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Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game preview: Key matchups, numbers for Week 12
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- Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game preview: Key matchups, numbers for Week 12
CLEVELAND — The Browns get their first prime-time appearance of the season Thursday night. They couldn't have picked a worst time for their national television debut.
Cleveland will play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on "Thursday Night Football" mired in a two-game losing streak. That's part of a much larger stretch during which they've lost seven of eight to fall to 2-8 for the season.
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The losing has raised questions about the future of coach Kevin Stefanski, particularly if the Browns lose to the Steelers. Cleveland isn't scheduled to play again after Thursday until it travels to Denver for another prime-time game against the Broncos on "Monday Night Football" on Dec. 2.
Pittsburgh comes into the 87th all-time installment, including playoffs, of the Turnpike Rivalry leading the AFC North with an 8-2 record. The Steelers can clinch their 21st consecutive non-losing season with a win, which would give them 24 non-losing seasons in the last 26 seasons.
Cleveland, meanwhile, would secure its 22nd losing season in 26 seasons since the expansion franchise opened play in 1999. That first game was, of course, a prime-time loss to the Steelers.
Here's a look at some of the matchups and numbers to watch as the Browns and Steelers come to prime time Thursday night.
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Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive matchup of the game: RT Jack Conklin vs. OLB T.J. Watt
How about a couple of All-Pros matching up against each other? T.J. Watt's made a career out of sacking Cleveland quarterbacks. However, most of those have come with James Hudson filling in for either Jack Conklin or Dawand Jones . Conklin has only allowed 1.5 sacks in two games in which Watt has played, which is a very small total compared to some other tackles who have faced him. It's not just what Watt can do by sacking the quarterback. He's also leading the league with four fumbles caused this season. So being able to contain what Watt can do will be important beyond just putting the Browns behind the chains.
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers defensive matchup of the game: CB Martin Emerson Jr. vs. WR George Pickens
Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. admits his fellow then-rookie George Pickens was part of his "welcome to the NFL" moment in Week 3 of 2022 when Pickens made a spectacular one-handed catch with Emerson in tight coverage on him. That was when the Steelers wide receiver showed what kind of talent he was, which has carried forward into his third season in the league. Pickens is third in the league with a 15.2 yards-per-reception average and tied for second with 11 catches of at least 40 yards. Last year in two meetings, Emerson limited Pickens to just one six-yard catch on four targets. That was a step up from their rookie season in 2022, when Emerson gave up three catches for 39 yards on six targets in that Week 3 matchup alone. He allowed two more catches for 41 yards on five targets in their Week 18 rematch. Whoever wins this individual matchup could make a huge impact on which team wins the game.
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Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers numbers to watch
294 yards
Jerry Jeudy has come alive in the three games since Jameis Winston has taken over as the starting quarterback for the Browns. The fifth-year wide receiver acquired from the Denver Broncos in March has had easily his best stretch of football since arriving with the Browns. Over the last three games, he has 18 receptions for 294 yards and a touchdown. That includes last Sunday's six-catch, 142-yard, one-score performance against the Saints . That kind of performance is what the Browns were hoping for when they traded for him and signed him to a big extension.
28.5 sacks
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive tackle Cam Heyward are both future Hall of Famers for the Steelers. They've combined for 189.5 sacks between them in their careers, which is the sixth-most for any duo of teammates since 1982, which is when the sack became an official stat. The two built up a healthy portion of that total at the expense of various Browns quarterbacks. Watt's 17 sacks against Cleveland is tied with the amount he has against the Baltimore Ravens for the most against any opponent in Steelers history. Heyward's not too far behind him with 11.5 sacks against the Browns.
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0
That's the number of passes Jameis Winston has thrown in his career against the Pittsburgh Steelers, That's because the Browns quarterback has never in his 10-year career actually played against the Steelers. Winston was serving the final of a three-game suspension to open the 2018 season when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers team played Pittsburgh. He was Andy Dalton 's backup with New Orleans when the Saints played the Steelers in 2022.
Cleveland Browns will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers if …
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Quarterback Jameis Winston takes care of the football in the face of the Steelers pass rush.
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The Browns limit wide receiver George Pickens' big plays.
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Myles Garrett wins the individual statistical matchup with Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt.
Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the Cleveland Browns if …
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T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and the rest of the defensive front continually lives around quarterback Jameis Winston.
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Quarterback Russell Wilson has a game similar to the one he had last year against the Browns while with the Denver Broncos, when he effectively extended plays and was efficient in his throws.
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Wide receiver George Pickens gets two or three big plays of the 20-plus-yard variety.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns vs. Steelers preview: Key matchups, numbers for Week 12
