Steelers Look to Control of AFC North
The Cleveland Browns head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in an AFC North showdown early Sunday. The Steelers have a perfect 4-0 record, while the Browns got demolished in Week 1 by Baltimore but since then have not lost, rolling to a 4-1 record.
The Cleveland offense appears to have found some real balance, with a running game keyed by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, to take some of the pressure off Baker Mayfield. In Pittsburgh, the offense is running smoothly thanks to the return of Big Ben to the lineup, and the defense has been ironclad.
Check out our thoughts on this exciting matchup and make sure to lock in your bet before Sunday at JAZZSports. Don’t forget to use HHS100 as your bonus code to get a 150% Free Play Bonus.
NFL: Cleveland at Pittsburgh (October 18)
When: Sunday, October 18, 2020, 1:00 pm ET
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
TV: CBS
Radio: WCNX 98.5 FM Cleveland / WBGG 970 AM Pittsburgh
JAZZ Sports Odds: Pittsburgh -3.5 / Total 51 *
*Odds are subject to change
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Why Cleveland Will Win
Even with the temporary loss of Nick Chubb to a knee injury, Kareem Hunt has picked up the slack, leading the team with 347 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Baker Mayfield has thrown for 976 yards with a 9:4 TD:INT ratio, completing 61.2% of his passes.
Odell Beckham Jr leads Cleveland in passing yards with 294, with three touchdowns, and Jarvis Landry has 21 catches for 279 yards — and a touchdown pass to Beckham on a trick play in the team’s win over Dallas. Tight end Austin Hooper has picked up 153 receiving yards.
On defense, Myles Garrett is second in the NFL with six sacks, and B.J. Goodson leads the Browns with 36 tackles, including 23 of the solo variety. The Browns need to figure out how to start beating the likes of the Steelers and the Ravens if they want to contend in the division.
They haven’t covered in four straight AFC North games, while Pittsburgh has covered in seven of their last 10 AFC North games. Since 2004, Pittsburgh is 25-4-1 against Cleveland. If you like the Browns, you see their early season consistency beating a Steelers team that let Philadelphia score 29 points last week.
Why Steelers Will Win
Ben Roethlisberger has put together a terrific start to 2020 after missing most of 2019 due to an elbow injury. Through four games, he has 1,016 passing yards and a 10:1 TD:INT ratio, completing almost 70 percent of his passes. James Conner leads the running game with 266 yards and three scores on the ground, and Benny Snell Jr has 148 rushing yards.
Chase Claypool is tops on the team with 251 passing yards and four touchdown catches after his huge game against the Eagles. Roethlisberger has spread the ball around, as JuJu Smith-Schuster, Eric Ebron, Diontae Johnson and James Washington all have over 100 receiving yards already.
Mike Hilton leads the defense with 29 tackles (27 solo), with three sacks. T.J. Watt leads Pittsburgh with 4 ½ sacks, with Stephon Tuitt (3 ½) and Bud Dupree (3) right behind him. Pittsburgh has covered in five of their last seven home games, and the home team has covered in each of the last four meetings between these two teams.
The Final Word
It’s great to see Big Ben back, but the Browns have some mojo rolling right now. Pittsburgh is undefeated, but knocking off the likes of Houston and Philadelphia isn’t as impressive as going down to Dallas and hanging 49 on the Cowboys, or putting up 32 on a Colts defense that held the Vikings to 11 points. I like Cleveland to go to Pittsburgh and pull off the upset.
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