We have officially made it to the season finale. The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten hot at the right time and their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. For the final week of the season, they welcome the Cleveland Browns who are well out of playoff contention and are looking to play spoiler. Although the Steelers need help from the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, they need to take care of their own business to close out the inaugural season at Acrisure Stadium. The young playmakers have stepped up big in the last few weeks and with so much on the line on Sunday afternoon, they can’t hold anything back.
Steelers' Cameron Heyward (#97) and head coach Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to when the Steelers take on the Browns.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: This week’s matchup looks a lot different than what we saw back in the third week of the season. Kenny Pickett gets his first shot at the team from Cleveland and the offense has seen significant cohesion since September. Besides the impressive play of Pickett, the Pittsburgh rushing attack has been critical in that cohesion. Further, it seems as though the Browns have revealed their own blueprint of how to defeat them and this is the biggest matchup to watch on offense. That being the Steelers’ rushing attack, featuring Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren behind a quietly-steady offensive line versus Myles Garrett and the Browns’ defensive front.
That blueprint I mentioned mimics what Cleveland schemes when they have the ball; run the ball. The double-headed monster of Harris and Warren has only gotten better with age. In the last three weeks, the duo has tallied 481 all-purpose yards with 387 of those coming on the ground. Included in those yards are three touchdowns to cap it off. Meanwhile, the Cleveland rush defense has floundered all season. They’re currently allowing an average of over 134 rushing yards per game with an average of 4.8 yards per carry. There is no guessing Harris and Warren are going to see multiple opportunities even with Garrett in the game.
Steelers' Najee Harris (#22) finds his way through the Cleveland Browns' defense in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Dan Moore Jr. and the offensive line have done well in recent history in minimizing Garrett in the game. In their last three games, Moore Jr. and company has held Garrett to only seven total tackles with a single sack. To add onto that, the Browns’ defense saw some turmoil this past week as Jadeveon Clowney made it clear he won’t be playing in Cleveland next season and will not participate in this game. With the Steelers’ successfully playing the entire season with the same starting offensive line in recent history combined with a weak Cleveland front, all signs lead to big games from Harris and Warren.
Defense: As I alluded to above, the Browns’ offense focuses heavily on a ‘run first’ mentality. Nick Chubb has been running over almost every defense they’ve faced this season and is averaging 5 yards per carry. Looking back at the week three matchup, Chubb put up 113 yards on the ground with a touchdown on 23 carries. This matchup is one Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and the defensive front seven highlight each time they see Cleveland. Although there is another character to the Cleveland backfield with Kareem Hunt, the pressure will be on the defense to stack the box, collapse on the line, and force Deshaun Watson to get uncomfortable in the pocket. Ironically enough, this leads to the second matchup to watch; Watson and Amari Cooper versus Cam Sutton.
Steelers' Cam Sutton (#20) gets ready to take on the New Orleans Saints in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Cooper gave Pittsburgh fits back in September. He was able to rack up over 100 yards catching on seven receptions with a touchdown. Since Watson joined the team in week 13, Cooper has posted 317 yards on 19 receptions with a pair of touchdowns. That equates to an average of 16.7 yards per reception. Sutton is slated to line up across from Cooper with presumably safety help over the top. Sutton is clearly going to have his hands full accounting for Cooper.
However, outside of Cooper, Watson hasn’t had much success through the air. He’s only been able to squander a 36.7 quarterback rating with a 56.7 completion percentage and 872 yards through the air. In addition, he's tossed three interceptions with five touchdowns. Therefore, the formula on defense should be fairly straightforward. If they limit Chubb and Cooper, Watson has shown he's still accustomed to live action and isn’t what he was in Houston; good things will happen for the defense.
PREDICTION
The last time Cleveland swept Pittsburgh was in 1988. Since then, the Steelers are 46-12-1. Seeing how Pickett and the offense is humming with the season on the line, it is hard to bet against the home team this week. Prediction, Steelers 23, Browns 16.
FINAL THOUGHTS
By now, we are all aware of head coach Mike Tomlin’s winning-record streak that is at stake this week. With that being said, Pickett continues his historic rookie season by setting another record last week in Baltimore. Pickett is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of regulation. In addition, he leads all other rookie quarterbacks in passing yards this season with 2,209 yards through the air. Finally, I find it worth noting the Browns have not finished a season with a better record season since 1989. That streak will undoubtably continue on Sunday.
What are you watching for on Sunday? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
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