Cleveland @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2018 ) Pittsburgh 21, Cleveland 21

The Pittsburgh Steelers made it through their bye week with no further resolution to the Le'Veon Bell drama but are also sitting in first place in the AFC North. The Steelers will go for their third consecutive win and try to maintain their grasp on the top spot in the North when they host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Bell has yet to report to Pittsburgh and is still holding out after failing to sign his $14.54 million franchise tag, but the team is trying not to let it be a distraction. "It's everybody else," defensive tackle Cam Heyward told reporters. "In our locker room, we're not even worried about it. It's unfair for me to even talk about (Bell), and he'll have to answer his questions when he wants to. But we're not talking about it right now. We've got Cleveland Browns football, and if he joins along the way, so be it. But it's not fair to everybody in this locker room, and Le'Veon himself, for us to keep talking about it." The Browns nearly pulled off an upset of the Steelers with a 21-21 tie in Week 1 and played their fourth overtime game of the season in a 26-23 loss at Tampa Bay last week. "What it comes down to is doing little things right," rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters of learning to win the tight games. "Early on in the game when emotions are high, you have to settle in quickly and do your job. Late in the game when it really matters, you do not have to do too much. You just have to do your job."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers -8. O/U: 49

ABOUT THE BROWNS (2-4-1): Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson pledged to get more involved in the offense after watching it struggle over the last several games, but that doesn't mean he's lost faith in offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who used to hold the same position with the Steelers. "I have total confidence in Todd and what the staff is doing," Jackson told reporters. "In those situations, for me like I said after the game – fuming like I was after losing – I had a chance to sit back and see it all. I just wanted to make sure that as an offense we were crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s and making sure that everything is moving in the right direction." The Browns enter the week tied for 23rd in the NFL in scoring average at 21.6 points.

ABOUT THE STEELERS (3-2-1): Pittsburgh continues to sing the praises of running back James Conner, who is taking over Bell's spot as the team's top rusher. "It's always the next man up, man," center Maurkice Pouncey told reporters. "We always live by that code here, being a Steeler; and (Conner's) doing a great job with it. He's excelling at a high rate, and guys on the team are loving it." Conner rushed for a season-high 135 yards and two TDs at Cleveland in Week 1, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted three times.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Steelers S Morgan Burnett (groin) sat out the last four games but is practicing on a limited basis and is questionable for Sunday.

2. Browns DB E.J. Gaines (concussion) and LB Joe Schobert (hamstring) are not expected to play.

3. Cleveland last won at Pittsburgh on Oct. 5, 2003.

PREDICTION: Steelers 31, Browns 27