NFL Week 12 begins with an AFC North battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.
The Steelers (8-2) have an ideal opportunity to extend their winning run to six games as their divisional rivals are in turmoil at 2-8 having lost seven of their last eight contests.
The Browns have fared better against the Steelers in recent years after a long unsuccessful run, and have won their last two home games against Pittsburgh, although those are their only successes against Mike Tomlin’s team in the last six meetings.
The Steelers are favourites on the road at Huntington Bank Field as they look to extend their lead in the AFC North after Sunday’s crucial win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers tips
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Tomlin’s team should extend winning run
The Steelers began a crucial stage in their season with a huge win over their closest AFC North rivals the Ravens on Sunday and should be confident as they head to Cleveland on Thursday.
Mike Tomlin’s team got off to a strong start by efficiently knocking off some of the league’s lesser lights but last week’s game was their first fixture in this bruising division and they passed it with flying colours, winning 18-16 when a Ravens two-point attempt failed with just over a minute remaining.
The Steelers face the Browns twice in their next three games with another divisional clash against the Bengals in between, so they will be sitting pretty if they can keep up their fine form.
Changing quarterbacks from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson after six games has paid off and the former Seahawks and Broncos passer is 4-0 in his first four starts.
The Browns had high hopes for the season but their campaign never got going and they have slumped to a 2-8 start. Injuries have played a major role, but individual errors have also cropped up at crucial times and they have lost several games they could have won.
Even on Sunday against the Saints, the Browns were holding their own at 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter, and would have been leading but for a horrendous day from kicker Dustin Hopkins, but they collapsed to lose 35-14 after giving up three late touchdowns.
The pressure is on head coach Kevin Stefanski, the NFL’s coach of the year in two of the last four seasons, but his team could struggle to turn the tide in this tough test.
Steelers’ passing game is flourishing
Pittsburgh’s plan since QB Ben Roethlisberger retired has been to play strong defence and scrape together what they can with an understrength offence, but that has changed this season and they look a more fully-rounded unit since Wilson’s arrival.
They rank a solid 19th in offensive yards per game (Browns 27th) and 15th in points per game (Browns 31st) and George Pickens has emerged as the clear leader among their wide receivers.
Pickens has made some fantastic catches this season and averages an impressive 72.8 yards per game. He goes up against one of the stronger secondaries in the league, but the Browns have been prone to costly coverage breakdowns this season and gave up an easy 66-yard touchdown to Quentin Johnson of the Chargers two weeks ago and a 71-yard score to Marquez Valdes-Scantling of the Saints on Sunday.
Pickens has had receiving yards tallies of 111, 74, 91 and 89 in his four games with Wilson at quarterback, so can afford to have a quieter night and still go over his line of 55.5 for this game.
All odds correct at time of writing
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