PITTSBURGH vs. CLEVELAND 9/9/2018 NFL Odds, Pick & Preview

The PITTSBURGH and the CLEVELAND will both be gunning for a victory on 9/9/2018 at 1:00 PM when they meet in a game matchup.

PITTSBURGH vs CLEVELAND
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 9, 2018
Where: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: 5.5
PREDICTION: CLEVELAND , PITTSBURGH

Oddsmakers currently have the CLEVELAND listed as 5.5 point favorites versus the PITTSBURGH, while the game’s total is sitting at 46.5.

The new-look Cleveland Browns are filled with optimism heading into 2018 – a season they hope will end in at least a pair of wins. The Browns will try to get one victory out of the way early when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season opener on Sunday.

Cleveland is 1-31 over the last two seasons but brought in John Dorsey as the general manager in the offseason and turned over nearly 60 percent of the roster, including adding starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor and No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. “At the end of the day, I think that we are a better football team on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Dorsey told reporters. “I think that our skill groups have a lot of young and upcoming guys. That is all that you can ask for.” The Steelers enter every season with high expectations and are looking to bring home the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl trophy. “I am extremely excited,” wide receiver Antonio Brown told reporters of the upcoming season. “You work all year and prepare all year for that moment to get here. Now that it’s here, you are extremely excited and grateful. I am excited to be a part of something special and ready to roll. … We have to find a way to bring the trophy here. Whatever that entails. Scoring points, whatever that entails, we have to find a way to win.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers -4. O/U: 44.5

ABOUT THE STEELERS (2017: 13-3): Pittsburgh is still without running back Le’Veon Bell, who has yet to report to the team while holding out for a new contract. “Football’s the ultimate team sport. One guy doesn’t make or break you,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told reporters in reference to Bell’s holdout. “So, I’d like to say that the linemen are more important than any skill-position player, including myself, on this team. This offense is more than one guy.” Whether or not Bell reports before Sunday, Pittsburgh is confident that backup running back James Conner is ready to step into a staring role within the offense after a strong preseason.

ABOUT THE BROWNS (2017: 0-16): Cleveland brought in Taylor to be a bridge to Mayfield, but the veteran impressed his teammates enough to be voted captain and heads into the season as the unquestioned leader of the offense. “First, I am very excited to watch what he does this Sunday, but Tyrod is very consistent,” Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters. “I am sure there is a fire burning. It is the opening day for all of us, so I think he will be very excited. He has been very consistent on how he comes in the building, when he leaves the building and how he is with his teammates.” Taylor’s biggest weapon figures to be wide receiver Josh Gordon, who is not expected to start after reporting to camp late and dealing with a hamstring injury but is expected to play on Sunday.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Steelers LB T.J. Watt (hamstring) did not play in the preseason but is expected to be ready for Sunday.

2. Cleveland is not expected to announce a starting LT until Friday, with Joel Bitonio, Desmond Harrison and Austin Corbett in the mix.

3. Pittsburgh took the last six in the series, though the two wins in 2017 came by a total of seven points.

PREDICTION: Steelers 24, Browns 17

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