The Browns take off for their west coast trip today, and first up is a game against the red-hot Denver Broncos.
Denver has won four straight games, and after Cleveland tries to shut down that streak on Sunday afternoon, they will head out further west, and spend the next week prepping to face the Rams in L.A.
But one thing at a time.As Cleveland begins this road tilt, here are three storylines to keep in mind against Denver, and predictions on how I think each will turn out:
Denver is very similar to the Steelers (the Browns’ previous opponent) in the fact that they are great at forcing turnovers and getting offensive production off of opposing team’s miscues.
They’ve forced 19 turnovers so far this season — with 13 in their last four games alone — so Cleveland will have to take care of the football in just the third start of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson’ career.
Against the Steelers last week, he did a fairly good job, throwing just one interception that went off of Amari Cooper’s hands first.
How I think it will turn out: Since the Browns did a good job against the Steelers a week ago, I do think they can manage the same against the Broncos, who don’t have nearly as strong as a pass rush.
If the Browns do turn it over and give Denver good field position, however, that could be the recipe for a loss. On the other side, Russell Wilson has thrown only four interceptions compared to 19 touchdowns.
Ward has been ruled out for this one, dealing with a shoulder injury. In his absence, can the Browns still stifle the Broncos’ pass-catching corps headlined by Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy? Last week, Sutton caught the game-winning TD as Denver prevailed 21-20 over the Vikings.
How I think it will turn out: We got a taste of what this will look like two weeks ago against the Ravens, when Ward exited that one in the first half due to a neck injury.
The Browns turned to Mike Ford Jr., playing him on the outside and in the slot while also moving Greg Newsome II outside. I think we see that again, with Martin Emerson Jr. used as the primary matchup against the 6-4 Sutton.
Against the Ravens, the defense was fine, and Ford batted two passes and recorded his first career interception.
The 7-3 Browns have lost two of their three games on the road to Pittsburgh and Seattle.
Both of those losses, 26-22 and 24-20, respectively, were within a score. As they hit the road again for a two-game road swing, can they buck this trend?
How I think it will turn out: There’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to, but it all goes back to point No. 1: Can they take care of the football? If they do, this defense is certainly good enough to keep them in just about any game, including this one