The breaking news on Wednesday was Deshaun Watson being ruled out for the season with a fracture in his shoulder. This came as a complete surprise. A rotator cuff issue was already known, and he came out of the Browns’ Week Nine game with a high ankle sprain as well. He was able to finish the game and played really well against the Baltimore Ravens, so it was assumed he would be good to go against the Steelers.
Following the news, the Browns announced rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the starter for this game. He started one other game this season, the Browns’ first game against the Ravens, and the Cleveland offense managed just three points in a blowout loss. The stat line wasn’t pretty, either. He threw the ball 36 times, completing 19 passes for 121 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. He also put the ball on the ground once, but the Browns managed to recover.
Given the Steelers’ own offensive woes, the over/under for this game is fittingly low. In fact, it is currently the second lowest consensus over/under of the last decade at 33, according to Evan Abrams of the Action Network.
The over/under has been on a precipitous decline since the Watson news broke after opening at 38. Since Evan’s tweet, it has continued to fall another point, so it may continue on that trajectory before Sunday. The lowest of the last decade was set at 32.5 by oddsmakers just a year ago in a windy and snowy game between the New Orleans Saints and the Browns. With a line that low, the under still hit with a final score of 17-10. Even the infamous no-quarterback game for the Denver Broncos during Covid had an over/under of 36.5 at kickoff.
The Browns have allowed a league-low 2,184 yards this season through nine games and the Steelers have the third-fewest yards gained with 2,552. Add in the rookie quarterback for the Browns and it is no surprise that the over/under is as low as it is.
