Browns Finally Return Home
Welcome Bowns fans to week 10. Sunday the 5-4 Browns return to Huntington Bank Field to take on the 3-5 Houston Texans. Game time is 12:00 noon CST and as usual the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will meet up at Burke’s Public House to cheer the Browns onto victory. The Browns have played 6 of their first 9 games on the road and after a week 11 bye week they will play their next 3 games at home where they are currently 3-0. The Browns have listed WR Denzel Boston questionable for the game and S Ronnie Hickman will sit out the game in concussion protocol. The possible losses of Boston and Hickman would mean WR Jerry Jeudy and rookie S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren will get additional playing time. The game marks a possible turning point for the Browns after losing their last 2 games they’ve dropped to third in the division and a win on Sunday would get them back in the race for the playoffs while a loss would drop them to 5-5 and put their hopes for the playoffs in major jeopardy. During the week DE Jared Verse disclosed that the pressure of having no sacks and only 4 tackles for loss after 9 games was affecting his mental wellbeing and he’s sought help from DT Maliek Collins and the Browns mental health staff to cope with the stress. HC Todd Monken also announced that despite Shedeur Sanders throwing for 297 yards with 2 TDs and no interception for a 114.6 QB rating last week Desaun Watson will get the start on Sunday.
Browns Mid-Season Report Card
With the Browns now at the season’s midpoint, it’s time to see where they rank in the NFL and which players lead the team statistically. It’s no surprisingly, the defense is the team’s strongest unit. They are 12th in scoring defense giving up 21.8 points per game and 9th in TDs given up per game along with 12th in yards allowed per play. They’ve been excellent defending 4th downs tries ranking 3rd at under 29% and 8th in redzone defense allowing TDs on less than 47% of opponents redzone possessions. Their rushing defense has been their most glaring weakness, ranking 28th giving up 4.7 yards per rush and 130 rushing yards per game. Their defense against the pass has been much better ranking 2nd in the league in opponents completion rate at 59.6%, 6th in pass yards allowed per game at 201 yard and 6th in sack rate at 8%. Carson Schwestinger leads the defense with 40 solo tackles and 89 total tackles. Denzel Ward leads the team with 3 interceptions and 9 pass defenses while Mason Graham leads with 4 sacks and 9 TFL. The offense has been much less successful. Overall, they rank 29th in points per game at under 18 points and 24th in total yards at 308 yards per game. The Browns are last in red zone scoring percentage at slightly more than 39%, 29th in third down conversions and 30th in fourth down conversions. The running game has all sorts of problems. They’re 26th gaining only 3.8 yards per rush and 25th in rushing yards per game. Because of the poor rushing game, the Browns have been forced to rely heavily on their passing attack. They are 11th in completion percentage at 65.4% and their 7.4 yards per pass ranks 12th. The offensive line has been particularly challenged in protecting the QB. The Browns lead the NFL in QB sacks giving up 38 sacks between Watson and Sanders. Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion lead all rookies in receiving yards with Concepcion also leading in receptions. TE Harold Fannin Jr. leads all 2nd year TE in reception and receiving yards, his 453 receiving yards are 6th overall and he’s 2nd in yards gained after the catch.
A Desperate Texans Team Comes to Town
The 3-5 Houston Texans come into Cleveland desperately trying to salvage their playoff hopes after losing their first 4 games to open the season. Following their 4 game losing streak, they’ve won 3 of their last 4 games however, 2 of those 3 wins came against the 0-8 LA Chargers and 1-7 Tennessee Titans. Their offense is led by former Buckeye QB JC Stroud who’s in the midst of a career year. His 16 TD passes are 7th in the league, against only 2 interceptions leading to a 5th ranked QB rating of 104.8, the highest of his career. After throwing just 5 TD’s in his first 4 games he’s thrown 11 TDs with 1 interception in his last 4 games. The key to containing Stroud is to force him to move in the pocket. His favorite target is WR Nico Collins who has 29 receptions averaging 13.7 yards per catch 4 TDs. TE Dalton Schultz has 35 catches averaging 10.4 yards per reception. The Browns secondary will be tested deep by WR Tank Dell who’s just returning to the line-up. Houston’s running game has not been good averaging only 3.6 yards per carry 3rd worse in the league. Their best RB is Woody Marks who’s averaging 3.6 yards per carry. Defense is the backbone of the team led by an aggressive front line that’s 2nd in the NFL in sack rate. The Browns may have caught a break with NFL sack and TFL leader DE Will Anderson listed as questionable for the game. If Anderson plays the Browns OTs will have their hands full all game long protecting Watson. Opposite Anderson on the front 4 is former Brown Jadeveon Clowney who has 4 sacks on the year. Their best DB is CB Derek Stingley who has 1 interception on the season.
SEE YOU SUNDAY GO BROWN……GO CAVS