Pittsburgh Steelers (+2)* at Cleveland Browns
In this ‘trading places’ rematch of Week 1’s AFC North battle, the Browns will now host the Steelers, and enter the game as the favorite. Cleveland not only mounted a furious comeback against Pittsburgh in their opening meeting – ultimately, it fell short – but the Browns have had all four games played decided by a field goal or less. Oddly enough, for Cleveland to cover the small spread, they would need to win by at least three points, which would be the high watermark for their 2014 season, so far.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, and while we prepared for these two teams meeting on Opening Day, we included a caveat for this eventual rematch, citing that Cleveland would be the better pick later in the season. The reasoning? The edge goes to the underdog on the road as the season develops. Few would have expected that, in this matchup, it would be the Steelers.
Inconsistent as Pittsburgh has been – alternating wins and losses, losing by twenty points then winning by eighteen – Cleveland has only curried favor thanks to late-game heroics. They were beaten for three quarters last Sunday against Tennessee, and shellacked in their first two against Pittsburgh weeks ago.
The Steelers make it a complete game on Sunday, handing the Browns a touchdown loss and beating the spread.
