Browns vs. Steelers NFL Week 2 best bet and odds: Bet on Pittsburgh to cover on MNF

The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers reignite their rivalry on Monday Night Football.

The pregame narrative: Pittsburgh suffered an ugly Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers while Cleveland held the Cincinnati Bengals to just a field goal in a 24-3 victory. Monday's matchup should be a war of attrition and we like the Steelers to bounce back.

Below are our Browns vs. Steelers best bet and odds for NFL Week 2.

NFL oddsas of 2:15 p.m. ET on 09/15/23.

Browns vs. Steelers best bet

Best Bet: Steelers +2.5 (-107)

The Steelers came out flat against the Niners last weekend and got waxed, 30-7. It was the worst home loss of the Mike Tomlin era but we're expecting the Black and Gold to rebound against their divisional rival.

Pittsburgh has won 19 straight regular season home games against Cleveland. Each of its past five wins has been by seven-plus points, including a 28-14 victory in Week 18 last year. The Browns did get the best of the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the 2020 playoffs, though.

Cleveland's defence was humming against Cincinnati but Deshaun Watson didn't look great. He completed just 55.2% of passes for 154 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. In seven career games with the Browns, he's averaging 179.4 yards with a 57.7 completion percentage.

To make matters worse, Amari Cooper aggravated his groin in Saturday's practice and is now questionable. Pittsburgh is also dealing with injuries as Diontae Johnson and Cameron Heyward won't be available.

Those are some big losses, but Pittsburgh has a great track record as a home dog under Tomlin (16-5-3). We're confident in them putting together a much more complete performance on Monday.

Key stat: Pittsburgh is 25-12-2 ATS as an underdog over the past five seasons.