Week 11 NFL Expert Predictions: Pittsburgh At Cleveland

To say that it has been a bit of a down year so far for the AFC North is putting things a little too mildly. The Baltimore Ravens are the surprise leaders right now, while the Steelers, Bengals, and Browns are all sitting below them with sub .500 records. The Cleveland Browns are winless, and have been forced to use a seemingly endless string of QB’s, as they have been hit hard by the injury bug. This weekend they will host the Steelers, a talented team that is on a bit of a slide now. The Pittsburgh defense is not holding up its end of the bargain, and the team is playing undisciplined football. The spotlight is on Coach Tomlin, which is not something you see a whole lot of in Pittsburgh. This would appear to represent the perfect opportunity for the Steelers to get back on track, as they have had some real success over the Browns in recent years. Pittsburgh is coming into this one as an 8-point favorite.

A Closer Look At The Week 11 NFL Expert Predictions: Steelers At Browns

When: Sunday, November 20 at 1 PM EST Where: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland TV: CBS Radio: WDVE and WKRK Live Stream: CBS Sports Network NFL Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers season can best be encapsulated in their performance against the Dallas Cowboys last weekend. The offense was on fire, taking the lead on a fake spike with just 42 seconds left on the clock. Slack defense and a couple of dumb penalties allowed the Cowboys to quickly march up the field to come away with the 35-30 win. That loss now means that the Steelers are coming into this one having dropped 4 straight, and they need to start picking up some wins while the Ravens, and the playoffs, are still in sight. They are 3-1 SU versus the Browns in their last 4 meetings, but are also just 2-2 ATS in those games.

Why bet on the Cleveland Browns

You need to go back a few years to find the last time a team went 0-16, but this Cleveland Browns team seem to have what it takes to match the Detroit Lions squad that put up that record. In fairness to the Browns, they have been absolutely hammered by injuries, most notably at the QB position, where there seems to be someone new under center every week. Earlier in the season, the Browns were putting up a good fight, but a lot of that tenacity appears to have gone out of them, to the point where it appears many of the players on this team are resigned to a winless season. The Browns are just 2-8 ATS this season, although they are 1-1 ATS versus division opponents.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

The pressure is on in Pittsburgh, but I believe there will be some relief for the Steelers this weekend, as this is a game they should win going away. Big Ben always plays well versus Cleveland, so look for some big numbers out of him.

Pittsburgh Steelers 42 Cleveland Browns 20