Jameis Winston and team’s response to Kevin Stefanski could key a Browns victory on TNF versus the Steelers
It’s a Thursday Night Football primetime game for the Cleveland Browns. Sitting at 2-8, the Browns will be at home under the lights against their divisional rival the Pittsburgh Steelers. This game has massive implications behind it.
Kickoff is at 8:15 PM. The game will be broadcast on Amazon, but for people who live in Ohio, it will be broadcast locally on WEWS Channel 5. Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung will be on the call.
Here are the 3 things to watch for that could change the game for Cleveland:
How will the energy surrounding the team leading up to kickoff?
People will disagree about this but I will be interested to see how the energy will be surrounding the team leading up to Thursday night. Considering how this season has gone with all of their dreams and aspirations being dashed away, it’s important to see how the team will look leading up to kickoff. Judging by the tea leaves, I expect half of the stadium to be filled with Steelers fans (considering half of the state is filled with Steelers fans). Despite the energy surrounding the team being at an all-time low, will the players play with a point to prove or will the team come out flat which could end up with people potentially losing their jobs in the process? Thursday night will be telling.
Will the Browns defense put together a better outing than they did last Sunday?
Cleveland’s defense had a rough outing last week against the New Orleans Saints. For whatever the case may be, they had issues stopping New Orleans Saints swiss army knife that is Taysom Hill as he pretty much did whatever he wanted. This week, the defense will be prepared to take on quarterback Russell Wilson and the Steelers offense.
The Steelers offense isn’t unstoppable by any means, this offense will have moments of looking inept for most of the game before flipping a switch later on. As far as the passing game goes, outside of wide receiver George Pickens and tight end Pat Friermuth it’s less to be desired. Baltimore’s much-maligned pass defense was able to keep Pittsburgh’s passing in check for most of the game by taking away the deep ball and forcing Wilson to take things underneath. Not to mention, Baltimore was able to create pressure and sack Wilson.
If Cleveland wants a chance to win this game, getting pressure and taking away the deep ball is a start. As far as the running game, the Browns defense will need to defend the run better against a Steelers offensive line that can move people.
Will QB Jameis Winston put together consistent performances?
Similar to the Joe Flacco experience, the Jameis Winston experience is a lot similar where the highs are really high and the lows are really low. Winston had an efficient outing last week against the New Orleans Saints defense but the Steelers defense poses a much stiffer task.
Pittsburgh’s secondary isn’t necessarily lockdown as you can move the ball on them but they are good. The last time the Steelers gave up over 300 yards passing was against the Dallas Cowboys. Granted, the Browns offense isn’t necessarily potent but the offense had one of their better outings of the season despite only scoring 14 points. If Winston can keep the turnovers down to a minimum and push the ball down the field effectively, Cleveland can pull off a win. Pittsburgh will make you pay for your mistakes, so Winston needs to play turnover-free football for the Browns to have a chance.
Do you think the Browns have a chance on Thursday Night Football? If so, what do you think will help them beat the Steelers? Share your thoughts below in the comments