The early bye week is nearly here as the Cleveland Browns will look to grab their third win before taking some time off. Cleveland will have faced all three division rivals after this weekend’s game as they look to get two early division wins on the season. Can the likes of Deshaun Watson, Elijah Moore, and the offense get it going for a second straight week?
Jim Schwartz and the defense led by Myles Garrett have been on a historic pace to start the season and face the hardest test so far against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. They will have to play smart and disciplined if they don’t want to be burned by Jackson with his legs.
Buy Browns TicketsThe offense finally looked like a solid unit last week and they go up against a pass rush that had 30 total pressures last week against the Colts. Quarterback Deshaun Watson needs to prove that last week was not a flash in the pan and stack back-to-back good games.
Here are my three bold predictions for this week as the team looks to get off to a solid 3-1 start.
Elijah Moore will have over 100 total yards
The Browns finally got the ball to Elijah Moore consistently as he caught all nine targets against the Titans. Though it wasn’t a breakout performance it was a step in the right direction. The tape shows it, Moore is getting open and creating separation, and now Watson has to take advantage of these situations.
Moore needs to force more missed tackles in the open field one-on-one when he has the chance to create explosive plays. Amari Cooper will continue to draw a lot of attention for the defense and Moore could be set up for a breakout game.
The defense will hold Baltimore to less than 150 yards rushing
The improvement the defense has made stopping the run compared to last year has been incredible. Now they face a dynamic runner in Lamar Jackson and running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. Their offensive line has been banged up but none of their running backs are top-level players.
It will be fascinating to see how the Browns try to defend Lamar Jackson especially as they try to keep him in the pocket and not create explosive plays with his legs. In the end, Jackson will get his yards but it feels like the defense will shut down the run outside of that.
The Browns will win the turnover battle
Despite the amazing start from the Browns’ defense they have not won the turnover battle in any of their first three games and are -5 on the season overall. Lamar Jackson has been a little careless with the ball in the pocket so far having fumbled four times so far though he has only lost two of them.
The defense is healthy and with Greg Newsome returning to the lineup they could take advantage of opportunities to turn pressure into turnovers. The defensive chess match with Jim Schwartz in this one will be the number one thing that I will be the most excited to watch play out.
