Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is introduced prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

By The Associated Press undefined
The Steelers and Browns will renew their rivalry Thursday night sitting at opposite ends of the AFC North. After navigating through some quarterback uncertainty, Pittsburgh is a surprising 8-2 while Cleveland is a dreary and disappointing 2-8. The Steelers are coming off a gritty win at home over the Baltimore Ravens and can’t afford a letdown against the Browns, whose playoff hopes are gone and may be headed for another massive overhaul. Coach Kevin Stefanski could use a big win to alleviate any concern that he has lost his team.

Pittsburgh (8-2) at Cleveland (2-8)
Thursday, 8 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Steelers by 3 1/2.
Against the spread: Steelers 8-2; Browns 3-7.
Series record: Steelers lead 79-62-1.
Last meeting: Browns beat Steelers 13-10 on Nov. 19, 2023, in Cleveland.
Last week: Steelers beat Ravens 18-16; Browns lost to Saints 35-14.
Steelers offense: overall (19), rush (8), pass (28), scoring (14).
Steelers defense: overall (8), rush (4), pass (19), scoring (2).
Browns offense: overall (27), rush (29), pass (20), scoring (31).
Browns defense: overall (19), rush (24), pass (17), scoring (24).
Turnover differential: Steelers plus-11; Browns minus-5.
Steelers player to watch
WR George Pickens. Perhaps no player has benefitted more from QB Russell Wilson’s arrival in the starting lineup than Pickens. The 6-foot-3 third-year wideout has become Wilson’s go-to in almost every situation. Pickens had a season high in targets (12) and receptions (eight) last week against the Ravens and his 48 catches on the season are more than the next four receivers on the depth chart combined (35).
Browns player to watch
RB Nick Chubb. He’ll face the Steelers for the first time since suffering a gruesome knee injury against them last season. Chubb’s inspiring comeback has been one of the only positives this season for the Browns. In his fourth game back, Chubb gained 50 yards last week but was only on the field for 22 plays as the team continues to manage his workload following his second knee reconstruction.
Key matchup
Steelers LB/edge rusher T.J. Watt versus Browns RT Jack Conklin. Watt is having another Watt-like season — 7 1/2 sacks, four forced fumbles, two recoveries and 12 tackles for loss through 10 games. Pittsburgh moves Watt from side to side but he’ll primarily be lined up against Conklin, who will likely need some help to keep QB Jameis Winston upright.
Key injuries
Steelers: OLB Alex Highsmith will miss his second straight game with an ankle injury. Nick Herbig started in Highsmith’s place against Baltimore on Sunday and forced a fumble on the game’s opening series.
Browns: DE Myles Garrett (hip) missed practice on Tuesday but is expected to play. … Starting LT Dawand Jones broke his leg last week and is done for the season. His loss is further complicated by Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee), who sat out last week and will also miss Thursday’s game. Germain Ifedi will start for the Browns.
Series notes
The heated rivalry has been more balanced in recent years after being dominated by the Steelers for most of two decades. … Pittsburgh won 12 straight, 17 of 18 and 25 of 28 from 2000-14. … The Steelers are just 1-4-1 in their past six visits to Cleveland, losing twice on Thursday night. … The Browns have won eight straight home games on Thursdays. … Overall, Cleveland has won six in a row on Thursday night.
Stats and stuff
The Steelers have won five straight, the past four with Wilson taking over after missing the first six games with a calf injury. … Pittsburgh is 0-3 on the road on Thursday nights against the Browns, including losses in 2019 and 2022. … The Steelers are 67-39-4 all time against QBs taken No. 1 overall in the draft as Winston was in 2015 by Tampa in 2015. … Pittsburgh needs just one victory or tie in its last eight games to assure the franchise of its 21st straight non-losing season, the past 18 under coach Mike Tomlin. … Watt has thrived against the Browns. Watt has 17 sacks against Cleveland in his career, tied for the most against any Pittsburgh opponent (Baltimore). … Pittsburgh K Chris Boswell is 29 of 30 on the season and provided all of the Steelers’ points in wins over Atlanta and Baltimore, games in which Boswell made all six of his field-goal attempts. Pittsburgh is 2-0 this season when the offense doesn’t score a touchdown. The rest of the NFL is 2-13 in such games. … One of the reason’s Boswell has been so busy is that Pittsburgh’s offense has sputtered in the red zone. The Steelers have turned just 16 of their 36 trips inside the opponent’s 20 into touchdowns, that’s the third-lowest touchdown rate (44.4 percent) in the league. … Pittsburgh’s defense is among the league’s best, particularly after halftime. The Steelers are allowing just 6.4 points in the second half, tops in the NFL. … Cleveland begins a critical stretch with coach Kevin Stefanski’s future in doubt despite winning the AP Coach of the Year honor last season. … Winston is coming off his best game with the Browns, throwing for 395 yards and two TDs in his third start of 2024. … This will be Winston’s first career game against the Steelers, who were the only NFL team he had not faced. … Chubb has 717 yards rushing and three TDs in 10 games against the Steelers. … There’s a rivalry within the rivalry between Watt and Garrett, the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year and the 2021 winner. When Garrett won the award, Watt felt slighted and posted “Nothing I’m not used to” on social media. Watt had more sacks (19) than Garrett (14) last season. … Browns WR Jerry Jeudy had six catches last week for 142 yards, including an 89-yard TD. … CB Denzel Ward finally got his first interception — and Cleveland’s second all season — last week despite playing hurt. Ward leads the league with 17 passes defensed. …. Normally reliable K Dustin Hopkins missed three field goals against the Saints. He’s just 4 of 8 on kicks of at least 50 yards after making all eight attempts from 50 and beyond last year.
Fantasy tip
While Pickens has developed nice chemistry with Wilson, he’ll likely be matched up against Ward, who is playing as well as any corner in the league. Also, the weather forecast of cold, wind and maybe snow could make passing a challenge. A better play might be to go with Steelers RB Najee Harris, who has run for a career-best 493 yards and four TDs against the Browns.
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New York Jets wide receiver Mike Williams (18) pulls in a pass against Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott (25) in the second half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers might be in first place in the AFC North.
They’re hardly coasting.
Pittsburgh added wide receiver Mike Williams and outside linebacker Preston Smith at the trade deadline on Tuesday, giving the club veteran depth at two positions of need as the stretch run looms.
The Steelers sent a fifth-round pick to the New York Jets for Williams and a seventh-round selection to Green Bay for Smith.
Pittsburgh (6-2) is coming off its bye week atop the AFC North, but begins a difficult second half of the season on Sunday at surprising NFC East-leading Washington (7-2).
Acquiring Williams gives the Steelers a proven outside threat to put opposite George Pickens. Pittsburgh is talented but thin at outside linebacker. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are perhaps the best tandem in the league. But backup Nick Herbig has been slowed by a hamstring injury, though coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday there’s a chance Herbig could be available against the Commanders.
The Steelers have been searching for a big target to complement Pickens since trading Diontae Johnson to Carolina last spring. They flirted with but couldn’t land Brandon Aiyuk — who opted to re-sign with San Francisco — over the summer and watched Davante Adams (Jets) and DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs) go elsewhere in the AFC.
Williams, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with New York in the offseason as a free agent, had just 12 catches for 166 yards in nine games with the Jets. He had only a 6-yard reception on just two targets in his past two games.
The 6-foot-4 Williams spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers, for whom he caught 309 passes for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns. He tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 3 last year and missed the rest of the season. The Jets brought Williams along slowly throughout the offseason and in training camp, but he never seemed to click with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he got onto the field.
Williams comes to a team that has seen an uptick in the passing game since Russell Wilson returned from a calf injury that forced him to miss Pittsburgh’s first six games. While Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III have had their moments since Wilson was reinserted into the lineup, Williams’ size gives the Steelers another big body to use in the red zone alongside the 6-3 Pickens and 6-5 tight end Pat Freiermuth.
Tomlin made it a point to praise the work of his wide receiver group as a whole shortly before adding Williams.
“I just feel like we have a group that’s hardworking and capable and can’t wait to show the football world those capabilities,” he said. “And every time we step into a stadium, they get an opportunity to do so. And you (have) seen some examples of it already.”
Just not enough for the Steelers to seek an upgrade as the franchise tries to end a playoff victory drought that stretches to the 2016 AFC championship game.
Pittsburgh has been uncharacteristically aggressive in trying to revamp its offense over the past year, jettisoning quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph while adding Wilson and Justin Fields.
The results have been solid if not always spectacular so far. The Steelers are a respectable 13th in scoring after finishing 28th a year ago.
Still, significant challenges remain. Pittsburgh will play all three of its AFC North rivals twice over the final nine weeks to go with games against Washington, Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Tomlin acknowledged the club was active in the trade market, calling it prudent for a team that wants to be a “world championship outfit.”
Pittsburgh’s defense is among the league’s best — the Steelers are second in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed — but the pass rush isn’t quite as disruptive as it has been in recent years, due in part to opponents making it a point to get the ball out quicker.
Watt has 6 1/2 of Pittsburgh’s 19 sacks, numbers that are a little off the pace for both in recent years, though Highsmith missed three games with a groin injury and Herbig hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring on Oct. 6 against Dallas.
Smith has seen a dip in playing time in his 10th season after the Packers switched to a 4-3 defense. The 31-year-old has 2 1/2 sacks and six tackles for Green Bay, and played just 36% of the snaps against Detroit on Sunday. Smith has been productive throughout his career with the Commanders and the Packers, getting 68 1/2 sacks in 155 games.
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AP Pro Football writer Dennis Waszak Jr. in New York and AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
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