The Broncos are looking for their fifth straight win this week, carrying them to 6-5. To do so, they must beat a team that carries the best defense in the league. The Cleveland Browns are a team that only allows an average of 18 points a game and has the NFL sack leader in Myles Garrett. Though their defense is a juggernaut, the Broncos can control this game and force a team with a struggling offense to fold. The Broncos will beat the Browns. Here’s how they’ll do it.
The Denver Broncos vs. The Cleveland Browns: Another Win In The Books
Why Beating The Browns Won’t Be Easy
So far this season, Cleveland has been a resilient team. Though they have lost their starting quarterback and running back, the Browns sit at 7-3. They have beaten teams like the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. As the season has gone on they have proven time and time again that, even without some of their biggest weapons, they can be elite. The Browns are a team that won’t be easily beaten, and it isn’t due to explosive plays or outstanding singular performances. It’s due to their control over the ball.
As an offense this season the Browns aren’t flashy, but they are efficient. They are ranked third overall in rushing yards per game and score 22.7 points per game. Because of an amazing running game, they lead the league in time of possession. This is how their offense makes its mark. As a team that scores an average of 12 points in the first half, they can gain an early lead and never allow the opposing team to get the ball back. The Browns are like an anaconda, once they have a hold of you, they slowly suffocate you and take away all options.
The most important part of this strategy is the Browns defense. The Browns defense is as suffocating as it gets. They allow the least amount of yards per game in the NFL and have sacked the quarterback 32 times so far this season. With a generational player like Myles Garrett, every play you try, run or pass, can be blown up by him alone. But it isn’t just Myles Garrett that offenses should be afraid of. The Browns defense allows the least amount of passing yards per game. Denzel Ward and the Cleveland secondary haven’t allowed the opposing quarterback to do anything so far this year.
Why The Broncos Will Beat The Browns Anyways
Though the Browns have had success, the Broncos are the perfect test for a team that has had some serious changes in the past few weeks. Before week 11, the Browns announced that their starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson would be out for the season. They named the rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson the starter in his place. In his two games this season, Thompson-Robinson has struggled mightily. He has a completion percentage of 55%, only 295 yards passing, and 4 interceptions. Thompson-Robinson beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10 last week, only having 165 yards on 43 attempts. A team that is second overall in offensive turnovers will have to go up against a Denver defense that is second overall in takeaways. A struggling rookie who has double the turnovers he does games may be in for a bumpy ride.
The Broncos are meeting up with the Browns at their least steady point in the season. The Broncos are the hottest team in the NFL at the moment. As an offense, they may have one of the best systems in the NFL to expose the weaknesses in a sturdy Cleveland defense. The Brown’s biggest problem on defense is their run defense and their inability to take the ball away. It is a perfect opportunity for a Broncos offense that rarely turns the ball over to continue its running attack and exploit the only weakness in the Browns’ defense.
Over the past four games, the Broncos offense has completely changed. The Broncos were a team that passed the ball for a majority of their plays in the first five weeks of the season. In the last three games, the Broncos have run the ball fourth most in the league. When the Broncos rely on the running game (and are successful) they win games the same way the Browns do – slow and steady. The Broncos also have solved their turnover issue. In the first six weeks, the Broncos had 11 turnovers. Since then, they have only had two, zero of those being interceptions.
Conclusion
The Browns and the Broncos have changed drastically in the past few weeks. One for the better and one for the worse. These changes have left a glaring hole in the Browns and the Broncos will take advantage of it. If the Broncos can avoid turnovers and get their running game going, Sunday will be a walk in the park. If not, the anaconda-type Browns will slowly suffocate the Broncos and almost certainly end their season. Sunday’s game will be decided on who held the ball longer, and more than likely it will be the Denver Broncos.
Main Photo: [Ron Chenoy] – USA Today Sports
