Steelers-Browns Gameday: TV Info, Lines, Injuries, More

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Sep 18, 2023

Steelers Browns Najee Harris — Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris against the Cleveland Browns, Jan. 4, 2022. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

The Pittsburgh Steelers will hope to get the taste of their Week 1 defeat out of their mouths when they host their arch rivals, the Cleveland Browns, for a Monday night showdown.

STEELERS GAMEDAY INFO

Week 2, Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) vs. Cleveland Browns (1-0)
Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, 8:15 p.m.
Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh (68,400, Grass)

Broadcast
TV: ABC, WTAE-TV locally (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters)

Radio: Steelers Radio Network, 102.5 WDVE-FM (Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks), Westwood One Radio (Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner)

SN Coverage: Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh, Ed Thompson
Forecast: 65 degrees, clear, wind WNW 7 mph
Lines: Steelers +2, Steelers +110, over/under 38 BetMGM promo.


[bet-promo id=”22863″ ]

AT STAKE

A loss would drop the Steelers to 0-2, where only 11.5% of clubs have advanced to the playoffs since 1992.

It would also plant them in fourth place, two games behind the Baltimore Ravens, who are currently 2-0 atop the AFC North.

INJURY REPORT

Player	Injury	Date	Prognosis	Roster Status
WR George Pickens	Hamstring	Sept. 16	Day to day	Active, LP Saturday
RB Anthony McFarland	Knee	Sept. 13	Unknown	Active, OUT vs. Browns
RT Chuks Okorafor	Concussion	Sept. 10	Day to day	Active, FP Saturday
RG James Daniels	Foot/ankle	Sept. 10	Day to day	Active, FP Saturday
TE Pat Freiermuth	Chest	Sept. 10	Day to day	Active, FP Saturday
WR Diontae Johnson	Left hamstring	Sept. 10	Week to week	Active, OUT vs. Brown
DT Larry Ogunjobi	Right foot	Aug. 9	Day to day	Active, FP Saturday
DT Cam Heyward	Core muscle surgery	Sept. 10	Multiple weeks	Injured reserve
DB Josiah Scott	Undisclosed	Sept. 13	Undisclosed	Practice squad IR
LB Chapelle Russell II	Knee	Aug. 11	Out for season	Injured reserve
CB Cory Trice	Right ACL tear	Aug. 1	Out for season	Injured reserve
RB Alfonzo Graham	Torn right labrum	July 29	Out for season	Injured reserve
DT Renell Wren	Torn right Achilles tendon	May 17	Out for season	Injured reserve

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Browns top wide receiver Amari Cooper is not expected to play with a groin injury suffered in practice on Saturday. He is officially questionable. Cooper would be replaced by a combination of slot receiver Elijah Moore and backups David Bells and Marquise Goodwin.

Also questionable are starting safety Juan Thornhill (calf) and defensive tackle Siaki Ika (foot). Thornhill also missed the opener and was replaced by Rodney McLeod. Ika was a healthy scratch in Week 1.

THE LAST TIME

The Pittsburgh Steelers capped their improbable 2022 stretch run with a 28-14 victory over the Browns at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 8. Kenny Pickett hit George Pickens for a 31-yard touchdown and Najee Harris and Derek Watt had short touchdown runs for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers needed the win and help to make the 2022 NFL Playoffs entering the contest. They got the win, but not the help, instead watching the postseason from home.

SERIES

The Steelers lead the all-time series, 78-61-1, though recently, it has been much closer than that. The Steelers have swept the series just once in the last four seasons, while the Browns won the most recent playoff game between the teams in 2020.

The Steelers are 6-5-1 against the Browns since the start of the 2018 season.

The current period of parity was preceded by one of Pittsburgh dominance. The Steelers lost only six games to Cleveland between the revival of the Browns franchise in 1999 and 2019.

The Browns have won just twice in Acrisure Stadium, which opened in 2001, owning a 2-22 record there.

PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS

The ties between the Steelers and Browns start at the top, as Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam was formerly a minority owner of the Steelers.

Special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone is a Pittsburgh native and Chartiers Valley alum, the same high school as Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is also a Pittsburgh native. He went to high school in Texas, but returned to the 412 to attend Pitt, where he broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing record. Van Pelt was drafted by the Steelers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, but was cut before the start of the season.

Linebacker Tony Fields II was drafted out of West Virginia in 2021.

STEELERS ON MNF

The Steelers enter the week tied with the most all-time victories on Monday Night Football, with 52 wins on the program tying them with the San Francisco 49ers for the most. The Steelers are 52-25 overall on MNF, for an NFL-best .675 winning percentage (minimum 50 games) and are 29-5 at home.

The team hasn’t lost a home Monday Night Football game since 1991, a streak of 20 consecutive victories that has spanned the entire careers of Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin as the team’s head coach.

Overall, the Steelers have won three straight Monday games and 12 of their last 13.

TOMLIN AFTER BLOWOUTS

Since Mike Tomlin took over as the Steelers head coach, the team is 10-2 in weeks following a blowout defeats like the 23-point margin the Steelers lost by last week. They’re 6-1 when following a defeat of 23 or more points.