Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers Thurs. Dec. 8, 2011 8:20 p.m. EST

The AFC North division title will almost certainly be won by the Baltimore Ravens this season as head coach John Harbaugh has gotten this team firing on all cylinders with some big wins over the arch division rival Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only have the Ravens gotten the best of all the teams in the AFC North this season and are bound to wrap up the division title, but they also made a statement on Thanksgiving Day by beating the San Francisco 49ers in Baltimore.

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As if the win over his younger brother Jim Harbaugh wasn’t sweet enough, John Harbaugh was able to beat one of the best teams in the league with the 49ers having the second-best record in the NFL. This win turned a lot of heads around the league as many people started to consider the Ravens as a legitimate Super Bowl title contender and perhaps the favorites to come out of the AFC Conference this season.

Steelers runningback Rashard Mendenhall

Despite no longer being in the running for the AFC North division title, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have a great chance of getting back into the playoffs through the AFC Wild Card. With the two spots in the AFC Wild Card up grabs, Big Ben Roethlisberger and company will continue to have something to play for and an opportunity to get some revenge against the red-hot Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a relatively easy task at hand in Week 14 as they will host the lowly division rival Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field on Thursday night. This may be a game being played on a short week for Mike Tomlin and his aging football team, but the Steelers won’t have much competition from the Browns who have struggled all season long.

Pro Bowl running back and Madden cover athlete Peyton Hillis may have finally gotten back on the football field for the Cleveland Browns for the last two weeks, but the results have been the same for the Browns as they still can’t figure out a way to win football games. There is a slight chance that the Browns will be able to challenge the Steelers’ defense on Thursday night with some hardnosed football in the ground game, but smart money says this will be just another easy win for the Pittsburgh Steelers who will almost certainly improve their record to 10-3.

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With a 10-3 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take one step closer to clinching a playoff spot and the Cleveland Browns will take one step closer to getting a higher draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

As of right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been heavily favored with a -14 point spread. This spread is fairly high and something that the Steelers will struggle to cover.

Take the Browns at +14.

The Cleveland Browns came into this NFL regular season with high hopes of finally being able to turn the corner and contend of a playoff spot in the AFC Conference. With the Browns playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL in the AFC North, the chances of competing for the division title with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens were slim, but contending for the AFC Wild Card was a possibility.

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With the struggling Browns franchise getting a breath of fresh air last season with the emergence of Pro Bowl running back Peyton Hillis and franchise quarterback Colt McCoy there was hope for the future, but it was uncertain whether or not this would be the season that this team would emerge as a legitimate force to be reckoned with.

Peyton Hillis

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns have failed to live up to expectations once again as Peyton Hillis has been a bust this year and Colt McCoy is still adjusting the professional level. There is no question that is team still has potential to turn it around in the near future, but this year is a lost cause as Cleveland sits in last place in the AFC North division with a disappointing 4-6 record.

Despite the making the playoffs in the AFC Conference being impossibility at this point in the season, the Cleveland Browns did get some good news heading into Week 12 as Peyton Hillis has been upgraded to a game-time decision. Last season Hollis may have been considered to be amongst the best of the best at his position with the likes of Arian Foster (Houston Texans), Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) and Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings), but this year has been a struggle from start to finish as he has dealt with multiple injuries and a contract dispute with the Browns.

With Hollis’ future in Cleveland looking to be in serious doubt as the team is unsure of signing the up-and-coming running back to a long-term deal, the Pro Bowler has had a rough year and has thought about becoming a free agent and leaving. After missing the last six games with a severely sprained hamstring, Peyton Hollis’ value has gone through the floor for the Cleveland Browns, but with the star running back practicing again he could be ready to go this weekend against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals.

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Even if Peyton Hollis goes elsewhere next season, the Pro Bowl running back needs to get back on the field in order to help the Cleveland Browns finish the season with a .500 record and convince other teams around the league that last season was no fluke. After practicing on Friday, the Browns hope to get him back on the gridiron this Sunday, but as of right now he is nothing more than game-time decision and could very well be watching from the sidelines once again.

New England 14 at Cleveland 34

Hit: Browns coach Eric Mangini beat his former mentor Bill Belichick. Mangini outsmarted the usually prepared Belichick.

Miss: Tom Brady had a decent game — 224 yards, two touchdowns with no interceptions — and yet the Patriots only produced 14 points. With a defense so inconsistent, New England is destined to get bounced out early in the playoffs.

Hit: Second-year running back Peyton Hillis had a big game with 184 yards and two touchdowns. He sealed the game for the Browns. Denver must be kicking themselves.

Miss: Brady was clearly confused with the different looks and formations the Browns were giving him. Simply put the Browns were better prepared than Belichick and Co.

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Tampa Bay 21 at Atlanta 27

Hit: The Atlanta Falcons beat the “best” team in the NFC by making a defensive stand at the goal-line. There was no Josh Freeman-led comeback this time.

Miss: It’s a small miss, but the lone turnover by Freeman was the difference in the game. Bucs coach Raheem Morris may be onto something though. Tampa Bay is a dangerous team.

Hit: Michael Turner got on to a fast start to put the Falcons up early. He also ended the game by picking up the first down on a series of runs.

Miss: Tampa Bay got off to another slow start. They can’t keep trying to win games on two-minute drills.

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Chicago 22 at Buffalo 19

Hit: The Bears allowed only one sack on Jay Cutler. With good protection Cutler can certainly do damage. He did not throw an interception.

Miss: Buffalo outgained the Bears by 57 yards and still lost.

Hit: Tim Jennins’ pick of Ryan Fitzpatrick allowed the Bears to make a comeback and avoid losing to the worst team in the NFL.

Miss: Fitzpatrick was allowed to attempt 51 passes. Last time we checked the more
Fitzpatrick throws the more likely the Bills will lose the game. The Bills running backs were limited to only 16 attempts.

Cleveland 30 at New Orleans 17

Hit: Former Saint Scott Fujita was the key for Cleveland’s upset of New Orleans. He was all over the field and provided Browns’ coach Eric Mangini with inside information about the New Orleans’ play patterns.

Miss: The defending champs did not take advantage of a fairly easy early schedule. They’ll have a rough time against Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Atlanta down the road.
They seem overconfident. They had this game in the bag having outgained Cleveland by 184 yards and having 25 first downs to Cleveland’s 12.

Washington 17 at Chicago 14

Hit: DeAngelo Hall with four picks including a sick one-handed grab he returned for a 92-yard touchdown.

Miss: Chicago’s offensive line has allowed 19 sacks in the past three games. There’s no running game. Coach Mike Martz is crazy for having Jay Cutler throw 40 times. Martz called a running play only 16 times. Is Martz trying to kill Cutler?

Hit: Ryan Torain followed up last week’s performance with a 125-yard game.

Miss: Chicago’s offense makes any team’s defense like a Super Bowl contender.

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Cincinnati 32 at Atlanta 39

Hit: Roddy White showing up Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. White had eleven catches for 201 yards while the diva duo combined for 19 catches and 196 yards. Most important stat? Atlanta picked up the win.

Miss: Ochocinco’s T-shirt debacle that lighted a fire under White.

Hit: Carson Palmer and Matt Ryan both had big games and both deserved the win.
But as in life, one has to lose. Palmer threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan threw for 299 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

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Pittsburgh 23 at Miami 22

Miss: The officials who were unable to render a decision on who had the ball in the end zone. Obviously, the rewarding of possession back to the Steelers was like a gift on Christmas morning.

Miss: Miami is winless at home. Imagine if they were a great home team, they’d be the only undefeated team in the league.

San Francisco 20 at Carolina 23

Hit: Jimmy Clausen maybe the future QB of the franchise, but Matt Moore is the man now. He threw for two scores.

Miss: After weeks of calling for David Carr to play in place of Alex Smith, the Niners realized that Smith is sadly the right man for the job.

Hit: David Gettis is a name that doesn’t pop up often since the Panthers have Steve Smith.
Gettis had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns