Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns: Preview, Prediction, TV Info and more

Keys for Steelers:

1. Ride Big Ben: Roethlisberger is having a very good season and as mentioned before is coming off his best performance of the season in which he threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Big Ben is the main reason this Steelers team still has a chance at postseason football and they need to keep riding him. It’s unlikely the Steelers will be able to run the football so any chance of victory should ride on Roethlisberger’s shoulders.

2. Get a lead early: This Cleveland offense isn’t very good. That being said, the Steelers need to come out firing and establish a double-digit lead early on. They did that last week and blew it quickly but this Browns offense doesn’t have Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. If the Steelers get on top quickly, I don’t have much faith in Jason Campbell lighting the Steelers defense up.

Nov 17, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns cornerback

(23) reacts during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati won 41-20. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

3. Score touchdowns in the red zone: Eventually settling for field goals in the red zone instead of touchdowns is going to come back to bite this Steelers team. When they drive the ball into the red zone, they have to eliminate the breakdowns and start coming away with touchdowns. If they do that Sunday, they should come away with a win.

Keys for Browns:

1. Out Steeler the Steelers: This Browns defense is very good. They are tough against both the run and the pass and opponents average just 4.45 yards per play against Cleveland, the lowest total in the league. Somehow despite not giving up a ton of yards, this Browns defense gives up a lot of points, but if they win the physical battle and fore some mistakes they have a great chance of winning the game.

2. Take away the big play: For the season, the Browns have allowed just 25 passes of 20 yards or longer, fourth-fewest in the NFL. On the other side, Roethlisberger’s strong arm and ability to improvise have helped the Steelers rank third in the league with 46 completions of at least 20 yards. Something has to give Sunday afternoon. The Browns cornerback tandem of Joe Haden and Buster Skrine is among the NFL’s best tandems and could make things very tough on Big Ben.

3. Run the football: Running the football isn’t necessarily the Browns strength but this Steelers defense can be run on. They rank only 26^th in the NFL stopping the run, allowing over 125 yards per game. Whether it’s the veteran Willis McGahee or Chris Ogbonnaya, Cleveland needs to establish early success on the ground to be successful.