The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face off in their first of two matchups in the span of three weeks, with this one taking place on Thursday night at home. These two teams are heading in completely opposite directions, with the Steelers being well the Steelers while the Browns' nightmare season continues.
Taking that into account, it makes forecasting what could happen a little bit easier, with the next four predictions having a pretty good chance to play out on Thursday and possibly the following day.
1. Dustin Hopkins' nightmare season continues
2024 has not been very kind to Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins. The 34-year-old veteran is making just 70% of his field goal attempts and 83.3% of his extra-point attempts, both career lows. Hopkins missed two field goals in Week 11's loss to New Orleans.
This makes Hopkins 4-8 on field goal attempts in his last four games and 3-4 in extra points, neither mark being anything close to acceptable. At this point, it is hard to count on Hopkins being reliable, and it would not be a surprise to see him continue to miss this week, considering that this game will be played outdoors, making it just a little more difficult to be consistently accurate.
This development with Hopkins is just the latest in a long line of missteps by the current Browns regime. Cleveland signed Hopkins to a three-year $15.9 million extension after last year despite still being under contract for this season. This extension was not only unnecessary then, it looks like a colossal mistake now. If the smallest bit of critical thinking was used before making this arrangement, they would have realized that signing a kicker on the wrong side of the 30 to an extension following his best season as a pro would not work out well.
Read more: 3 losers (and 2 winners) from Browns loss to the Saints in Week 11
Now, it seems like the Browns will have to cut ties with Hopkins and still be on the hook for him financially, thanks to the ridiculous void years this front office likes to tack on to every new contract they agree to. The kicker position is going to continue to be a problem, and owing money to someone who has reverted to who he has been previously is not helping.
2. Cleveland's defense can't stop Pittsburgh's offense
Over the past four weeks, the defense of the Cleveland Browns has given up more points than the week that preceded it. When going back five weeks, Cleveland has allowed a staggering 32,2 points per game, including 30+ points to the New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders. With performances like this, it is no wonder they are 1-4 over that stretch. Why should anyone expect anything to be different on Thursday night against Pittsburgh? The answer? They shouldn't.
Sure, the Steelers are coming off a game that featured only field goals being scored, as they failed to reach the endzone in their 18-16 win over Baltimore. While their inability to score a touchdown may be the main takeaway for some, this is more of a testament to how good Baltimore's defense was in this contest, even though they were not able to come out on top over the Steelers. Granted, giving up six field goals is not great, but they did keep a revitalized Pittsburgh offense from scoring a touchdown, and that is noteworthy.
Meanwhile, Cleveland allowed New Orleans to score the most points since Week 2's 44-point outburst in Dallas. The Saints have not been the same since the first two weeks of the season, resulting in the dismissal of Dennis Allen. Throughout the entire contest in New Orleans, the Browns gave up yards and points at will, seemingly being unable to stop an offense that had been kept under 14 points four times in their previous eight games.
Will Russell Wilson match the 248 yards and two touchdowns that Derek Carr compiled against Cleveland? The chances do not seem good, but no one should count anything out against a Browns team that has been anything but remarkable in 2024. However, one should expect the Steelers to find the endzone multiple times against Cleveland's porous defense en route to what would be their sixth consecutive win.
3. Jameis Winston struggles, throws multiple interceptions
So far, the Jameis Winston experience in Cleveland has gone about as expected. There have been highs, and there have been lows, with very little in between. Interestingly enough, in his first three starts, they have followed that pattern. Over 300 yards with multiple touchdowns and no interceptions to under 250 with three picks and one touchdown, and back again. This pattern continuing against Pittsburgh's defense would not necessarily be all that surprising.
Even though it seems like this is just going off the pattern Winston has established, there is more to it than that. The 61.1% completion percentage allowed by the Steelers this season is the third-lowest in the NFL. Add on top of that their nine touchdowns allowed through the air being tied for the fourth-fewest and their 11 interceptions are tied for sixth, it could be a long night for Winston against the Steelers.
This is a Pittsburgh team that has allowed more than 250 yards through the air just twice this season and has recorded multiple turnovers seven times in 10 games. While Winston gives them a better chance than Deshaun Watson would have, the odds are still stacked against him to be successful in this matchup.
Why should anyone expect anything different from a hard-to-predict quarterback against a team that is in or near the top five in multiple defensive categories? In all honesty, no one should. Winston is one of the most difficult players to project on a week-to-week basis and the best path forward here is to go based on trends and the trends are not good.
It is not just one thing that points toward Winston potentially having a bad outing on Thursday, even though the up-and-down nature of his play throughout his career is somewhat concerning. It is factoring in the inconsistent performances with Pittsburgh's performance defensively that makes it hard to envision a world where he leads them to a win against the Steelers.
4. Kevin Stefanski becomes the latest Browns head coach to join less-than-ideal group
Death, taxes, the Cleveland Browns firing their head coach after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If there has been anything that has been consistent over the years, it is the head coach of the Browns being dismissed of his duties following a loss to this particular division rival.
Six of Cleveland's last seven head coaches have all lost their jobs in this manner. Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, and Hue Jackson have all been fired after losing to Pittsburgh. Freddie Kitchens is the only coach to be fired after losing to someone besides the Steelers, while interim coach Gregg Williams was not retained after Jackon's dismissal in 2018.
It is not only a probable loss to Pittsburgh as to why Stefanski could be fired. This is the fifth season with Stefanski at the helm, and outside of two playoff appearances that have major asterisks attached to them, his time in Cleveland has been somewhat of a disappointment. Sure, Stefanski has been more successful than the coaches who came before him, but that is not really the accomplishment people make it out to be. This team has been largely mediocre under Stefanski, and with a half-decade already in the books, it certainly seems like it is time for a change.
Perhaps this situation would be a bit different if the quarterback that Stefanski and the front office brought in as their franchise savior was able to live up to that status. However, Deshaun Watson has been a complete failure in Cleveland, and at some point, someone is going to be held accountable for that decision.
While Stefanski is not going to be the only one who loses his job for the Watson debacle (expect Andrew Berry and Paul DePodesta to also be fired), his termination seems likely to happen before everyone else as he is the head coach, and they usually are the first to be let go in situations like this.