A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns punched the Pittsburgh Steelers in the mouth. A shocking 24-19 loss shook some of the public’s faith in the Steelers. They got back on track last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, but this week, they can really bounce back by avenging that loss to the Browns. Analyst Mike Florio believes the Browns will push the Steelers to the limit but will ultimately fail to win.
“I think they’ll show up and give the Steelers everything they can handle,” Florio said Thursday on Chris Simms Unbuttoned. “It’s a great spoiler opportunity as the Steelers try to win the division. But I think at the end of the day, the Steelers get this win, rectify what went wrong a couple of weeks ago.”
At this point, the 3-9 Browns don’t have much to play for, other than pride. They’re in the basement of the AFC North, and their playoff hopes for this year are dead. However, that doesn’t mean they’re going to give up and just allow the Steelers to win this week. This is probably going to be an intense battle.
After the Steelers’ loss in Cleveland, George Pickens made some comments about the Browns still being a worse team. That’s probably going to have Cleveland motivated this week. Beating the Steelers would do so much for the Browns.
For starters, the Browns haven’t won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh since 2003. That alone is probably enough for them to want to capture victory, and they could also spoil the Steelers’ hopes for the AFC North crown. Although the Steelers could still win the division if they lose this game, it would make the race far too tight to feel comfortable.
However, the Steelers want to be a serious contender, so they know they have to handle business in the AFC North. The Browns aren’t the only team with motivation to win this game. The Steelers beat the Bengals thanks to an offensive explosion, and they’re likely going to want to have a similar showing against the Browns.
For most of this season, the Steelers have been better than the Browns. They just so happened to have a bad day when the two teams played on Nov. 21. No matter how badly the Browns want to play spoiler, the Steelers are going to do everything to protect their field. Before they face a stretch of more competitive teams, the Steelers need to put the Browns to bed.
