Cleveland Browns (1-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
You have to figure the inept Cleveland Browns have little chance of pulling the upset Sunday in Pittsburgh. Oddsmakers at WagerWeb.com don’t think so, as the Steelers are 14-point betting favorites, matching the largest spread of any game this weekend.
I mean, how is Browns QB Derek Anderson, who completed all of two passes and had a rating of 15.1 last week in a 6-3 victory at Buffalo going to fare against one of the league’s best defenses? Anderson’s 11.8 completion percentage (2 of 17) last week was the worst by any winning QB with at least 15 passing attempts since the 1970 merger. The last time a quarterback posted a worse rating in a win was when Jake Delhomme had a 12.3 vs. the Raiders last November. Cleveland’s pass offense is ranked 31st in the league, while Pittsburgh is No. 4 against the pass.
Plus Pittsburgh’s best defensive player will be back this week. Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu will start on Sunday. He practiced all week after missing four games with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Running back Willie Parker also will return after missing the past two games, but Rashard Mendenhall will start.
Mendenhall ran for 165 yards against San Diego and 77 yards against Detroit the last two weeks. He has 128 more yards this season than Parker does on fewer carries. In his past two games, Mendenhall has rushed for 242 yards, averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns. He also has runs of 22, 27, 32 and 39 yards in his past three games. However, Parker has rushed for more than 100 yards in five consecutive games against the Browns, who rank last in the league in rush defense.
This rivalry has been anything but of late. Cleveland has lost 11 in a row to the Steelers, 17 of 18 since 2000 and 24 of 27 since 1993. Pittsburgh’s average winning margin vs. Cleveland during the past five seasons has been 16.5 points.
The Browns are 2-3 ATS this year, while Pittsburgh is 1-4. The Steelers have won six straight at Heinz Field by a combined score of 140-71.
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