Cleveland Browns (5-2) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in a pivotal AFC North showdown at Acrisure Stadium. The game airs on CBS and features one of the most remarkable road losing streaks in NFL history: the Browns have dropped 22 consecutive regular-season games in Pittsburgh, one shy of the all-time record held by the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions (1992-2014).
Historical Context
The Steelers have covered the spread in each of the last eight meetings. Cleveland's last regular-season sweep of Pittsburgh dates back 34 seasons, the longest such drought in any NFL divisional matchup since the 1970 merger. The Browns did win a 2020 wild-card playoff game in Pittsburgh 48-37, but that contest was played without fans due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Season Storylines
Cleveland won the Week 1 meeting at home 27-24 as 2.5-point underdogs. First-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken is the +425 second favorite for NFL Coach of the Year behind John Harbaugh (+300). Quarterback Deshaun Watson has engineered a game-winning drive in each of the Browns' first five victories, joining Troy Aikman (1990) and Matthew Stafford (2016) as the only quarterbacks since 1970 to accomplish that feat. Watson has four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the final two minutes of halves this season.
Steelers' Surge
Pittsburgh has averaged 26.0 points per game over the last five weeks after scoring just 11.5 per game in the first two weeks. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, seeking his first four-game winning streak since 2022, has thrown 12 touchdowns from Weeks 3-7, tied for the NFL lead. Running back Jaylen Warren leads the league with 705 yards from scrimmage since Week 3. The Steelers are 10-1 straight up and 11-0 against the spread in their last 11 AFC North home games, the second-longest such cover streak in league history.
Betting Outlook
SportsLine's projection model favors Pittsburgh 27-17. The total sits at 44.5 points, with the under receiving significant action. A Cleveland upset would give the Browns a crucial tiebreaker and raise their playoff probability from 35.5% to 57.2%, per SportsLine.
