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Steelers at Browns NFL Betting Lines

Written December 9, 2009 by Kyle Hunter

The Thursday night match up this week is the quickly fading Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the hapless Cleveland Browns. This has always been a rivalry game, and I expect both teams to put a little extra into this one. The fact of the matter is Pittsburgh probably needs to win out to get back into the playoffs, or at least go 3-1, so they simply cannot afford to lose this game. The Browns looked a little better last weekend, and they would love to play the spoiler role. Get an extra $100 to bet on football when you sign up at Bodog and deposit $100 or more.

The reigning Super Bowl Champions haven’t had their season go as planned this year. They are now just 6-6, and they are in serious danger of missing the playoffs. Injuries haven’t helped things at all, but last minute breakdowns has cost them games against both the Chiefs and the Raiders, two of the worst teams in the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger has great numbers when it comes to yardage and completion percentage, with his completion percentage sitting at an astronomical 69% on the season. The real problem on the offensive side of the ball has been their inability to establish a consistent running game. The Steelers have been accustomed to being the best in the league at running the football at will and this year they are no better than average. The defense is still tremendous, but they have allowed 27, 20, and 27 points in the last three weeks. The Steelers have proven a bit suspect against great passing teams, but continue to stuff the run on the defensive side of the football.

The Cleveland Browns are 1-11 on the year, tied for the worst record in all of football. The NFL predictionsfor this season had them being really bad, but probably not quite this bad! The offense has been a complete disaster most of the season. The Browns rank last in total yards on offense, and 30th in the league in points scored per game. The passing game has been terrible, with Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn splitting time at quarterback. In the last few weeks Quinn seems to have settled down a bit and the passing game has looked decent. It’s not as if the Browns are any better on defense though, since they rank last in total yards allowed on the defensive side of the football as well. Allowing 26 points per game isn’t getting it done on defense, and the offense simply isn’t able to win any shootouts. The biggest bright spot for the team is definitely Joshua Cribbs, who may well be the best kick returner in the league.

The NFL oddsfor this week show the Steelers as 10 point road favorites over the Browns. The over/under is set at just 33.5 points. When making your NFL picksthis weekend remember these trends: the over is 6-2-1 in the last 9 meetings between these teams and the Steelers are 8-3-1 against the spread in their last 12 meetings.

Hines Ward isn’t likely to play, but the Pittsburgh offense should be able to move the ball effectively against a Browns defense that is woeful. The wind is likely to be a large factor in this game, since forecasts are calling for winds between 25 and 30 mph. Some light snow is also likely to fall throughout the game. Can either team get a running game going in this one? It could be very important given the weather conditions in this one.

I’ll have the weekend covered with premium packages and subscriptions from college hoops games, NFL, and the NBA. Also be sure to check out the college football bowl all access subscription which gives you access to all my picks from bowl season.