Tag: Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

3 Keys to a Browns victory over the Steelers

3 Keys to a Browns victory over the Steelers

The Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers are ready for some Thursday Night Football. The 3-6 Cleveland Browns will host the 5-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are currently riding a four game winning streak. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams last week 17-12 at home. Meanwhile the Browns are coming off a last minute win against the Buffalo Bills, 19-16.

For the Browns, their season remains on the line as they have to keep winning games from here on out. Here are three keys to a Browns victory:

HUNT AND CHUBB: It seems so simple sometimes. When Hunt was on the field with Chubb. There was an immediate impact. Hunt showed he can do it all with blocking, run, and make critical catches out of the slot or backfield. It didn’t impact Nick Chubb’s numbers on the ground either. Sure, you don’t want to take his numbers away but it’s nice to have a back-up that can keep Chubb fresh throughout the game.

FREDDIE KITCHENS: Freddie has been on the hot seat the past few weeks. A win over the Bills helped that for a week. Can he make it two in a row? Kitchens has shown he is clearly a rookie head coach. Maybe he is growing like this young. Can he make sure his guys keep the penalties down? Not make a bad challenge? Get the plays in on time? Keep the right players in at the right times? Last week, most would argue that the Browns despite Freddie. That might be true but it does seem like Freddie is starting to figure some things out.

Take away Conner or JuJu: The Steelers two studs on offense are clearly wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner. For the Browns the simple equation is just take one of those away. For quarterback Mason Rudolph to find different options when his two games are struggling during the game.

The Browns and Steelers kick off at 8:20 p.m. on FOX. Browns are 3-point favorites.

Week 11 Fantasy Preview: Browns vs Steelers

Week 11 Fantasy Preview: Browns vs Steelers

How should fantasy football players handle the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers? Is Kareem Hunt worth starting? What about Baker Mayfield or Mason Rudolph?

The Matchup

Since the acquisition of Minkah Fitzpatrick, safety, the Steelers defense has been why the Steelers have won games. The defensive unit been opportunistic and applies pressure on opposing defenses from all levels of the field. Additionally, the defense has not allowed the sins of their offense to penalize the team on their four-game winning streak. Especially when the offense has gone three consecutive weeks turning the ball over on their opening drive.

While the defense has been great, I will ask this question of everyone reading this: “who have the Steelers played!?”

In Week 10 the Steelers played the broken down L.A. Rams coming to the east coach. Week 9 saw the Steelers knock Jacoby Brissett out early and go against Brian Hoyer for the majority of the game. The Week 8 Miami Dolphins put up a fight for the first half and then completely lost offensive momentum to sustain a lead. Finally, the Week 6 Chargers were led by Phillip Rivers’ strong two-interception game and Melvin Gordon trying to knock off the rust from a lengthy holdout.

What about the opposing weapons? They have to be better against this new age “Steel Curtain”, right? The media is clamoring about how great the Steelers defense is. They must have shut down amazing levels of talent on the opposing side of the field. In Week 10 the Steelers did a great job shutting down Cooper Kupp for the first time all season. The Rams also didn’t have Brandin Cooks and have dealt with significant injuries to their offensive line recently.

The Colts have been putting a band-aid on their pass-catchers with TY Hilton out. Their keynote wide receiver has been Zach Pascal. The Miami Dolphins were running out the dynamic combination of Preston Williams and DeVante Parker. I bet this defensive secondary would do great against the wide receivers in the Washington Redskins or the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This should not be a shock to anyone after reading the above information. The Browns may be the best offense the Steelers have faced since their Week 5 opponent, the Baltimore Ravens.

Baker Mayfield

The Steelers have on average allowed 216 passing yards and 1.7 passing touchdowns over their last three games, which includes a zero touchdown game from Jared Goff. While this is a small sample size, I think Jared Goff’s meltdown can really make their defense look better than it really is. Baker Mayfield should be considered a top-15 quarterback in a decent matchup at home.

Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt

I am lumping these two together because there are still a lot of questions about total opportunity splits between these two. Week 10 saw Kareem Hunt earn 13 opportunities to touch the ball (9 targets and 4 rushes) and Nick Chubb saw 24 opportunities (20 rushes and 4 targets). It is still too early to say if those numbers will shift dependent on game script or hot hand. I would be willing to consider both FIRMLY in the top-24 conversation and Hunt would also be a great FLEX play.

Odell Beckham Jr.

In Week 10 Beckham earned his highest number of targets of the season and his first double-digit target game since Week 6 against the Seahawks. Additionally, the voluminous target share came in a negative matchup against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. In Week 11, OBJ draws former Browns cornerback Joe Hayden. This may be the softest cornerback matchup OBJ has seen since Week 6 against the Seahawks when he erupted for his first 100-yard game of the season. This Week 11 matchup has the makings of a breakout game for Odell Beckham Jr. He should be considered a top-5 option on the week.

Jarvis Landry

There is no doubt Jarvis Landry is the best wide receiver on the Cleveland Browns right now. He is a leader with his game play and how he works on the sideline. For fantasy teams, Jarvis Landry is a steady WR2. He will get you exactly what you were hoping for from the position and show up every week. I would have no worries about getting him into your lineup.

Biggest question

I don’t know if Antonio Callaway is out of the doghouse or if Rashard Higgins will be given his opportunity to play more. I would love to see Higgins on the field because of his undeniable connection with Baker Mayfield and his route running ability. I would not trust either one in my lineup.

Update: Callaway has been cut.