The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in an AFC North battle during Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season.
Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season brings us an AFC North showdown between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. Both have been in the headlines as of late, but for very different reasons.
For Pittsburgh, it’s been all about the holdout surrounding Le’Veon Bell. The star running back isn’t happy about his lack of a long-term deal and is staying away from the club — and making his teammates frustrated in the process.
Cleveland has been in the news for their big offseason. There was an overhaul of the roster that went 0-16 and then they were featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Expectations for them are high in 2018 and they have a big game, right out of the gates.
Steelers Keys to Victory
There’s been a lot of drama surrounding the Steelers this offseason, but that’s not too odd for them. While Mike Tomlin is a highly respected coach, it seems like each year has more noise around his team than the last — and that’s how things go with his team. They have to, once again, shut all that out and go play.
With Le’Veon Bell doing his own thing, the Steelers will lean heavily on James Conner and they have to get him going early to get his confidence high. They also have to get Antonio Brown involved against a Cleveland secondary that’s overhauled and hasn’t played together much.
On defense, the key will be stuffing the run. If they force Tyrod Taylor to throw it, they will win. Taylor is a good game manager, but he can’t do it alone.
Browns Keys to Victory
Cleveland needs to get the ground game going in this one. Their best chance to win is to get Carlos Hyde, Nick Chubb, and Duke Johnson rolling — which not only helps them but keeps Pittsburgh off the field.
Not only do they need to keep moving the chains on offense, but they have to stop the Steelers from doing so by making good on as many defensive third-downs as possible. Their defense is good — but there’s no depth. They will start the game off hot but will fade fast if they have to defend too many long drives.
Staying fresh on defense will be key.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Pittsburgh -4
Moneyline: Pittsburgh -263, Cleveland +218
Over/Under: 44
All odds courtesy of OddsShark
Prediction
Get ready — the Browns are about to surpass their win total from 2017 in the first game of the season. With all of the tumultuous behavior going on in Pittsburgh, Cleveland has the talent to pull of the big upset at home.
Final Score: Cleveland Browns 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 20