Cleveland Browns score predictions: Going for the knockout in Pittsburgh Week 13
By Randy Gurzi
The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers square off two weeks after the brawl that ended in Myles Garrett’s suspension. Can they sweep their rivals? That’s what the DPD staff looks to answer
The Cleveland Browns season to this point can be summed up in one word: adversity. They have faced it throughout the entire season and for a while, it looked as though it was going to destroy them.
Head coach Freddie Kitchens was under fire for his play-calling and game management throughout the beginning of the season. Wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. was being called out for his inability to make the big plays that had defined his career with the New York Giants before joining Cleveland this season.
There was also the problem with protecting the ball that Baker Mayfield was having. The second-year signal-caller was throwing interceptions at an alarming rate, having 12 through his first eight games. Unsurprisingly, they were also 2-6 in that span.
While that adversity could have destroyed the team, they didn’t allow that. Instead, they used it as a galvanizing force and have now reeled off three-straight wins. In that span, Mayfield has thrown just one pick and has seven touchdowns. They’ve also found a way to get OBJ involved more while his fellow receiver, Jarvis Landry, has taken his game to another level.
On defense, they’re playing hard and they too are facing some adversity as they lost Myles Garrett for the year due to a brawl against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. He was suspended indefinitely for ripping off Mason Rudolph‘s helmet and hitting him over the head with it, and now just two weeks later the Browns will face that very same team.
Will they let the adversity caused by that brawl and subsequent suspension hinder them, or will It lead to a fourth win in a row? Members of the DPD crew look to answer that very question in this week’s score predictions.