Predicting the winner of Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns, Week 13

The 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers are a tough team to predict. During the Killer B’s era you could at least look to the offense to provide some juice to the games, and lean on one side of the ball to help lead your prediction.

Now, it isn’t the offense, but the defense, which is the crutch you can lean on when talking about whether the Steelers might win, or lose, any particular game on their regular season schedule.

With the Steelers are to be considered a legitimate playoff contender, them hosting the Cleveland Browns in Week 13 is as must-win of a game the Steelers have had at this juncture in the season in a long time. As I always do with my predictions — I have learned to trust my gut, and this rematch of the Week 11 contest is going to be a tough, physical game from the start.

However, before getting to my prediction, this week I was fortunate enough to ask Dawgs By Nature’s editor Chris Pokorny some questions, and of course I asked him what his prediction for the game was, and you can check out his response below:

It’s only been two weeks since the last time these two teams met, but the offense for the Browns was in the middle of coming together that week, and continued that momentum against Miami last week. The system of two star backs and two star receivers is unlike anything else in the NFL, so much that even against Pittsburgh’s talented defense, there is always a match-up or read Cleveland can win the battle on. Red zone execution has improved drastically in the past two weeks as well. The Browns’ defense obviously took a hit in losing Myles Garrett for the season, but even when you increase the amount of time that Pittsburgh has to throw, the fact remains that Pittsburgh is short on weapons and 28th in the NFL on offense. I like the Browns to win 24-13.

No one should be shocked at Chris’ prediction for this game, but I see this game being closer than an 11-point win for either team. With most predicting this game to be close, I tend to lean that way as well.

However, I feel like the equation of the Steelers playing at home, the defense having something to prove after their Week 11 loss, Devlin Hodges out to prove his worth to the team moving forward, and the significance to this game for both the Steelers and Browns, I think the Steelers find a way to win this football game.

It might not be pretty, and the weather certainly isn’t going to be conducive to a great game, but I like the Steelers to find a way to outlast the Browns, largely due to a defensive touchdown.

My Prediction:
Steelers - 27
Browns - 20

What is your prediction for the game? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold leading up to kickoff.