Steelers Browns Odds
Posted by Steve Janus - Google+
Last week the Browns and Steelers both had bad games and the Steelers have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. The Browns are coming off an embarrassing 34-12 loss to the Broncos.
Trent Richardson has been the bright spot of this Cleveland Browns team. Their defense has actually played pretty well this season, but the numbers don’t show it (will talk about them later). The Browns had their hands full against the Broncos as Peyton Manning and company. Manning completed 30 of 43 pass attempts for 339 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. On the other side of the ball Brandon Weeden had a decent game going until he got knocked out. He completed 12 of 19 for 104 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Colt McCoy came in as relief and completed 9 of 17 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Richardson carried the ball just 9 times for 53 yards along with 3 receptions for 15 yards. Greg Little lead the team with 6 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Watson lead the team with 10 targets catching just 3 of them for 47 yards.
Cincinnati visited the Steelers and the Steelers came out on the losing end which knocked them out of contention. This game was a huge defensive game as there was only 547 total yards. Each team committed 3 turnovers with Big Ben being sacked 4 times. He completed 14 of 28 pass attempts for 220 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Mendenhall carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards and Antonio Brown was thrown to 6 times, catching 5 of them for 97 yards and a touchdown. Heath Miller lead the team in targets with 9, but caught just 3 of them for 45 yards.
Right now the line is Pittsburgh -7
Why Cleveland Will Cover:
Trent Richardson as said before has been the bright spot for this Browns team carrying the ball 267 times for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Brandon Weeden has a sprained shoulder and has yet to be ruled out for this game. If he is playing that should give the Browns a little better chance of covering if not winning. Colt McCoy hasn’t looked good since being in the NFL and I don’t see that changing in his first start of the season against a good defense like the Steelers.
The Browns offense hasn’t been great this season even though Richardson has had success in his rookie season. Through the air their averaging 216.9 yards/game which ranks them 20th in the NFL. They rank 25th in the NFL on the ground averaging just 97 yards/game. On the defensive side of the ball they rank 27th against the pass allowing 253.5 yards/game while allowing 120.5 yards/game on the ground which ranks them 19th in the NFL. They average 19.5 points/game while allowing 22.9 points/game. On the road they average 19.3 points/game while allowing 27 points/game.
Trends: The Browns are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss. Their also 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. AFC North. Their also 5-1-1 ATS vs. a team with a losing record and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Why Pittsburgh Will Cover:
Pittsburgh’s defense is amazing and I don’t see them slowing down in this one. They rank 1st against the pass allowing just 185.4 yards/game and they rank 2nd against the ground game allowing just 87.5 yards/game. The run game for the Steelers has been extremely disappointing as they rank 26th on the ground averaging just 96.4 yards/game. Through the air they rank 11th averaging 244.4 yards/game.
Ben Roethlisberger has completed 269 of 426 pass attempts for 3131 yards and 23 touchdowns. Mike Wallace and Heath Miller have been the reason for the success through the air. Wallace has 64 receptions for 836 yards and 8 touchdowns. Miller has 71 receptions for 816 yards and 8 touchdowns as well. Had the Steelers beat the Bengals last week they would be in the drivers seat for the wild card but instead their playing week 17 against the Browns for nothing.
The Steelers are averaging 20.8 points/game while allowing 20.3 points/game. When playing in the steel city the Steelers are averaging just 18.6 points/game but are allowing just 15.6 points/game. When at home their allowing just 253 yards/game (78.7 on the ground, 174.3 through the air).
Trends: The Steelers are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games following a straight up loss. Their also 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. the AFC. The Steelers are also 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a losing record.
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