Week 8 gives the Browns a chance to turn a promising start into something far more convincing, and the setting only raises the stakes. A trip to Pittsburgh has been a nightmare for Cleveland for years, but this version of the Browns is walking in healthier and playing cleaner football than they have at any point this season. Beat the Steelers, and they’d lock up their first regular-season sweep in the rivalry since the 1980s while climbing to 6-2 and the top of the AFC North.
The injury picture is about as good as Cleveland could reasonably ask for this late in October. The Browns worked out five players ahead of the weekend - tackle Blake Austin, guard C.J.
Hanson, center Jacob Rizy, and wide receivers Xavier Weaver and Brady Boyd - with the offensive line group standing out because of the uncertainty around right tackle Tytus Howard. Howard took a concussion last week against the Tennessee Titans and missed practice all week, but on Saturday he cleared concussion protocol and was removed from the injury report.
He’s now set to start against the Steelers.
Rookie tight end Carsen Ryan is also back in the mix after being elevated from the practice squad. He had been waived earlier this week before signing back to the practice squad.
Cleveland’s final injury report still listed Howard as questionable before the update, along with defensive back Myles Harden and safety Daniel Thomas. The Browns also had a running list of inactives through the first seven games that included QB Taylen Green, RB Audric Estime, RB Quinshon Judkins, WR Tylan Wallace, TE Carsen Ryan, G Elgton Jenkins, G Teven Jenkins, C Parker Brailsford, DT Mason Graham, DT Mike Hall, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Tyson Campbell, CB Noah Igbinoghene, CB Toriano Pride, and S Daniel Thomas.
The Browns are getting one more boost on the defensive side with Mike Hall Jr. returning to the rotation after missing the last three games because of an ankle injury. That matters against a Steelers team that enters the game close to full strength itself.
Pittsburgh ruled out defensive backs Brandin Echols and Doneiko Slaughter, both of whom have mostly been special teams pieces, and wide receiver Ben Skowronek is questionable with a calf injury. Skowronek has been targeted only four times by Aaron Rodgers in five appearances this season.
The biggest early question is whether Cleveland can finally stop digging itself a first-quarter hole. The Browns have been outscored 58-13 in the opening quarter this season, a minus-45 margin that is the worst in football entering Week 8.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is allowing just 4.3 points per game in the first quarter. That makes the opening script a major test for Todd Monken’s offense, especially with these teams having already met in Week 4.
There’s also the matter of Rodgers and Cleveland’s coverage plan. The Steelers lean heavily on the pass, entering the week with the NFL’s second-highest pass play percentage, but the Browns may have the right answer with their man-to-man approach.
In the first meeting, Cleveland played man coverage on 73.3% of dropbacks against Pittsburgh, the highest rate by any team this season, and Rodgers finished with a 55% completion percentage while the Steelers struggled to sustain drives. The Browns spent over 70% of Rodgers’ dropbacks in man coverage in that game, and there’s little reason to expect them to back off now.
The goal is simple: make Rodgers hold the ball, force tougher throws, and keep Pittsburgh from getting easy separation.
The Browns’ offense has also shown enough lately to suggest this game can be played on their terms if they protect the ball. Since the second half of the Ravens game, when they erased a 10-point deficit and won on a field goal at the buzzer, the offense has settled in. Watson has been getting the ball out faster and making better decisions, and Cleveland has enough pieces - tight end Harold Fannin, wide receiver KC Concepcion, and running back Dylan Sampson - to turn quick throws into chunk gains while taking some of the heat off the Steelers’ pass rush.
That’s the path to another tight finish, and it’s why the Browns are being picked to edge it.
Prediction: Browns 19, Steelers 17.
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