Thursday night in Week 4 brings a sharper edge to the AFC North than anyone might have expected a couple weeks ago. The Cleveland Browns are back home, the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off an upset of their own, and both teams enter at 2-1 after Week 3 wins that changed the mood around the division.
Pittsburgh’s 30-27 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals gave the Steelers a second straight road game as a favorite, and it also showed a different version of their offense. After opening the season ranked dead last in the NFL in EPA/Play on offense through two weeks, the Steelers finally broke through with 30 points in Week 3. Aaron Rodgers led the charge in the first half and finished with three touchdown passes in the win.
Cleveland, meanwhile, kept building on its own turnaround. Deshaun Watson threw two touchdowns in a Week 3 win over the Carolina Panthers, including the go-ahead score in the final minutes.
He also added a two-point conversion and ran for 45 yards on 11 carries while going 16 for 30 for 144 yards. That was the kind of performance that gave the Browns another upset win, this time as a home underdog after already beating Tampa Bay as dogs in Week 2.
Watson has looked noticeably better in 2026 than he did in his earlier seasons in Cleveland, and the Browns have started to look like a team that can hang around when the game stays tight. The touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr. that put Cleveland ahead of Carolina was the kind of throw that stood out in a game with real pressure attached.
That sets up a tough test for a Pittsburgh defense that was among the league’s best in EPA/Play earlier this season before slipping some against the Bengals in Week 3. If Watson keeps giving Cleveland enough at quarterback, the Browns could keep forcing people to rethink them.
The betting picture reflects that possibility. Pittsburgh opened as a 2.5-point road favorite, while the total sits at 38.5. That’s a low number, and it fits a game where points may be hard to come by and big plays in the passing game could be scarce for the Steelers.
There’s also the short-week angle. Pittsburgh has a number of veterans who may not recover as well by Thursday, and the team was already without running back Rico Dowdle in Week 3. Add in the fact that Cleveland is 2-1 against the spread as an underdog, and the home side starts to look live to keep this close.
The Steelers have not exactly inspired confidence on offense either. They scored just three points in Week 2 and were sitting with the league’s worst EPA/Play over the first two weeks of the season. Even after the Week 3 burst, it’s still fair to question how consistent that unit can be.
These teams have split their last 12 meetings, which only adds to the case for taking the points with the Browns in a game that looks built for a grind.
In Other News...
Antonio Brown Twists The Knife After Steelers Expose Bengals Again
The Steelers 30-27 win over the Bengals in Week 3 fit neatly into a familiar rivalry script: Pittsburgh found enough answers late, Cincinnati found another painful way to let one slip away. Joe Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing, but a late fumble helped tilt the game back toward the Steelers, and the Bengals were again left sorting through the kind of loss that tends to linger in a division race.
Burrow responded by urging his teammates to take ownership after the defeat, which is where the frustration really starts for Cincinnati. The defense had trouble slowing Jaylen Warren and Aaron Rodgers, and the Bengals are still left to reckon with the same problem teams in the AFC North hate most - a rivalry game they were in position to win, only to watch Pittsburgh walk out with it again. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Warrens Big Day Reignited A Steelers Frustration Fans Know Too Well
A routine play turned into a talking point all over again when a video captured something appearing to break apart or explode under Jaylen Warrens foot during the Steelers recent game. Warren kept going without any obvious issue, and the moment quickly got swallowed up by the bigger storyline of his day on offense, as he finished with 17 carries for 127 yards and added three catches for 49 yards.
Even so, the image was enough to send Steelers fans back to a familiar frustration: the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium. The field, shared by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh, has drawn complaints before, and the odd sequence involving Warren only reopened the conversation after a game in which his workload and production gave Pittsburgh plenty to like. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Finally Found An Offensive Spark But A Bigger Concern Remains
The Steelers got a much-needed offensive jolt in their Week 3 win over the Bengals, and for one afternoon at least, the unit looked more balanced than it had in the opening weeks. Jaylen Warren was a big part of that turnaround with a strong rushing performance, while some changes along the offensive line seemed to help the group find a better rhythm. It was the kind of showing Pittsburgh had been searching for, especially after an uneven start that had left plenty of questions about how quickly the offense could settle in.
Still, the bigger concern sits on the other side of the ball. Pittsburghs defense showed some vulnerabilities in the 30-27 win, and the absence of Joey Porter Jr. was hard to miss as Cincinnati found enough success to keep the game tight throughout. The Steelers can take comfort in finally seeing signs of life on offense, but they also know the next stretch will tell a lot about whether that improvement is sustainable if the defense remains a little less sure of itself. [Read more 🡒]