NFL Betting Previews: Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

Added on Oct 12, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

In this preview we’ll take a look at a Sunday NFL betting opportunity in the AFC North as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cleveland Browns. Despite playing without Ben Roethlisberger for the first four games of the season Pittsburgh has a 3-1 record and is in second place by virtue of playing one fewer game than division leading Baltimore. Cleveland is 1-4 on the season and have the bad fortune of catching the Steelers in Roethlisberger’s return to the lineup.

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
October 17, 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

At first glance there would seem to be some reason for interest in the Cleveland Browns getting a big price. In general double digit NFL dogs are always worth a look and Pittsburgh has struggled bigtime on offense with Roethlisberger out of the lineup. Ultimately, however, the situation and statistics in this matchup have us going the other way. One thing that we do know is that Pittsburgh’s defense has returned to the top form of their championship teams. Entering this game, Pittsburgh ranks #1 in total defense and scoring defense allowing a tidy 12.5 points per game. Their rushing defense is also ranked #1 though their passing defense is only #20 in the league. So that would suggest that the way to defeat the Steelers is through the air, which presents a problem for Cleveland–the really don’t have the personnel to do that. At one point in his career, Jake Delhomme was a capable NFL quarterback but he’s injured and listed as ‘doubtful’ for this game. Even if he was healthy, he’s yet to show any signs that he’s overcome his mistake prone 2009 season that got him shipped out of Carolina. Seneca Wallace will likely get the start and while he’s a decent backup he’s still not a huge aerial threat though admittedly he doesn’t have much to work with in the Browns’ receiver corps.

We know the Pittsburgh defense will do their job, but what about the offense? Worst case scenario the Steelers will still be better on this side of the ball with Roethlisberger than they’ve been to date. His presence alone forces the Browns to not fill up the box to try and stop Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers’ rushing attack. That’ll open up holes for the running game and we’re not expecting ‘Big Ben’ to be rusty in the least. He went through training camp with the team and has reportedly looked very sharp in practice. He’s under some pressure to have a big day and he’s had a bye week to get back in sync with his receivers. He’s also facing a team that is made to order for a good ‘comeback’ performance. Roethlisberger may not be much of a role model, but the Steelers believe in him and despite his questionable dating habits there’s never been any doubt about his ability as a NFL quarterback.

Steelers have dominated the head to head series at home going 15-2 SU/11-6 ATS. With an extra week to prepare and a good deal of motivation around the team with the return of Roethlisberger we look for a strong effort all around from this Pittsburgh team. The defense won’t give the Browns much, and if the offense produces anything–and we think they will–this should be a rout. We’ll also take a shot on the Over–total is low due to the Steelers YTD performance but we’re expecting a drastically better offensive performance with ‘Big Ben’ back under center.

Bet Pittsburgh Steelers -13′ over Cleveland Browns
Bet Pittsburgh/Cleveland Over 37