Mark Madden's Hot Take: Odds of wild-card victory heavily stacked in Steelers favor

Last week, against the Steelers’ JV, Cleveland was in a no-win situation…but had to win.

This week, with the Browns ravaged by covid and injury, the Steelers are in a no-win situation…but have to win.

As of Friday, the Browns had eight players on the covid list and seven players listed as questionable.

Included on the covid list: Guard Joel Bitonio, their best offensive lineman, and Denzel Ward, their top cornerback. (Starting safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. came off the covid list Saturday.)

Five starters were listed as questionable, including defensive end Myles Garrett, the Browns’ top defensive playmaker and the NFL’s best defender not named Watt or Donald. Garrett has played in five games since returning from covid, posting just 2 1/2 sacks in that span. Garrett is clearly still badly fatigued and wasn’t even on the field at the end of last Sunday’s must-win game.

Standout defensive end Olivier Vernon is on injured reserve after mangling his Achilles tendon last Sunday. Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has long since been on IR.

The cherry on top: Head coach Kevin Stefanski has covid. He calls the plays. He can’t coach.

The Steelers’ injury report is empty. Only cornerback Joe Haden is on the team’s covid list.

The Browns practiced once this week. Everything is lined up 100% against them.

The line for Sunday night’s wild-card matchup opened at Steelers minus-3. Now it’s Steelers minus-6. It should be a lot more.

This game will be a slaughter. JuJu Smith-Schuster dismissively said “the Browns is the Browns.” But these aren’t the Browns. This is what’s left of the Browns. Smith-Schuster poked a toothless bear.

It’s impossible to conjure a scenario where the Browns win. Nick Chubb might be the NFL’s best running back. Kareem Hunt is also a very good back. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is a quality secondary weapon. If the running game works, he augments nicely.

But none of that matters because of Cleveland’s absences on defense. The Browns can’t outscore the Steelers. Grinding it out on the ground to win a low-scoring game is a pipe dream.

The Steelers can’t possibly lose. The Browns are impossibly crippled.

But for the Steelers, that’s often when the problems start.