The city of Cleveland has the LeBron Championship in 2016, but nothing would mean more to the city than a Super Bowl win for the Cleveland Browns. As luck would have it, the first playoff berth in 18 years has been marred by a COVID-19 outbreak that has head coach Kevin Stefanski at home on Sunday and has impacted the lineup the last three weeks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost by two points to the Browns in Week 17 with a “B” team that was missing Ben Roethlisberger, TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward, and other important personnel. Now the Steelers, who were a 10-point underdog in that game, are a six-point favorite at Bookmaker Sportsbook for the Wild Card Weekend game. The total sits at 47.5, but you really have to wonder about that number with Cleveland’s play caller in Stefanski absent from the game.
We’ll see what happens with the line as kickoff approaches, but we’ll break down what we can for now.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns haven’t practiced all week in advance of their biggest game in 18 years. Baker Mayfield hasn’t thrown a pass to any of his receivers. The Browns facility has remained closed in an abundance of caution as the team sits on pins and needles daily to see if any new positive tests come across. Players from different position groups will be out, including safety Ronnie Harrison and offensive lineman Joel Bitonio. Olivier Vernon suffered an Achilles injury that has taken him out of action and Myles Garrett is still dealing with the after effects of his bout with COVID earlier in the season. There aren’t a lot of compelling reasons to believe in the Browns. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will call plays and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will be the acting head coach so Van Pelt and defensive coordinator Joe Woods can handle their respective duties. There were already a lot of questions surrounding the Browns anyway, as they did take advantage of a weak schedule to go 11-5 and get in this position. They were blown out by a Steelers team that was trying and narrowly lost to a Steelers team that was sort of trying. The efficiency of the Browns offense with a balanced attack has been a storyline throughout the year. Also a storyline is the porous Browns defense. The Browns rank 13th in yards per play, but also ranked 28th in pass attempts and it is much easier to get yards through the air than on the ground. Cleveland ranks 13th in yards per play on defense, but that is more of a byproduct of the schedule than anything else. It is fair to say that the Browns haven’t been able to play together with all of their top players very often this season, but the depth leaves a lot to be desired.CLAIM YOUR WELCOME BONUS AT BOOKMAKER SPORTSBOOK