The Pittsburgh Steelers are traveling to Cleveland to play the Browns on Thursday Night Football, and two weeks before Thanksgiving, there’s the potential for some winter weather. Per the National Weather Service in Cleveland, there’s expected to be snow around Cleveland on Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, with the city of Cleveland having a 42% chance to experience some form of snow. There’s also a 3% chance that Cleveland could get two or more inches of snow by Thursday night.
Unlike the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Wild Card Round matchup with the Buffalo Bills, there’s not nearly enough snow projected to warrant a postponement of the game or really account for any issues. And AFC North football in the snow is always more fun though the weather might affect the field conditions and the ball conditions if it snows during the game. It could lead to a game where both teams rely more on the run.
There’s a good chance that Cleveland itself isn’t impacted by snow, however, and with Huntington Bank Stadium being located inside the city, it may be unaffected. But it’s location near the water could make for frigid conditions, especially with wind gusts expected to reach 30-40 MPH at times. Per Cleveland NWS, the low snow amounts wouldn’t warrant a blizzard warning, and the snow is expected to be wet, which means it should melt relatively easily.
It probably won’t factor too much into the game, but the fact that snow is in the forecast is worth monitoring, and if nothing else, it would create a nice aesthetic for a primetime game between two AFC North rivals. At 8-2, Pittsburgh is looking to clinch a winning record for 2024 while the 2-8 Browns will want to play spoiler and get a win over a team they don’t like very much.
The weather could muck the game up, but that could benefit Pittsburgh, which has seen Najee Harris emerge over the past few weeks and play like one of the best backs in the league. If the game does turn to the ground, the advantage would be in Pittsburgh’s favor. Nick Chubb has not quite looked like himself following his return from a devastating knee injury sustained early last season and Pittsburgh’s run defense is having more success than Cleveland so far this season.
The forecast will likely be a little clearer tomorrow and early in the day on Thursday, but there’s definitely a chance we see a few flakes on Thursday Night Football.
