JuicyTalk
Preview for Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns
The Huntington Bank Field will play host to an AFC Conference matchup between the Cleveland Browns (2-1) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) on Friday morning.
The Browns have won tight, back-to-back games against Tampa Bay and Carolina after a losing start and are looking to continue their progress after last season’s poor 5-12 record.
The omens are good – Pittsburgh have won only one of their last eight games in Cleveland dating back to 2018, with three of those losses coming in Thursday night games.
All eyes will be on quarterback Deshaun Watson who has led the Browns to two fourth-quarter comebacks in as many weeks.
The 31-year-old missed the whole of last year with an Achilles injury but is back to something approaching his best.
“I feel like I have a lot of football left in my game, in my career, and that’s how I approach the game,” Watson said last week.
“That’s how I approach my preparation on and off the field. I feel like I’m 10 years in, but still got a lot of football to play, definitely for myself.”
For the Steelers, former MVP Aaron Rodgers will be the playmaker, with the veteran closing in on becoming the fourth quarterback in NFL history to appear in 300 games.
Rodgers has a 13-6 record in Thursday games – one behind a certain Tom Brady on an NFL-high 14 wins.
The Steelers will be without one man after the Dallas Cowboys agreed a trade for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. following months of uncertainty over his future.
Dallas will send Pittsburgh a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a second-round selection in 2028 in exchange for the 25-year-old.
The move brings Porter’s three-year spell with the Steelers to an end after a contract dispute and persistent back problems kept him off the field throughout the opening weeks of the season.
