A weekly article we post that gives a brief overview of how national media members view the Pittsburgh Steelers’ odds. Just a skinny summary of notable names who are picking for or against Pittsburgh. We’ll see who gets it right most often. If they offer a score prediction, we’ll include that too. When applicable, I’ll toss in the predictions from Dave Bryan and myself just to see how we stack up.
Today, predictions for the Steelers’ Week 14 rematch against the Cleveland Browns.
Those Picking The Steelers
Maurice Jones-Drew/NFL Network: Steelers (23-20)
Sam Farmer/LA Times: Steelers (27-23)
Eric Edholm/NFL Network: Steelers (24-23)
Nate Davis/USA Today: Steelers (24-20)
Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk: Steelers (27-20)
Bucky Brooks/NFL Network: Steelers (24-17)
Dave Bryan/Steelers Depot: Steelers (23-13)
Vinnie Iyer/Sporting News: Steelers (24-10)
Daniel Jeremiah/NFL Network: Steelers (31-20)
Pete Prisco/CBS Sports: Steelers (23-21)
Colleen Wolfe/NFL Network: Steelers (24-20)
Chris Simms/Pro Football Talk: Steelers (28-24)
Alex Kozora/Steelers Depot: Steelers (26-16)
Pat McAfee/Pat McAfee Show: Steelers
Those Picking The Browns
A.J. Hawk/Pat McAfee Show: Browns
Totals
Those Picking The Steelers: 14
Those Picking The Browns: 1
Quick Notes
– To be clear, Hawk is taking the Browns to cover the 6.5-point line, not necessarily to win. The show doesn’t make score predictions.
– If the Pittsburgh Steelers win, they will officially eliminate the Cleveland Browns from playoff contention.
– A Pittsburgh win would also give them 10 on the season and their 11th double-digit win season since Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. Over that span, the only two teams who have more are the New England Patriots (13) and Kansas City Chiefs (12). The Green Bay Packers currently have 11 and could reach 12 while the Baltimore Ravens also have 10 and could reach 11 by the end of the year.
– Since becoming his team’s starting quarterback, Jameis Winston has led the Browns’ offense to 21.8 points per game. For Russell Wilson, the Steelers are averaging 28.7 PPG with him at the helm. Both are improvements over the men they replaced.
– Pittsburgh posted a minus-6.73 EXP (expected points) on special teams in last week’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, their worst mark of the year.
– Winston has thrown seven interceptions in his five starts, including a pair of three-pick games. Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions all season.
– While the Steelers don’t have a good recent track record on the road against Cleveland, they’re spotless at home. Pittsburgh has won their last 20 regular season games when hosting Cleveland. Their last loss came in 2003, a game started by Tim Couch and Tommy Maddox.
