Steelers Vs. Browns Week 2 Pregame Report: Is It Too Early To Ignite The Flames Under Matt Canada's Seat?

After one of the most depleting house-warming defeats in recent history, the Pittsburgh Steelers are back home for their first divisional game of the 2022 season. This week, the Cleveland Browns make the trip southeast to Pittsburgh coming off a massive victory in their first game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers and Browns have started their seasons in opposite directions and there is a lot of early momentum at stake on Monday night. The Steelers are looking to right the ship and get back on track, while the Browns are looking to build on their impressive performance last week.

Record History Between The Steelers And Browns

Since the rivalry was born in 1950, the Steelers hold a 80-62-1 record over the Browns. Fans everywhere know of the dominance Ben Roethlisberger issued over Cleveland throughout his career, but since then, things have been seemingly split between the two teams. In 2022, they split the two games against each other by winning their respective home game and the Steelers hope that trend continues. However, the month of September seems to throw a wrench into that trend, as the Steelers are only 10-7-1 against the Browns in the season’s opening month.

How To Watch The Steelers Vs. Browns

This week, ESPN and ABC will broadcast one of their few Monday Night Football double-headers of the season. This week’s action will be aired nationally on local ABC channels and streaming on ESPN+. This will be the first time the two teams will square of against each other on Monday Night Football since the final home game for Roethlisberger in January, 2022. Calling the game will be the coveted duo of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. The broadcast is set to air at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.

Referee Assignment For This Week

This week’s officiating assignment is Ron Torbert's crew. In relation to the other league crews, Torbert doesn’t call a lot of penalties throughout the game and operates with more of a “let them play” mentality. However, his record doesn’t bode well for the Steelers. Per Warren Sharp, home underdogs hold a mere 10-26 record against the spread since 2016. In all games, the home teams are 38-59-1 against the spread. In addition, Torbert seems to not like a lot of points being scored. The under on the point total is 25-10 in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Steelers: What To Watch For

The most glaring inefficiency of the first game was the Steelers offense. In their first four possessions, the offense gained a lousy negative 13 yards with an interception. It took them until the waning moments of the first half to score a touchdown against a cushioned secondary. The underlying notion across the stadium was one of pure deflation, after watching what Kenny Pickett and George Pickens were able to do in the offseason, only to lay an egg in the regular season.

Needless to say, Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada and the offense will be the focal point against the Browns. It will be difficult for Head Coach, Mike Tomlin to defend Canada in the post-game press conference if the offense mirrors what it did eight days ago. They’re certainly returning to action banged up after last week with Diontae Johnson (hamstring) missing extended time and this appears to be a minor make-it-or-break-it scheming opportunity for Canada. If he fails, expect derogatoriness to be vocalized towards the coaching booth from the home crowd.

Browns: What To Watch For

Since Head Coach, Kevin Stefanski took over in 2020, the Browns have operated with an unapologetic run-first offensive approach. Led by Nick Chubb, their offensive unit has found an effective way to churn consistent yards. In their last game against the Bengals, the offense rushed for 206 yards, while only posting 154 receiving yards.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson only threw the ball 29 times, while they ran the ball 40 times. Those basic numbers speak volumes to their offensive identity in a relentless running attack. After giving up 152 yards on the ground to Christian McCaffrey last week, the Steelers defense will have their hands full again on Monday night with Chubb and company.

Key Matchup to Watch

The glaring presence of Chubb in Pittsburgh after McCaffrey dominated in the same stadium a week ago is going to get a lot of attention, and rightfully so. With Cameron Heyward (groin) slated to miss several weeks, the defensive front is coming into the game at less than full strength and they’ll have their hands full up front. But one other thing to watch is the re-tooled receiving corps against a Browns cornerback room that held the Bengals’ receiving group to just 82 yards. With Johnson being out, that’ll mean Calvin Austin III and Pickens will need to step up big.

In Week 1, Austin III led the Steelers in receptions, posting a stat line of 37 yards on six catches. Allen Robinson II led the team in yards, racking up 64 yards on five receptions. It will need to be an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Steelers pass catchers to help get the offense back on track. Specifically, we should be watching how Austin III does as the Johnson-substitute. 

The majority of his efforts came in the second half of the game and he found ways to get open down the field. The Steelers receivers will see Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II who gave up over 100 yards on only five catches to Johnson and Pickens when the two teams met in January, 2023. The opportunities will be there for Austin III to use his speed, and we can expect Pickett to look for him early and often if last week proves to be any indication of that.

Current Odds

The Steelers come into this week sitting as 2.5-point underdogs, with the point total being 39.5 points. If we take those insights from the oddsmakers in Las Vegas combined with what we know about Torbert’s crew, we can expect a close, low-scoring affair tonight. Therefore, for those looking to profit off tonight’s action, that under on the point total is looking very enticing.

Final Score Prediction

It is hard to have any confidence in the Steelers after the dud in Week 1. Meanwhile, the Bengals made the Browns look like conference champion favorites. This is very difficult to present, but it seems like the home crowd could see another disappointing performance on Monday night. Prediction: Steelers 17, Browns 20.

What are you watching for this week? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!

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