Week 12 kicks off with the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) batting against the Cleveland Browns (2-8) at FirstEnergy Stadium. We get another AFC North game on Thursday Night Football in November, which also means we’ll be getting AFC North football weather featuring snow, rain, and wind.

Cleveland Browns:

Defense: The Browns haven’t been the same team as they were last year. The defense has taken a huge drop, ranking in the bottom half of most statistical categories. One of their big issues is that they haven’t been able to create turnovers, tying for 30th in takeaways this season (7). They’re tied 25th in rushing yards per attempt allowed (4.8), 24th against the run (131.7), 16th against the pass (211), tied 9th in sacks (28), and 22nd in opposing quarterback passer rating (98.8). They’ve only had two games where they’ve allowed less than 100 rushing yards and Pittsburgh is a team that likes to run the ball with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Against the pass they’re middle of the pack, but with Russell Wilson now at the helm they’ve been better in the pass. The Browns are 24th in points allowed (24.8) and have had only one game this season where they’ve allowed less than 20 points. 

Offense: The offense has produced more under Jameis Winston than Deshaun Watson, but it hasn’t made a huge difference. They were able to upset the Ravens just a few weeks ago, but the Raven’s defense doesn’t compare to the Steelers. The Browns haven’t been able to run the football or move downfield through the air. A rushing attack that was 12th last year has now fallen to 24th, even with Nick Chubb back. They’re 2nd in passing attempts yet rank 20th in passing yards. They’ve only scored more than 20+ once and the Steelers have only allowed 20+ three times. Jerry Jeudy has emerged as the top receiver since the Amari Cooper trade, but he’ll have a tough task lining up against Joey Porter Jr. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Defense: Once again, the Steelers have one of the best defenses. They’re 3rd in opponent scoring percentage (29.1%), tied 5th in rushing yards per attempt (4.1), 4th against the run (90.8), tied 4th in takeaways (19), and 2nd in points allowed (16.2). They rank 18th in passing yards allowed (214.5) but have only allowed over 300 passing yards once this season. This is a great matchup for their defense as the Brown’s offensive line has been horrible this season, allowing the most sacks in the league (46). The Steelers are great against the run and pass, something the Browns offense hasn’t had much success in. 

Offense: The Steelers have taken care of the ball, only having three turnovers in the last five games. Russell Wilson has boosted their offense as the Steelers had their best passing performances with Wilson rather than Fields. They’ve scored 26+ points in four out of their last five games as Wilson has established a great connection with George Pickens, becoming a main concern downfield for opposing defenses. The Browns aren’t bad against the pass but struggle against the run. The Steelers are dominant in the run game, rushing for fewer than 100 yards once. The duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren has greatly improved the Steelers offense under Arthur Smith. The matchup with the Browns and bad weather could lead to a heavy focus on the run game. 

My Pick:

The Steelers are a superior team to the Browns. However, this is a division game and AFC North games are hard-fought. These teams have split their last 8 matches, and the Steelers are 0-7 in Thursday Night Football against their division. Even with it being a division game and the Browns at home, this is the worst Browns team in the past few years. Nonetheless, I still expect this game to be close as the weather will play a factor. That being said, I predict the Steelers to win a tough one in Cleveland by a score of 23-13.