Steelers at Browns
The Cleveland Browns are churning toward a winless season, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a free fall of their own as they prepare to visit their AFC North Division rivals on Sunday. Following a 4-1 start to the season, Pittsburgh has dropped four in a row - its longest skid since opening the 2013 season with four straight defeats.
“We obviously are making costly mistakes, and they hurt us," Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell told reporters after last week's last-second loss to Dallas. "We need some more detail, and we’re going to keep falling short until we get that.” The lone positive for Pittsburgh is it remains just one game behind division-leading Baltimore. Cleveland moved a step closer to joining Detroit (2008) as the only teams in league history to finish 0-16 after a desultory 28-7 road setback against the Ravens last week. The Browns had four losses in a seven-game span decided by six points or fewer, but they have been outscored 63-17 over their last two contests.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers -8. O/U: 46
ABOUT THE STEELERS (4-5): A date with Cleveland couldn't come at a better time for reeling Pittsburgh, which also has lost three in a row on the road and plays four of its next five away from home. While Ben Roethlisberger and the offense managed to get untracked in last week's 35-30 home loss, the defense permitted the Cowboys to put together a pair of late 75-yard touchdown drives. Frustrated by his team's inability to stop the opposition, coach Mike Tomlin is taking what appears to be a desperate measure by moving veteran linebacker James Harrison into the starting lineup. Harrison was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, but he's now 38 years old, already has come out of retirement once and has made only 19 tackles on the season.
ABOUT THE BROWNS (0-10): For a team that has featured an NFL-high 26 different starting quarterbacks since 1999, it hardly comes as a surprise that first-year coach Hue Jackson has had a revolving door under center. Jackson made a surprise move last week, pulling rookie Cody Kessler in the third quarter in favor of veteran Josh McCown with the Browns trailing by six points, but he is turning back to third-round pick Kessler to face Pittsburgh. "I came here ... to solve this quarterback issue that's been here," Jackson told reporters Thursday. "Is the guy on our roster now? We're going to find that out." Jackson also needs to solve major issues on his defense, which is yielding 30.1 points and 419.1 yards -- ranking 31st in each category.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Roethlisberger owns a 20-2 career record against Cleveland.
2. Browns TE Gary Barnidge has made 14 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in the last two matchups against Pittsburgh.
3. Steelers WR Antonio Brown has registered at least 100 yards receiving in five straight games versus the Browns.