Welcome to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Preview! This is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the Steelers and their upcoming opponent! Mike Drakulich of Pittsburgh SportsNation brings you inside the huddle for both teams, provides a game outlook, score prediction, individual stats, team stats, Fantasy Football impact, the most up-to-date injury report, and even the weather at kickoff! The only thing you’re missing is a game ticket!
A look at the Pittsburgh Steelers!
Overall Record: 4-5
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (10th Season with Steelers)
Overall Regular Season Record: 96-57 (.627)
Playoff Record: 6-5 (Qualified for playoffs six times)
2016 Pittsburgh Steelers Roster
Last Week: Dallas 35 Pittsburgh 30
Breakdown of the Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger had the Steeler offense humming last week, but the defense failed to hold onto several leads, including a 30-28 lead with 42 seconds left. Big Ben has 2,357 yards passing with 20 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions.
Antonio Brown, as always, is the Pittsburgh’s most dangerous weapon through the air. Brown has 69 catches, good for 831 yards and seven TD’s. Eli Rogers will be in the slot and has become a Roethlisberger favorite. Rogers has 23 catches for 280 yards and two scores. He will have to step his game up with Sammie Coates playing, but nursing hand injuries. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Markus Wheaton are both out. Cobi Hamilton will see time in the air attack. TE Ladarius Green made his Steeler debut last week and had three catches for 30 yards. Expect to see him more involved going forward. Jesse James is Roethlisberger’s 2nd option at the tight end position.
Le’Veon Bell will have to shine on his own again, as De’Angelo Williams will be sidelined again. Bell has 360 yards on the ground and one score. He also has 45 catches for 360 yards and another TD.
A look at the Cleveland Browns!
Overall Record: 0-10
Head Coach: Hue Jackson (1st Season with Browns)
Overall Regular Season Record: 8-18 (.542) | 0-10 with Browns
Playoff Record: 0-0 (Qualified for playoffs 0 times)
Last Week: Baltimore 28 Cleveland 7
Breakdown of the Browns: Cody Kessler is one of six different quarterbacks used this year by the Browns. He has six touchdowns on the year with only one interception. Kessler has been sacked 15 times.
His main target in the passing game is Terrelle Pryor, a former local HS star from the Pittsburgh Area; Pryor had been a QB most of his career before switching to WR and finding his niche. Pryor has 51 receptions for 657 yards and four TDs. Andrew Hawkins and Corey Coleman are also prevalent in the air attack. Coleman has been injured most of the season with a broken hand. Gary Barnidge is 3rd on the team with 37 catches on the year from the tight end position.
Leading the ground game is Isaiah Crowell, who has 551 yards rushing and five scores. He’s also dangerous out of the backfield, as evident by his 21 receptions for 234 yards. Duke Johnson is a capable back-up and 3rd down specialist. Johnson has rushed for 247 yards with one TD. He is 2nd on the team with 39 receptions for 338 yards.
Defensively, the Browns are dead last or near it in just about every defensive category.
Game Preview: The Steelers enter this game on a four-game slide after starting the season 4-1. The Browns know the pains of losing as they are 0-10 on the year.
Pittsburgh was predicted by many to be a Super Bowl favorite this year. Time is running out for the Steelers to prove the experts right. Cleveland should be exactly what the doctor ordered to halt the free-fall, but with the way the Steelers have performed on the road this year, SteelerNation enters this game with a hint of fear.
“We’re just not playing well enough,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after losing 35-30 in the final seconds to Dallas on Sunday. “We’re not in the right place enough. We’re not looking at the right things enough.
“The tape says we’re not disciplined enough. The tape says there aren’t enough people doing the right things on a consistent basis to produce a victory,” he added.
Giving up splash plays after splash plays, as well as the mounting losses are taking a toll on a number the team, including linebacker Ryan Shazier.
“We just have to have better detail. … We’re giving up too many big plays. We’re not stopping the run. That’s a recipe for disaster,” Shazier said. “We’ll look at the film, criticize each other and make sure we get each other back on point. Losing sucks.”
Sunday’s game is the 127th time the teams have met in the regular season, and the Steelers lead the series, 68-58, and since 2004 the Steelers have dominated sweeping the Browns nine times.
The time has come for the Steelers to awaken and start their momentum towards a playoffs run. After Cleveland, the Steelers face a quick turnaround, as they face the Colts in Indianapolis on Thanksgiving night. With two victories in five days, the Steelers could be feeling much better and confident with a 6-5 record when they wake up Friday morning. It all starts this Sunday at 1:00 pm in Cleveland.
Expect the Steelers to take the Browns behind the woodshed and get back to .500 for the season. Ben Roethlisberger and the vaunted Steelers offense should have no problems getting up to full speed on an horrible Cleveland defense.
Prediction: Steelers 45 Browns 17
Fantasy Football Impact
Pittsburgh Steelers
Start: QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Antonio Brown, RB Le’Veon Bell
Sit: Everyone Else
Sleeper: WR Eli Rogers
Cleveland Browns
Start: RB Isaiah Crowell
Sit: Everyone Else
Sleeper: WR Terrelle Pryor
Game Information
NFL Week 11
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-5) vs. Cleveland Browns (0-10)
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH.
Game time: Sunday, November 20th, 1:00 pm
TV: CBS | Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) Rich Gannon (analyst)
Local Radio: Pittsburgh- 102.5 WDVE-FM | Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) Tunch Ilkin (analyst) | Craig Wolfley (sideline)
National Radio: N/A | Announcers: N/A
Weather at Kickoff: 41 with a 40% of rain/snow mix.
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh -7.5
Steelers-Browns History
- Series History: Series began in 1950
- The Steelers are 68-58 in the overall Regular Season series against the Browns.
- Steelers trail the series playing in Cleveland at 26-37.
- Streak: Steelers won previous two meetings.
- Last Regular Season Meeting: Jan. 3, 2016, at Cleveland- Pittsburgh 28 Cleveland 12
- Steelers are 2-0 in the Post-Season vs the Browns.
- Last Post-Season Meeting: Jan. 5, 2003- Pittsburgh 36 Cleveland 33 – AFC Wild Card
Game Notes
- Steelers CB Justin Gilbert was selected by the Browns eighth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft and played in Cleveland for two years (2014-15).
- Ben Roethlisberger with a win, would improve to 20-2 vs. Cleveland in the regular season and to 10-2 on the road at the Browns.
- Roethlisberger is three touchdown passes from reaching 295 in his NFL career, and eight from tying John Elway for the ninth most in NFL history (300).
- Antonio Brown with 125 receptions in 2016, would become the first player in NFL history to record three consecutive seasons of 125 catches or more.
- Brown is five receptions from joining Hines Ward (1,000) as the second player in team history with 600 career receptions.
- Le’Veon Bell‘s is 41 scrimmage yards from hitting the 5,000-yard milestone in his NFL career and becoming the 15th player in Steelers history to reach the mark.
Individual Statistics
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing
QB- Ben Roethlisberger (2,357 yards passing | 20 TD passes | 7 interceptions | 14 sacks)
Rushing
RB- Le’Veon Bell (433 yards rushing | one rushing TD’s | 45 receptions | 360 yards receiving | one receiving TD’s)
RB- DeAngelo Williams (276 yards rushing | three rushing TD’s | 15 receptions | 91 yards receiving | one receiving TD’s)
Receiving
WR- Antonio Brown (69 receptions | 831 receiving yards | seven receiving TD’s)
WR- Sammie Coates (20 receptions | 425 receiving yards | two receiving TD’s)
WR- Eli Rogers (23 receptions | 280 receiving yards | two receiving TD’s)
WR- Cobi Hamilton (6 receptions | 111 receiving yards | one receiving TD’s)
TE- Jesse James (28 receptions | 231 receiving yards | three receiving TD’s)
TE- Ladarius Green (3 receptions | 30 receiving yards | 0 receiving TD’s)
Kicking
K- Chris Boswell (Extra Point: 21-21 | FG: 9-13 | 0-19: 0-0 | 20-29: 1-1 | 30-39: 2-3 | 40-49: 6-7 | 50+: 0-2 | Long: 49
Steelers Team Statistics, including Defensive Stats
Cleveland Browns
Passing
QB- Cody Kessler (1,241 yards passing | 6 TD passes | 1 interceptions | 15 sacks)
Rushing
RB- Isaiah Crowell (551 yards rushing | five rushing TD’s | 21 receptions | 234 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
RB- Duke Johnson, Jr. (247 yards rushing | one rushing TD’s | 39 receptions | 338 yards receiving | 0 receiving TD’s)
Receiving
WR- Terrelle Pryor (51 receptions | 627 receiving yards | four receiving TD’s)
WR- Andrew Hawkins (24 receptions | 237 receiving yards | 3 receiving TD’s)
WR- Corey Coleman (13 receptions | 231 receiving yards | two receiving TD’s)
TE- Gary Barnidge (37 receptions | 434 receiving yards | 0 receiving TD’s)
Kicking
K- Dan Bailey (Extra Point: 25-25 | FG: 14-16 | 0-19: 0-0 | 20-29: 6-6 | 30-39: 3-3 | 40-49: 3-5 | 50+: 2-2 | Long: 56
Browns Team Statistics, including Defensive Stats
Team Rankings through Week 11
Total Offense: Steelers average 370 YPG | Browns average 321.3 YPG
Rushing: Steelers average 90.7 YPG | Browns average 99 YPG
Passing: Steelers average 279.4 YPG | Browns average 222.3 YPG
Scoring: Steelers average 23.9 PPG | Browns average 17.5 PPG
Total Defense: Steelers allow 380.8 YPG | Browns allow 419.1 YPG
Rushing: Steelers allow 102.7 YPG | Browns allow 143.7 YPG
Passing: Steelers allow 278.1 YPG | Browns allow 275.4 YPG
Scoring: Steelers allow 22.9 PPG | Browns allow 30.1 PPG
Injury Report (11/19/2016)
Pittsburgh Steelers
Out: DE Cameron Heyward (pectoral), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot), S Shamarko Thomas (groin), WR Markus Wheaton (shoulder), RB DeAngelo Williams (knee)
Doubtful: N/A
Questionable: S Jordan Dangerfield (groin), TE Xavier Grimble (quadricep)
Cleveland Browns
Out: N/A
Doubtful: N/A
Questionable: DB T. Williams (Knee)
NFL Standings
Pittsburgh Steelers 2016 Schedule
Preseason (1-3)
Friday, Aug. 12 DETROIT L, 30-17
Thursday, Aug. 18 PHILADELPHIA L, 17-0
Friday, Aug. 26 @ New Orleans W, 27-14
Thursday, Sept. 1 @ Carolina L, 18-6
Regular Season (4-5)
Monday, Sept. 12 @ Washington W, 38-16
Sunday, Sept. 18 CINCINNATI W, 24-16
Sunday, Sept. 25 @ Philadelphia L, 34-3
Sunday, Oct. 2 KANSAS CITY W, 43-14
Sunday, Oct. 9 NEW YORK JETS* W, 31-13
Sunday, Oct. 16 @ Miami* 1 p.m. L, 30-15
Sunday, Oct. 23 NEW ENGLAND* L, 16-27
Sunday, Oct. 30 BYE WEEK
Sunday, Nov. 6 @ Baltimore* L, 14-21
Sunday, Nov. 13 DALLAS* L, 30-35
Sunday, Nov. 20 @ Cleveland* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday, Nov. 24 @ Indianapolis 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Dec. 4 NEW YORK GIANTS* 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Dec. 11 @ Buffalo* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 18 @ Cincinnati* 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Dec. 25 BALTIMORE 4:30 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, Jan. 1 CLEVELAND* 1 p.m. (CBS)
Postseason
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 7-8 Wild Card Weekend
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 14-15 Divisional Playoff Games
Sunday, Jan. 22 Conference Championships
Sunday, Jan. 29 Pro Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
Sunday, Feb. 5 Super Bowl LI (Houston, Texas)