The lucky Browns get to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers less than a week after getting throttled by the Ravens, which is bound to result in another not-so-pretty prime time matchup between one of the league’s perennial have-nots and one of the AFC’s elite teams.  The Browns are 4-8, and most of the time don’t look like a team that has any business even winning that many games, as the Browns have only scored more than 20 points once all year, and that was against the Colts, who allow everyone to score more than 20 points… so you can’t really count that one.  Even with that game as their high water mark, the Browns are barely averaging two TDs a game, and when you allow over 20 points per game, well, things just aren’t going to go your way most weeks.

One thing the Browns are good at is pass defense, as they’ve been ranked #1 against the pass for several weeks now.  While most QBs would shy away from challenging a defense like that too much, Ben Roethlisberger is a gunslinger and will use the play action and no huddle to exploit whatever weaknesses there are in the Browns secondary.  Of course, the Browns lofty pass defense ranking has as much or more to do with the fact the Browns couldn’t stop Mike Holmgren from dropping 100 yards rushing on them, let alone put the clamps on an actual NFL running back.  The Browns allow over 150 yards per game on the ground and have been especially giving to the AFC North runners, allowing both Cedric Benson (twice) and Ray Rice (once, but got over 200 yards, so that should count as twice) to roll them for well over 100 yards rushing so far, so it’s hard to imagine Rashard Mendenhall not joining that club as well.

If you’ve been using Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown all season, your first inclination might be to think twice considering the matchup; however, Big Ben isn’t going to shy away from passing (the Steelers have a 56-44 pass-run ratio), as this offense has evolved into a spread-em-out-and-chuck-it offense, and that’s actually what they’re best at.  While the numbers might be muted (they have been all month for Wallace) because of the tight coverage, I would expect at least one if not both to get deep once during the game, which could result in a big money score… which is usually all you need to have a stellar fantasy outing.  If anything, I would expect both to be around 4-6 catches, probably 50-80 yards, with one or both having the good possibility for a score... not too shabby for the start of the fantasy playoffs.

If you have been relying on any Browns players… well, your season probably ended last week anyhow, so you don’t have to worry about anything.  But if for some miracle that you are still around in the post season, I’d bench your Browns if you have any other options.  The Steelers rank #1 in total defense, are at home, and you don’t want to bet on who’s going to get the one TD the Browns may get to score in this one.

Good Start: RB Rashard Mendenhall, WR Mike Wallace, WR Antonio Brown

Middle of the Road:  QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Isaac Redman, TE Heath Miller

Bad Start:  WR Hines Ward, WR Jerricho Cotchery, and everyone in a Browns uniform.

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