Le'Veon Bell's decision to extend his holdout into the regular season has helped hammer down this total from 47. That is a steep drop in light of the fact that the Steelers' previous regular-season outing against the Browns produced 52 points as the stud running back sat out that game. He also skipped the 2016 season closer versus Cleveland when 51 points were recorded. Bell is a force of nature, but he alone is not responsible for Pittsburgh's No. 3 offensive ranking last year. Although wideout Josh Gordon has been idled forever, or so it seems, his return can jump-start the Browns' offense.

There's word of awful weather in this game, so we could be looking at a very low score when all is said and done. The Browns have a quality defense anyway, and they have yet to prove the rebuilt offense is worth taking seriously. Unders are typically great plays early in the season as the offenses that haven't played much in the preseason shake off the rust, and this one is better than most with the weather factor.

Although the Browns went winless last year, my projections have this improved club beating the Steelers half the time in their season-opening showdown Sunday. This gives us plenty of value in backing the Browns on the money line against the rival Steelers. Pittsburgh will be hampered by the loss of Le'Veon Bell, and I'm seeing the Cleveland defense getting at least one interception from Ben Roethlisberger. Take the underdog outright here.

Cleveland gave the Steelers a tough time in last year's opener, a 21-18 win in Cleveland, and I think the Browns' defense will play a good game here. This will be a close game. Take the points.