The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers will renew their fiery rivalry in Week 6 of the 2020 NFL season.
Although neither team were in playoff contention last year, things got ugly between the AFC North rivals in their first meeting of 2019 when a fight broke out and Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph with his own helmet.
The mood in both camps will be upbeat heading into Sunday's game at Heinz Field, though, as they have been victorious in each of their past four outings.
A meeting of Cleveland's top-ranked rushing attack and the Pittsburgh's second-ranked run defense promises to serve up quite the contest.
The Steelers have limited two of their first four opponents to fewer than 30 yards on the ground and allow 64.0 yards per game, while the Browns' average in rushing yards per game is almost three times that figure.
The New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans are back in action after seeing games postponed by positive COVID-19 tests, while veteran quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady will go toe to toe in Tampa.
We use Stats Perform data to look ahead to another mouthwatering schedule.
FEATURE GAME
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers - Sunday, 1pm (all times Eastern)
- The Browns have scored 30 points in each of their past four games and their total of 150 in Weeks 2-5 were the most in the NFL. They lead the NFL in rushing (188.4 yards per game) and are fourth in stopping the run (87.0 yards per game).
- Pittsburgh are 4-0 for the first time since 1979 – the last Super Bowl-winning season of the Chuck Noll/Terry Bradshaw/Steel Curtain era. The season before that Pittsburgh started 7-0, also en route to the Lombardi Trophy.
- Ben Roethlisberger is 22-2-1 in 25 career starts versus the Browns, including 11-0 at Heinz Field. In addition, he came off the bench to pass for 379 yards in a home victory over Cleveland in 2015. He last faced the Browns in 2018, throwing four interceptions in two games.
OTHER KEY GAMES
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers – Sunday, 1pm
- Teddy Bridgewater's 73.0 completion percentage ranks second in the NFL behind Derek Carr (73.1 percent). The all-time single-season high for a Carolina quarterback is 68.0 percent by Cam Newton in 2018 (minimum 10 attempts).
Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles – Sunday, 1pm
- Baltimore improved to 4-1 with a 27-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The Ravens' +73-point differential leads the NFL and ranks second in franchise history through five games, behind only 2011 (+77).
Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sunday, 4.25pm
- Rodgers and Brady have split their head-to-head matchups 1-1, with the latter taking the most recent one in Foxborough back in 2018 (31-17). However, Rodgers is in strong form this year – he is just the fourth quarterback in the past 70 years to throw for at least 13 touchdowns without an interception through the first four games of a season (2018 Patrick Mahomes, 2013 Peyton Manning, 1966 Don Meredith).
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – Sunday, 8.20pm
- The Rams have nine rushing touchdowns this season, more than any other team in the NFL. Five different Rams players have run for a touchdown this season, with Darrell Henderson (3), Malcolm Brown (2) and Jared Goff (2) all doing so multiple times.
Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills – Monday, 5pm
- Mahomes suffered just his eighth defeat in 36 regular-season games as a starting quarter back in Week 5. He’s bounced back well after the first seven defeats, going 5-2 and throwing 18 touchdowns to just four interceptions following losses.
ELSEWHERE…
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots – Sunday, 1pm
- The Pats are 2-2 and in danger of falling below .500 in October or later for the first time since 2002. Their streak of 225 consecutive games in October or later without being below .500 (either before or after the game) is the longest streak in NFL history.
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys – Monday, 8.15pm
- DeAndre Hopkins had six receptions for 131 yards in a 30-10 rout of the New York Jets in Week 5 and leads the NFL with 45 catches and 528 yards. Hopkins surpassed 9,000 career receiving yards in the win, becoming the fourth-youngest player in NFL history to do so at 28 years and 127 days old. Only Randy Moss (27 years, 310 days), Calvin Johnson (28-56) and Hopkins' team-mate Larry Fitzgerald (28 years, 81 days) got there at a younger age.