4 Reasons Cleveland Browns will beat Pittsburgh
By Greg Newland
3. Game-changing plays
Through five weeks, the Cleveland Browns are +6 on turnovers and have forced a ton of turnovers. Not only has the defense given the offense extra shots on the field, but Baker Mayfield and crew have also been able to convert the opportunities to points, and most of the time 7 points which have been huge.
Not only that, the play-action deep ball has really started to take shape for Cleveland. With such a strong running game teams get tempted to bring safeties near the line of scrimmage to help, and then boom, the Browns go over the top to Odell Beckham for a big play.
While it is tough to rely on turnovers, they will have to happen again on Sunday for the Browns to get a victory on the road. The defense is just too beat up to consistently stop the Steelers. The Browns could be missing up to three starters on defense depending on how the week of practice goes.
In this matchup, it all starts with the defensive front. Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, and crew must get pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. With a shortened clock in the back of his head, Roethlisberger could force a few passes that a Browns defender could snag.
On the other side of the ball, the Browns will need at least two huge plays to get this done. Whether that is a long play-action pass or Kareem Hunt breaking a long run, four and five-yard pops down the field all day won’t get it done vs. a team as good as the Steelers.
The Colts defense was a huge test last week, and it doesn’t get any easier this week. Stefanski and defensive coordinator Joe Woods will have the troops prepared, now it’s on them to execute.