A rivalry unlike any other takes place on Thursday Night in Cleveland when the Steelers (2-1) and Browns (2-1) meet at Huntington Bank Field. Both teams are coming off narrow wins in Week 3. Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati (30-27) and Cleveland beat Carolina (21-18) to keep a four-way tie atop the AFC North.
Pittsburgh had a season-high on the ground in Week 3 as Jaylen Warren took control of the backfield amid Rico Dowdle‘s toe injury. Warren ran for 127 yards on 17 carries to push the Steelers past the 100-yard mark as a team for the first this season (138). Aaron Rodgers tossed three touchdowns to one interception with 292 yards on 19-of-34 (55.8%). The defense did struggle to contain the Bengals passing attack. Joe Burrow went for 282 yards on 28-of-37 (75.6%) with three touchdowns. Both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins went over 90 yards against the Steelers secondary. This week, Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols are questionable, while DeShon Elliott is on the IR, but Joey Porter Jr. is trending toward playing his first game of the season.
Cleveland won five games in all of 2025 and they are 2-1 through three games, which is a vast improvement. Deshaun Watson gets the nod on the short week after throwing for 144 yards on 16-of-30 (53.3%) and two touchdowns, plus 45 rushing yards on 11 carries. Watson is on a heater as is Harold Fannin Jr. after two touchdowns against Carolina and back-to-back games over 50 yards receiving. Quinshon Judkins also had his best game of the season with 70 yards on 18 rush attempts and 3.9 ypc compared to 54 yards on 24 carries (2.2) in the first two games. One of the breakout stars on the defense has been second-year player Mason Graham who has four sacks and 15 tackles after a 0.5 sack and 49 tackles as a rookie. The defense will be the focal point of this matchup as the game total of 38.5 is the lowest of Week 4.
Let’s dive into the numbers and see if we can’t find an additional sweat or two.
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Game details and how to watch Steelers at Browns
· Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
· Time: 8:15 PM ET
· Site: Huntington Bank Field
· City: Cleveland, OH
· TV/Streaming: Prime Video
NBC Sports is your home for all the latest updates on this matchup, featuring live odds, player news, expert analysis, and predictions.
Latest Game Odds for Steelers at Browns
The latest odds courtesy of DraftKings:
· Moneyline: Pittsburgh Steelers (-148), Cleveland Browns (+124)
· Spread: Steelers -2.5 (-120)
· Total: 38.5
The look ahead spread for this game was Steelers -3 and the total was 40.5, so money has come in on Cleveland and the Under.
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Expert picks & predictions for Steelers at Browns
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes Deshaun Watson to throw a turkey on Thursday Night Football:
“If you told me that Deshaun Watson would throw for four touchdowns and over 400 yards with no picks and have a 2-0 record over a two-game span in 2026, I probably wouldn’t even acknowledge that statement. However, it happened. Watson will continue to start, but as everyone knows, he is on thin ice and once that ball starts rolling, there is no stopping it. Watson’s hot run won’t continue. On a short week versus a rival and physical defense, I like the chance that Watson throws at least one interception at -119 odds.”
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Steelers at Browns betting trends and stats
- Pittsburgh is 2-1 ATS and 2-1 to the Under
- Cleveland is 2-1 ATS and 2-1 to the Over
- The Steelers are 3-6 ATS and 5-4 to the Over on the road since the start of 2025
- The Browns are 7-2 ATS at home since the start of 2025 and 6-1 as a home underdog
- Pittsburgh is 3-1 ATS and 2-2 on the total as a road favorite since 2025
- Cleveland is 5-4 to the Under as the home team since 2025 and 5-2 to the Under as a home underdog
- The Steelers are 5-4 ATS as a favorite with Aaron Rodgers and 5-3-1 to the Under
- The Browns are 9-8 ATS as an underdog since 2025 and 10-7 to the Under
Quarterback matchup for Steelers at Browns
· Pittsburgh: Aaron Rodgers – A-Rod is coming off a season-high three touchdown passes and 292 yards on 19-of-34 (55.9%) and one interception against the Bengals. Rodgers opened the game with three-straight scoring drives and ended the game with three scoring drives on the final four opportunities of the second half to put the Steelers ahead. It was his best performance of the season and now he will face the Browns on a short week. Last year, Rodgers had two very different performance against Cleveland. Rodgers went 21-of-30 for 235 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions in a 23-9 win. In the 13-6 loss, Rodgers went 21-of-39 for 168 yards with no touchdowns or picks.
· Cleveland: Deshaun Watson – Watson has led Cleveland to back-to-back wins over the Bucs and Panthers after an embarrassing debut against Jacksonville. Watson has four touchdown passes and 382 yards on 40-of-60 (66.7%) with no interceptions. He’s also been very active with his legs in all three games. Watson has at least six carries in all three games and 38, 22, and 45 rushing yards. One of the negatives has been nine sacks taken in three games and having 19 pressure throws, which ranks third-most. Cleveland has also had the most negative game script in the NFL thus far putting more pressure on Watson.
Steelers at Browns Injury Update
- Steelers RB Rico Dowdle (toe) was questionable
- Steelers CB Jalen Ramsey (wrist) is questionable
- Browns S Grant Delpit (shoulder) is questionable
- Browns CB Tyson Campbell (knee) is out
- Browns C Elgton Jenkins (concussion) is questionable
- Browns G Teven Jenkings (back) is questionable
- Browns T Tytus Howard (knee) is probable
- Browns WR Tylan Wallace (knee) is questionable
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