Steelers vs. Browns 'Thursday Night Football' betting odds, picks and predictions: Best bets, player props

Two of the four teams currently tied for first place in the AFC North square off Thursday night when the Cleveland Browns host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field.

The Steelers (2-1) enter this prime-time showdown fresh off a thrilling 30-27 victory against Cincinnati . Down 27-24 in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh used a pair of Chris Boswell field goals to pull out the home win against quarterback Joe Burrow and the previously unbeaten Bengals .

On the other side, many fans and pundits alike might be a little surprised by Cleveland's 2-1 start to its campaign. After a humbling 34-10 road loss against Jacksonville in the season opener, the Browns have reeled off close victories against Tampa Bay and Carolina . The highlight in the latter win came via a late Harold Fannin Jr. touchdown — his second of the game — to vault Cleveland to the home triumph.

Let's take a deeper look at this intriguing matchup and see where we've located some betting value.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-3, 38.5) at Cleveland Browns

This number hasn't moved much, with Pittsburgh opening as a 2.5-point road favorite. While some books have held spread at that number, others have seen it tick up and moved it to Steelers -3.

In contrast, the total has dropped from an opening number of 40.5 to 38.5 in a contest taking place on a short week. You can even find a few totals of 38 out there at various shops.

Looking more closely at this clash, it's extremely hard to not like the Browns getting the points.

And the data and history surrounding the hosts are the reasons why:

Cleveland is 10-2 straight up at home on Thursday

The Browns are 9-3 against the spread, including covering the number in nine consecutive games

Throw in the fact that Pittsburgh is 0-4 on Thursday nights in Cleveland dating back to 2009 and scored a combined 49 points in those losses and you have the Browns in an ideal historical situation.

I'm backing Cleveland to cover the spread in a spot where they've consistently done well. And I don't think it's out of the question that Deshaun Watson could lead the Browns to an outright victory.

TE Darnell Washington alt receiving yards: 15+ yards (-138) | 20+ yards (+118) | 25+ yards (+178) | 30+ yards (+250) at FanDuel

If there's one area the Cleveland defense has struggled so far this season, it has been covering opposing tight ends.

Case in point came in last week's win against Carolina, where the visiting triumvirate of Darren Waller , Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans combined for 11 receptions and 128 yards. None of those guys are as imposing as Washington, who's 6-foot-7 and weighs close to 270 pounds.

Washington has also seemed to gain favor with Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers . He finished with a snap share edge over veteran Pat Freiermuth (76%-60%) against the Bengals, hauling in three catches for 67 yards in Week 3.

With that in mind, we're going after this Washington ladder play. He has recorded at least 19 yards receiving in the first three games of the season and I think Rodgers gets this mountain of a man involved early and often against the Browns.

RB Raheim Sanders alt receiving yards: 15+ yards (+126) | 20+ yards (+198) | 25+ yards (+290) | 30+ yards (+410, FanDuel)

We went digging in the weeds for another ladder play and loved what we uncovered tied to Sanders.

With Dylan Sampson parked on the IR, Sanders has established himself as the No. 2 running back behind Quinshon Judkins . And he's the clear passing-down back in this Cleveland offense.

Sanders was quite active against Carolina, running 17 routes. He was targeted five times, finishing with four receptions for 34 yards.

Pittsburgh's pass-rushers have been getting after the opposition's quarterbacks, racking up 8.0 sacks in the first three games. That means Watson is going to have to get the ball out fast and one of the guys most likely to benefit is Sanders.

If you're looking for something more conservative, his line to clear 10 receiving yards sits at -148 at FanDuel. However, I'm going with this ladder angle and hoping Sanders can break off a couple of big plays to clear them all.

A season ago, Fannin led the Cleveland offense with 72 receptions.

Now, three games into the latest campaign, he is on pace to eclipse that number after a sizzling start. Fannin has recorded 14 receptions on 18 targets for 128 yards, highlighted by his seven-catch, 51-yard effort against the Panthers that resulted in two touchdowns.

In my opinion, Fannin is quietly turning into a potential top-five tight end in the league and has clearly become one of Watson's favorite targets in the clutch. And now Cleveland faces a Pittsburgh defense that has struggled to keep opposing tight ends in check.

Through three games, the Pittsburgh defense has conceded 12 yards per reception and a 71.4% catch rate to tight ends. That's just not good enough, especially facing a guy as athletic and dominant as Fannin.

At this price, I'm finding it hard to not back one of Watson's favorite targets to hit paydirt.