The Browns head into their bye week in embarrassment, having been labeled underdogs in a matchup against the struggling New York Jets
The Cleveland Browns are 2-6 heading into their bye week, causing many fans to believe that their season is already over.
But coming out of their bye week, the Browns will travel to face the 1-7 New York Jets on the road in what feels like one of the lone remaining winnable games on the schedule.
Alarmingly, the Browns opened as betting underdogs against the Jets for their November 7th matchup.
Similarly to the Browns, the Jets are also entering their bye week. However, they will go into the bye week with a little bit of momentum after securing their first victory of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Browns enter their bye week embarrassed, as they suffered a painful blowout loss against Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots.
It’s Aaron Glenn’s first year as head coach with the Jets. Quarterback Justin Fields has struggled in New York, but was able to put together a passable performance offensively to beat the Bengals in a 39-38 shootout.
On the flip side, things look grim for Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in his sixth season in Cleveland. The Browns are not a threat to score 20 points – let alone almost 40 – and Cleveland’s offense is the worst in the NFL every time they take the field.
The Jets will host the Browns, which is likely why they are currently a slight -1.5 betting favorite in this matchup. If this game was played on a neutral field, the Browns might have a slight edge because of their stellar defense.
However, the Browns have not won a road game since Week 2 last season, making them an extremely difficult team to trust in any road game.
Stefanski declared that the Browns will examine everything offensively. They have a lot of issues offensively. The embattled head coach also plans to start rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel , who has been a comedy of errors since taking over for Joe Flacco, who was benched after just four games.
The Browns don’t do much well offensively. Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins sprained his AC joint and is considered day-to-day going into this matchup with the Jets. Cleveland’s offensive line has not been great, either. But they were able to protect Gabriel a little bit better, as he was only sacked once against the Patriots.
This season, the Browns are 0-4 against the spread in their last four road games.
Stefanski is 3-2 coming out of the bye week during his time with the Browns, but this team being underdogs against the hapless Jets is a brutal reality.
Aaron Rodgers Fires Clear Message to Steelers Teammates Amid 2-Game Skid
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers famously told everyone in “Packer-land” to R-E-L-A-X after the Green Bay Packers started the 2014 season with a 1-2 record. The Packers went on to play in the NFC championship game that season.
Rodgers wasn’t quite as emphatic, but on Wednesday, he fired a new version of the same message for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I don’t know if we need to do that,” Rodgers told reporters when asked if there was a way to rally the troops. “I think you gotta stay the course.
“We lost a tough one in Cincinnati on a short week, and we played a good football team and had many chances to get things going.”
The Steelers didn’t just have opportunities to seize control against the Packers in Week 8. It appeared the Steelers had control of the contest when they led by nine points at halftime.
But things spiraled out of the team’s hands after halftime. The Packers scored 25 of the first 28 points in the second half to cruise to a 35-25 victory.
Rodgers finished the contest 24 of 36 with 219 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Aaron Rodgers, Mike Tomlin Stressing to ‘Stay the Course’
Rodgers hasn’t been one to panic in the past, so it’s not shocking he appears far more confident that things are going to be fine than Steelers Nation does at the moment.
And really, what Rodgers said echos the overall message Tomlin delivered Tuesday in front of the media.
“We make no excuses about how or why we fall short. Our job is to perform and perform at a high level, and we haven’t done that,” Tomlin said. “I’m excited about getting back to it. Seven games or whatever doesn’t make a season.
“We certainly got more in front of us and more opportunities to write our story, whether it’s individuals, a component of our team, whether it’s our team in general. I think that’s our general mindset.”
The Steelers have a tough opportunity directly in front of them. The 7-1 Indianapolis Colts will come to Acrisure Stadium for Week 9.
Tomlin and the Steelers will be trying to avoid falling to the .500 mark. They will enter Sunday with a 4-3 record after dropping the past two contests.
If the Steelers lose to the Colts, Pittsburgh will have suffered a three-game losing streak for the eight consecutive season.
History Changing in Steelers-Colts Rivalry?
The Steelers have largely dominated the series against the Colts since the teams first met in 1950. Tomlin owns an 8-3 career record against Indianapolis.
However, the Colts have won the past two matchups against the Steelers since hiring Shane Steichen as head coach.
In addition to being 2-0 as a head coach, Steichen went 1-1 as an offensive coordinator against the Steelers.
“He’s got a well-balanced and diverse attack,” Tomlin said of Steichen’s offense. “He’s got a specialized division of labor. You see it being played out in some of the guys that we mentioned, [Alec] Pierce being the down the field threat, [Michael] Pittman being a chain mover, etc.
“But that’s usually the case when you’re talking about good offenses. There is well-defined division of labor, versatility, multiple personnel groups, all of that kind of reflects Shane and his group.”
In 2023, the Colts defeated Mitch Trubisky’s Steelers 30-13. Last season, Joe Flacco came off the bench to embarrass the Steelers defense with a 27-24 Indianapolis win.
Both of those games, though, were in Indianapolis. The Colts are 1-16 in Pittsburgh since the beginning of the Chuck Noll era in 1969.
Ironically, the Colts’ only victory in Pittsburgh over the past 55 years came during the 2008 season, which is the last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
