NFL Thursday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns Betting Preview
FirstEnergy Stadium. 1:15 AM – Friday 23rd September
The week three slate kicks off with a huge rivalry game on Thursday Night Football from the AFC North this week. Nick Chubb and Jacoby Brissett’s Cleveland Browns host Najee Harris and Mitchell Trubisky’s Pittsburgh Steelers with a place at the top of the division on the line. Throughout the history of this rivalry, the Steelers have completely dominated. Since Cleveland came back into the league in 1999, Pittsburgh is 38-9-1 and is 11-3-1 against the Browns since 2015. While this Browns team has come a long way in recent years, the Steelers still have had their number.
Big AFC North rivalry on #TNFonPrime #HereWeGo | #Browns | @CaesarsSports #PITvsCLE — Tonight 8:15pm ET on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/fK7vaWjfxI pic.twitter.com/1MJneCAZlY— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2022
Both teams are coming off bad losses in week two, and will be desperate to bounce back. The Steelers managed just 14 points against the Patriots at home with the offence looking anaemic, while the Browns had one of the worst collapses in the history of the NFL, blowing a 13-point lead in the final two minutes against the Joe Flacco-led Jets.
Picks
Moneyline: Browns – 11/21 with 10Bet
Spread: Browns -4.5 – 7/25 with Unibet
Over/Under: Under 38.5 – 10/11 with 888Sport
Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football got off to the perfect start last week, with a battle between two of the league’s best quarterbacks drawing record numbers of sign-ups for Jeff Bezos’ streaming platform. Week two will be a slightly tougher sell. Brissett vs. Trubisky in primetime isn’t ideal, but it still promises to be a fascinating matchup.
Despite the Browns’ abject record in this fixture in the past, I can see them winning this one relatively easily. The Steelers offence is woeful and with TJ Watt out, the defence is missing its biggest game-changer. The Under started out at 40.5 which felt like a must bet, but has now dropped down to 38.5. Even so, I’m leaning towards the Under, as I just can’t see either of these offences producing many big plays.
Player Props
Kareem Hunt Over 2.5 Receptions – 11/10 with Betfair
After just two games, Pittsburgh has given up 13 receptions to running backs, and in this game, they come up against a quarterback in Brissett that likes to check it down and drop it short, and an excellent pass-catching back in Kareem Hunt. Hunt already has six receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown in his first two games, so 2.5 feels like a nice line to attack.
Mitchell Trubisky Under 20.5 Passing Completions 46/63 with 888Sport
In week one, Trubisky had 21 completions in a game that included overtime against the Bengals, and then in week two, he completed 21 again in a game where they were behind for almost all of it. The Browns will be looking to dominate time of possession, running the clock with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and this Cleveland defence will be looking to bounce back from its capitulation last week against the Jets. I’m expecting a tough day for Mitch.
Chris Boswell Over 5.5 Kicking Points – 10/11 with Unibet
All of our bets so far have leaned towards a low-scoring encounter, and this one is no different. In both games this season, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has kicked multiple field goals and has done so in 11 of his last 15 games. If Trubisky continues to play as he has done so far this season, there will be plenty of stalled drives and opportunities for Boswell to kick field goals.
