The Cleveland Browns are set to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium tomorrow at one p.m. The two faced merely two weeks ago when the Browns upset the Steelers on a snow-covered Huntington Bank Field 24 to 19.
The Browns as a whole have not beaten the Steelers on their home Pittsburgh turf since 2003. On top of that, the Browns haven’t swept the Steelers since 1988, a 26-year-long drought.
Cleveland has a meager chance of completing the sweep simply based on historical precedent. However, Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston proved in the Thursday night game that the Browns are willing and able to go toe-to-toe with some of the better teams in the league.
In this case, the Browns would simply have to get into the heads of Pittsburgh’s players again to have a chance. Steelers wide receiver George Pickens had an opportunity to give his team a stronger chance at victory on the final play of the last game between the two, but instead chose to fight with Browns defensive back Greg Newsome II instead of going for the ball.
Even if that doesn’t happen again, the Browns could still pull out a win. Jameis Winston would just need to exude the same energy he did on that Thursday Night Football game and pick apart the Steelers’ wishy-washy secondary. Couple that with a ferocious runner in a healthy Nick Chubb and you have that much more of a chance at victory.
The Steelers, under Mike Tomlin, also have a tendency to overlook ‘bad’ opponents and brush them off, which is what likely occurred in the Thursday Night Football game. While Pittsburgh may take the Browns a little more seriously this time around, there is a strong chance that they could be looking ahead to their game with Philadelphia.
Cleveland did a pretty good job of controlling TJ Watt, rendering him entirely useless in the Thursday Night Football game. That will have to happen again, although Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith is set to come back from injury for this game.
All in all, the Browns have to exploit the Steelers’ defense by using Nick Chubb and getting Jameis Winston going early on in the game. The Browns’ defense will also have to control Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, which they did a pretty good job of during the Thursday Night game.
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