browns upset the Steelers two weeks ago with their tussle spilling off the field after a Hail Mary pass got batted down in the end zone. Afterward, Newsome called the fiery Pickens “a fake tough guy.”
Browns: WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) has been out since being hurt on a hard hit in the third quarter against the Steelers last month. He missed practice time this week along with LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee), S Juan Thornhill (calf) and rookie WR Jamari Thrash (shoulder).
Steelers: LB Alex Highsmith (ankle) should return after missing each of Pittsburgh's past four games. DT Montravius Adams (knee) could also be available for the first time since getting hurt in a win over the New York Jets on Oct. 20.
Cleveland has lost 20 straight regular-season games in Pittsburgh. Tim Couch was the Browns' starting QB when they beat the Steelers 33-13 on Oct. 5, 2003. ... The Browns haven't swept the season series since 1988. Pittsburgh has taken the two-game set from the Browns 16 times over that span. The Browns are 1-22 in the regular season at Acrisure Stadium, though they did beat the Steelers in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
Their playoff hopes long over, the Browns find themselves in a spoiler role over the final five games. ... Cleveland is guaranteed to finish with a losing record for the 22nd time since 1999. ... Winston is averaging a league-leading 336 yards passing per game since becoming the full-time starter in Week 8. ... While going 2-3 in five starts, Winston has had two of the top eight passing performances in Browns history. ... Cleveland rolled up 552 yards on Monday, its most since 2007 and just 10 short of the club record. ... Browns WR Jerry Jeudy got the revenge he was looking for against the Broncos, setting career highs with nine catches for 235 yards. Jeudy spent four seasons in Denver before being traded. He had six catches for 85 yards in the first matchup against the Steelers. ... DE Myles Garrett needs 1 1/2 sacks to reach 100 in his career. He had three, including a strip-sack of QB Russell Wilson, in Cleveland's win last month. He has 12 in 13 games against the Steelers. ... Garrett said the previous matchup was personal after Steelers star OLB T.J. Watt had indicated he felt he should have been the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 over the Browns edge rusher. Browns RB Nick Chubb will play in Pittsburgh for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury there in Week 2 last year. Chubb had a pair of 2-yard TD runs in the team's first matchup. ... Cleveland's defense has been susceptible to big plays. The Browns gave up a 93-yard TD pass to the Broncos. Overall, they've allowed 48 plays of at least 20 yards and 12 of 40 or better. ... The Steelers have won 5 of 6 since Wilson took over as quarterback in Week 7, the lone loss the Thursday night upset in the snow to Cleveland last month. Pittsburgh has a 1 1/2-game lead over Baltimore in the race for the AFC North title. The Steelers have already won nine division crowns since the division was introduced in 2002. Cleveland, Baltimore and Cincinnati have combined for the 12 other titles. ... Wilson's 414 yards passing last week against Cincinnati marked the second-highest total in his 13-year career. ... Pittsburgh has already clinched its 21st straight season of .500 or better, tied with Dallas (1965-85) for the longest such streak in the league since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. ... Watt was held in check two weeks ago, failing to get a sack or a quarterback hit while finishing with just four tackles. It's been a feast-or-famine season for the perennial All-Pro. Watt has not had a sack in five games this season, the most games without one since 2018 (eight). ... Pittsburgh DT Cam Heyward is turning back the clock at 35. Heyward is tied for fifth in the league in tackles for loss among defensive tackles (eight) and his eight passes defended are the most in the league by a defensive lineman. ... Steelers RB Najee Harris topped 4,000 yards rushing last week against Cincinnati. Harris is one of three players to have 4,000 yards rushing and 1,100 yards receiving since 2021, joining Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs. Harris needs 176 yards to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the fourth straight season, which would move him into third place in franchise history for most 1,000-yard seasons. ... Steelers K Chris Boswell is putting together one of the best seasons by a kicker in NFL history. Boswell leads the league in scoring (128 points) and is 34 of 37 on field-goal attempts. One of his three misses came in blustery Cleveland in the first meeting.
A shootout could be in order considering the direction both teams are heading. In that case, might be a good idea to give Winston a chance (assuming you don't get penalized for interceptions that turn into pick-6s). Pittsburgh's secondary has been gettable in recent weeks and if the Steelers find their way to the lead, expect Winston to let it fly regularly.
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