With a big win on Christmas Eve over the San Diego Chargers, the Cleveland Browns avoided complete NFL infamy. By achieving 1-14, Cleveland turned down the invitation to join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams in league history to go 0-16. But on New Year’s Day, the Browns will face a much tougher foe in the 10-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Browns want to carry their winning momentum into the offseason, they’ll need to take advantage of a relatively lax Pittsburgh squad in more ways than one. These are their keys to victory this week.
Cleveland Browns Week 17 Keys to Victory
Take Advantage Of Pittsburgh’s Resting Stars
Normally, the Steelers would likely decimate Cleveland’s defense with their high-octane offense. But after clinching the AFC North by beating the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas, the Steelers will rest their stars this week. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell, and wide receiver Antonio Brown will all be sitting for Pittsburgh. With the “Killer B’s” on the bench, Cleveland will need to take advantage, especially on defense. The Browns will make this Sunday much easier on themselves if they can keep Landry Jones‘s passing attack in check.
On defense, most of the Steelers’ players will be on the field. However, defensive end Cameron Heyward suffered a season-ending injury in November. Since then, Pittsburgh’s front seven have been much more vulnerable. This opens the door for Browns running back Isaiah Crowell. Crowell has been having a very good year thus far with 800 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016. “The Crow” has been a rare bright spot for the Browns’ 2016 season, especially while running behind the NFL’s worst offensive lines. Crowell is one of Cleveland’s biggest keys to victory, and he’ll need to keep working his magic to give the Browns a shot in this one.
Keep Up The Defense
Last week against the Chargers, the Browns played likely their best defense of the season. Against a veteran quarterback in Philip Rivers, the Browns showed flashes of a decent, if not good, defense. Cleveland will need to throw Landry Jones off his rhythm and bother him in the pocket to win. Defensive ends Danny Shelton and Emmanuel Ogbah will play big roles this week in the trenches. The Browns’ secondary will likely be under fire many times during this game, and injured cornerback Joe Haden will be targeted often. Cleveland will need their best efforts defending the pass, even if Haden is injured. Pittsburgh’s offense might be incredibly high-powered, but if the Browns can somehow hold them to 17 points or less, they just might have a chance.
Balance Your Priorities
Browns fans…be honest with yourselves. Upon talking to even die-hard fans, one finds that they want the Browns to finish with only one win on the season. With the win last week, Cleveland moved down to the second pick in the 2017 draft for a few short hours. But then, a second Christmas Miracle happened. The San Francisco 49ers won their second game of the season, giving the first pick back to the Browns. The rarity of this event is incredible, as both teams only had one win between them going into Week 16.
If the Browns win this game, the chance that the 49ers will win as well is very slim, especially for the second week in a row. Cleveland’s first priority should be obtaining the first pick, and not exactly winning the game. While the Browns themselves likely want to win, obtaining the first pick would be greatly beneficial to the team’s future. However, beating the rival Steelers would be a huge boost to the Browns going into the offseason. It becomes a win-win. Can the Browns pull it out against the rival Steelers? Or will they lock up the first pick?
