However, it carries zero meaning for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It seems like they are quite content with the #3 seed, so they are leaving a whole bunch of starters back in Pittsburgh today. Pouncey, TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward, Joe Haden and most significantly Cleveland Browns liquidator Big Ben will all be meeting up at Fuel & Fuddle in Oakland to watch the game. So that means instigator Mason Rudolph will be under center for the Steelers, and you can bet that the CBS pregame discussion will spend a good amount of time on the incident from last year. I wrote a bit about the fight afterwards, and there’s not much more to say a year later. Myles Garrett has done everything and more to restore his reputation as a player and as a man, and Mason Rudolph has gone on to attempt 4 passes this entire season. At this point, both guys are saying the right things about the game today, and deflecting the attention towards their respective teams as a whole. But I bet dollars to doughnuts that Myles Garrett can’t wait to wreak havoc on the Steeler backfield and help put this Browns team in a position to win their way into the playoffs.
As far as the actual game is concerned, it is really difficult to get a sense of how this game could unfold. Mike Tomlin is one of the all-time great coaches in this league, and a master motivator to his team. The guys that will suit up for Pittsburgh today are likely playing for their jobs, and desperately need a little good tape on themselves for the upcoming offseason. That’s a pretty strong motivator, and also nobody is in this league by accident, so these guys are NFL players that are capable of making plays. It looks like Vegas has the Browns around a 9 point favorite, which at first glance seems like a lot of points to cover. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like if the Browns offense is clicking they can score 35 points on anybody, and if the defense is even just average the Browns ought to cover that point spread easily. But I have watched a whole bunch of these games come down to the last possession. Also, the Browns are missing Denzel Ward, Andrew Sendejo, BJ Goodson, Harrison Bryant, and maybe Wyatt Teller, and all are impact players on this team. The point is that even though the Steelers are resting a lot of starters, these two teams are closer than it might appear.
One area where these teams are miles apart are in the run game. With Chubb and Hunt, the Browns have one of the best rushing attacks in the league averaging 145 yds/game and 4.7 yds/carry. The Steelers are dead last in running the football at 84.4 yds/game. (Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, and Rocky Bleier must be horrified,) And in the last 5 games Pittsburgh has averaged a measly 2.8 yards per attempt, so despite James Conner’s success in the past, I expect the Steelers will struggle mightily to run the ball today. On the flip side, I anticipate a run heavy attack from the Browns and they are more likely to have 53 rushing attempts as opposed to 53 pass attempts like last week. Furthermore, I can’t imagine the Steelers are going to invest much in their defense against the Browns, there’s a good chance we would play each other again next week, so Tomlin probably wants to keep his defense pretty vanilla today. Baker has his wide receivers back this week, and hopefully they can stretch the defense enough to let Chubb and Hunt do their damage. One thing of concern for the Browns is their struggles on 3rd and short, and especially on 4th and short. I love that Stefanski likes going for it on fourth down, but we really struggle with the quarterback sneak. I think in those scenarios today the ball will be in Chubb’s hands almost every single time. That is an area that the Browns have got to get cleaned up heading into the playoffs. (If the ghost of Otto Graham is willing.) Even typing the words “kicking game” sends shivers down my spine because journeyman Cody Parkey has been a train wreck as of late. Today I don’t anticipate Parkey having pressure filled moments, but I can tell you he had better make every extra point if he wants to have a job the following week. Like I said earlier, I think the Browns can get a lead early, probably Pittsburgh will struggle to move the ball, and the Browns running game can eat a lot of clock. I think despite all the pressure and the ramifications of this game, I expect Stefanski’s unflappable demeanor to permeate this team, and this will be a very workmanlike effort today, much like the Giants game 2 weeks ago. I think the Browns will come out ahead today 24-17 and head into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Go Browns.
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