The 3-2 Pittsburgh Steelers face the 2-2 Cleveland Browns this Sunday in a fight to see who takes sole possession of last place in the division. Although Pittsburgh is 3-2, it’s certainly not a confident 3-2 after squeaking out a 17-9 victory over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. The Browns, on the other hand, feel like they could be 4-0 having lost their two games by a combined five points (one of those losses being against Pittsburgh already). Here’s a preview of the second match up between these two teams:
Cleveland Browns’ Efficient Offense?
Coming into the 2014 season the book that was out on the Browns was that their offense would struggle mightily while their defense carried them. Well, it’s been the exact opposite so far this year. According to PFF (subscription), the Browns have the highest rated offense by a substantial margin. In their first meeting in Week 1, the Browns had 389 yards of total offense. Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer had a 60% completion percentage that game, 222 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 94.
What really helped the Browns’ offense in their first meeting was their run game. They had a total of 191 rushing yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry as a team, with Terrance West leading the way with 100 yards rushing. This week they’ll be looking for the same formula. They need Hoyer to have a solid game with minimal mistakes and to run the ball effectively.
Ben Roethlisberger Has To Have A Big Day
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger needs to have a big game if the Steelers want to go into Cleveland and come away with a win. In their first meeting he had a 67% completion percentage, 365 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and a quarterback rating of 100.7. With a day like that the Steelers still only walked away with a three point victory. He will need another day like this for the Steelers to get another victory.
A big part of Roethlisberger having a big day is going to be if the offensive line can handle Cleveland’s outside linebackers, particularly Jabaal Sheard and Paul Kruger. In their first meeting Kruger had two sacks, two tackles for losses, and one quarterback hurry. Sheard had one sack, two quarterback hurries, and one tackle for loss. The Steelers need to do a better job on the line to make sure Roethlisberger has time to pick apart the subpar Cleveland secondary.
Le'Veon Bell vs. Cleveland Linebackers
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is off to a good start to the season. A key matchup in the run game is going to be how Bell performs against the linebackers of Cleveland. If the linebackers can make plays at the line of scrimmage and prevent him from getting past the second level of the defense, they have a chance at keeping Bell from having another game like he did in Week 1. Bell finished Week 1 with 109 yards averaging 5.2 yards per carry and one touchdown. He also had 88 yards receiving in that game, another aspect the Browns’ linebackers will have to account for. Another reason the Browns want to stop Bell is because if they can make the Steelers one-dimensional on offense, it gives them a much greater chance of winning the game.
In Week 1 the Steelers were able to escape with a win. This time the game is in Cleveland and the Browns are looking for revenge. Even in the Browns’ wins the games have been extremely close. I don’t expect this one to be any different. The team that commits the least amount of turnovers will win and this week I think that’s going to be the Browns. I think the Browns will win by no more than a touchdown.