The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to get their fourth win of the 2021 season in Week 8 by beating the (4-3) Cleveland Browns on the road on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. Not surprisingly, the Steelers opened Week 8 on Tuesday as 3.5-point consensus road underdogs to the Browns, according to vegasinsider.com.
The Browns, who are coached by Kevin Stefanski, are led offensively by fourth-year quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is currently dealing with a left shoulder injury that might result in him missing Sunday’s game. So far this season, Mayfield has completed 116 of his 173 total pass attempts for 1,474 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also been sacked 18 times so far this season.
Should Mayfield not be able to play on Sunday against the Steelers, backup quarterback Case Keenum will make his second consecutive start. He has completed 22 of his 36 total pass attempts so far this season for 205 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He’s been sacked just once in his limited playing time.
Browns running back Kareen Hunt, who is currently on the team’s Reserve/Injured list, leads the team in receptions entering Week 8 with 20 for 161 yards. Tight end David Njoku is behind him with 17 receptions for 284 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is third on the team with 16 receptions for 226 yards. Tight end Austin Hooper leads the team in receiving touchdown with two.
Browns running back Nick Chubb leads the team in rushing entering Week 8 with 523 yards and four touchdowns on his 90 total carries. Hunt, who will not play against the Steelers on Sunday, has chipped in 361 yards and five rushing touchdowns on his 69 total carries this season.
Defensively for the Browns entering Week 8, linebacker Anthony Walker leads the team in total tackles with 35. The Browns defense has 20 sacks on the season entering Week 8 and defensive end Myles Garrett has the team lead with 9.5 of them. Garrett also leads the Browns in quarterback hits with 18.
The Browns have just three interceptions on the season with safety John Johnson, cornerback Greedy Williams and linebacker Malcolm Smith each registering one. Entering Week 8, the Browns defense has managed just four takeaways on the season. The team also has one takeaway on special teams as well.
All-time, the Steelers and Browns have met each other 139 times (including three postseason games), with Cleveland winning 61 games and Pittsburgh winning 77 games. The two teams have also tied once. The Steelers are 22-6-1 against the Browns under head coach Mike Tomlin, and 8-5-1 against them at Cleveland.
The last time the Steelers and Browns played was in the 2020 super Wild Card game. The Browns won that game 48-37 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The last meeting between the two teams in Cleveland took place in Week 17 of the 2020 season, and the Browns won that game 24-22.
For his career and including the playoffs, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 24-3-1 against the Browns all-time and 11-2-1 on the road against them. He has thrown for 7,008 yards and 45 touchdowns against the Browns during his career with 26 interceptions.
The Sunday game between the Steelers and Browns will be shown on CBS with Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson on the call.
