Coming off a satisfying Week 3 win over their rivals in Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Steelers are headed on the road in Week 4 for the second straight divisional game on their slate. This week, the Black and Gold will be featured in primetime as they take on the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night football.
Pittsburgh is currently sitting on top of the AFC North due to how tiebreakers shake out this early in the season, but the entire division enters the week with 2-1 records. Yes, even the Browns —
who are in a close race with the Falcons for the worst quarterback room in the NFL — have a winning record after a pair of upset wins in back-to-back weeks over the Buccaneers and Panthers.
According to our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Steelers are narrow favorites on the road, opening as 2.5-point favorites in this game. I’ll be curious to see how much, if at all, this line moves during the week. Home teams are typically given a slight edge — usually in the ballpark of 3-points — when sportsbooks view the matchup as a close one. The Steelers being favored 2.5-points on the road means FanDuel expects them to win, but not by much. Overall, FanDuel is showing it has little faith in either of these offenses, with an over-under line, ie the combined point total of the two teams, set at just 38.5. That’s the lowest over-under total on their books for Week 4.
This week’s matchup should prove an interesting barometer for the Steelers this season, as well as the new Mike McCarthy regime. While this is a game Steelers fans should rightfully expect to result in a Pittsburgh victory, Thursday Night Football in Cleveland has been the team’s kryptonite since games began being played on Thursdays. The team is 0-4 all-time in Cleveland on Thursday nights, with losses there in 2009, 2019, 2022, 2024. This week will give them an opportunity to prove whether that was more of a Mike Tomlin problem, or an Achilles’ Heel that will continue under McCarthy.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
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