Steelers vs. Browns Point Spread: TNF Week 12 Odds, Prediction
The teams meet for the first time this season with the Steelers opening as 4-point favourites on the NFL odds.
TNF Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Cleveland should not be in primetime with a 2-8 record, but Thursday night games are pre-determined and can’t be flexed. It will be an interesting offseason for the Browns in terms of whether Coach Kevin Stefanski survives this disastrous season and what if anything can be done about the contract of out-for-season QB Deshaun Watson. Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, so he surely will return in 2025 and probably Watson as well. The Browns would surely like to move on from Watson, but he’s guaranteed $92 million over the next two seasons so he’s neither tradable nor cuttable.
Pittsburgh is the definition of NFL stability, and Coach Mike Tomlin is going to extend his NFL record of 17 straight non-losing seasons to open a career. The Steelers and Ravens are battling for the AFC North title, but whichever club finishes second should be a wild-card team.
Last season, these rivals split two close meetings, each winning at home. Kenny Pickett was the Steelers’ starting QB in both but is long gone now. Watson only started the 26-22 defeat in Pittsburgh, which has won 20 straight regular-season home meetings, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson started the other.
Overall including three playoff games, the Steelers lead the series 81-63-1 and are 7-3 ATS in the past 10.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh didn’t play its first AFC North game of the season until Sunday – it tied this year’s Bears for the latest a team played its first division game of a season since the merger – and upset visiting Baltimore 18-16 to take charge of the division race. It was the Steelers’ fifth straight win and fourth in a row since Russell Wilson took over at quarterback. But the defence was the story Sunday in shutting down that high-powered Baltimore offence. The Ravens finished with season lows in points and yards (329) and had by 12 penalties and three turnovers – each turnover led to a Chris Boswell field goal. He finished with six field goals, his third career game with at least that many. Those are the most such games in league history. Pittsburgh is now 2-0 this season in games where it didn’t score a touchdown, the first club to win its first two games of a season not doing that since the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They won the Super Bowl that season. Now the Steelers not only control their destiny in the AFC North, they have a shot at the AFC’s top seed with formerly unbeaten Kansas City losing on Sunday.
Cleveland Browns
Any small shot Cleveland had at hoping for a wild-card chance ended Sunday in a 35-14 loss in New Orleans. Now the rest of the season is about ownership and the front office figuring out who to keep for 2025. Sunday’s game was tied entering the fourth, but the Browns’ supposedly good defence wilted and allowed a total of 214 rushing yards in the game. QB Jameis Winston had a strong day with 395 yards passing (most for the franchise since 2018) and two scores. It was the second time in Winston’s three starts for the Browns that he has surpassed 300 passing yards in a game. The offence totaled 443 yards, but oddly the Browns have now lost five straight games when they have at least that many. Dustin Hopkins missed two more kicks on Sunday and you might see the Browns have kicker workouts this week, although not ideal on a short turnaround. Starting offensive tackle Dawand Jones broke his leg in the second quarter, and his season is over.
PIT
CLE