Category: Game Breakdown

Projecting Browns current depth chart for Week 15

Projecting the Browns depth chart for Week 15 given all the COVID and injury limitations gives us a look at some sad state of affairs for a few positional groups:

The Cleveland Browns, as of early Thursday morning, have 18 players from their active and practice squad rosters on their reserve/COVID-19 lists. They also have a number of players who could miss the game just due to injury.

The lists are long. Who is left to possibly play this Saturday is much more interesting at this point.

The Browns face off with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 still with a chance to take the lead in the AFC North. While Cleveland is now a slight underdog, they have a fighting chance against a Raiders team that has lost five of their last six games.

So what does a projected Browns depth chart look like for Saturday’s matchup?

Videos: Refs blow call on onside kick, fail to flag Ravens versus the Browns

Four (4!!!) Ravens should have been flagged on the onside kick. Did the refs just not notice? Video shows one trying to get a player to move but then not throwing a flag despite the player not moving. Refs have struggled all year, this one is egregious:

The Cleveland Browns made their victory of the Baltimore Ravens much more difficult than it seemed like it had to be. The Browns had a commanding lead at halftime but took their foot off the gas and allowed undrafted rookie Tyler Huntley to lead the Ravens comeback attempt.

For most Cleveland fans, the outcome of the game was decided when Baltimore recovered the onside kick. With kicker Justin Tucker almost automatic inside 60 yards (only slight hyperbole there), it seemed like only a matter of time before the Ravens were taking a one-point victory home with them.

Instead, the defense stepped up with a couple of big plays to seal the game.

They shouldn’t have had to. While Andy Janovich should have tried to catch the onside instead of blocking, Baltimore should have been penalized on the play according to veteran official Terry McAulay:

Four (4!!!) Ravens should have been flagged on the play. Maybe the officials just weren’t paying attention? A zoomed-in video of the official at the bottom of the screen shows him telling Baltimore players that they were too far back but he doesn’t throw the flag despite them not moving:

The Browns still won the game but the failures by the officials throughout the season have been maddening for most watching the NFL. The failure to flag players despite obviously noticing is even more of a transgression.

Browns hold on to beat the Ravens: Inconsistency continues

A lot to talk about after the Browns Week 14 victory. We start with inconsistencies and end with the fact that the AFC North lead could be Cleveland’s as early as next week:

The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 of the NFL season to move their record to 7-6. The Ravens fell to 8-5 after their second straight loss within the AFC North.

The Browns pushed out to a 24-3 lead late in the first half but failed to score another point while Baltimore scored the final 19 points of the game.

Fortunately for the home team, their early scoring was enough to get the victory, 24-22.

Pending the rest of the results from Week 14, Cleveland will be in the eighth or ninth seed in the AFC with a chance to possibly control their playoff destiny.

What did we learn in the Week 14 win?

Browns Week 14 highlights against the Ravens

All the Browns highlights from Week 14 right here. Started with Landry’s first receiving TD of the season:

The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens face off in a huge AFC North matchup in Week 14. The Browns, coming off their bye week, need the win more than the Ravens, coming off a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore has been struggling recently and has a lot of injuries so they have a need for a win this week as well.

For Cleveland, Week 14 is as close to a “must-win” as possible while the Ravens have a little wiggle room, at least for now.

Expecting a low-scoring game Sunday but could have some fun highlights, hopefully for the home team. We will keep you up to date with videos of all of them right here:

Cautious creativity needed for Kevin Stefanski and Browns offense

Is cautious creativity the key for the Cleveland offense? With all the limitations today, Stefanski has to be creative but needs to be cautious:

The Cleveland Browns have a vital game with the Baltimore Ravens in a few hours. The team has been the model of inconsistency this year but need it all to come together for the last five weeks of the season. Winning four of the five games, specifically the four games in conference, could be enough to get them into the playoffs but winning all five almost certainly will be.

The problems for Cleveland throughout the season has changed from week to week. Early in the year, the team’s offense was explosive but the defense couldn’t stop anyone. A few weeks later, often due to poor offenses on the other side, the defense was leading the charge. Then, all of a sudden against Cincinnati, the offense comes back to life.

The defense seems to have stabilized over the past month or so. While no defense can be perfect given the NFL rules and the talent on offenses, the Browns defense hasn’t been a significant problem lately.

The offense, on the other hand, has been. Injuries to Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, both starting tackles, Harrison Bryant, Anthony Schwartz, Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, as well as the departure of Odell Beckham Jr., have made it difficult to find a good rhythm. Against the Ravens, David Njoku is added to the list that has missed time.

Head coach and offensive play-caller Kevin Stefanski has also been far from perfect. While results tend to decide the narrative (i.e. if Cleveland beat Baltimore in Week 12 throwing the ball a lot it would have been a good choice), Stefanski has struggled to create the consistency needed.

Today, against a Ravens defense that shut down the run in Week 12, the Browns offense is in a difficult position. The Baltimore defense is good against the run and poor against the pass. The Cleveland offense is good at running the ball and poor passing the ball. The passing game is also lacking Bryant, Schwartz and Njoku today.

Stefanski can silence some doubters that have crept up this season with a creative game plan but has to be cautious. Last time out, a direct snap to Landry led to a fumble and turnover. Other times, Stefanski’s creativity has led to free rushers to the quarterback or runs shutdown in the backfield.

With a new starting right tackle, either James Hudson III or Blake Hance, and less tight tends than normal, Stefanski has to protect Mayfield and his talented running back duo. Can he do that while also creating some chaos for the Baltimore defense? Cautious creativity may be the key to a victory today.

Browns slight favorites in Week 14 clash with Ravens

Coming off their bye week, Cleveland is a small favorite over Baltimore. The game has a very low point total line as well:

Coming off their late-season bye week, the Cleveland Browns have a chance to make a huge splash late in the year. At 6-6, the Browns are a game back of the sixth and seventh seeds in the AFC. The huge splash that they could make? Cleveland has games against four teams that currently sit ahead of them in the AFC playoff standings.

That starts with Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are scuffling recently with a rash of injuries and QB Lamar Jackson having to carry the offense. Having just lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore still holds a one-game lead in the AFC North with a tough schedule ahead of them as well.

Going into Week 14, Tipico has the Browns as a 2.5 point favorite at home. They also have the game with the lowest total of any for the upcoming week, 42.5 points.

A 2.5 point spread isn’t much, especially for the home team. With the two teams playing a close game just two weeks ago, Cleveland coming off their bye and Baltimore having another major injury, it wouldn’t be shocking to see that number move as the week goes on. Then again, trusting the inconsistent Browns could be dangerous to anyone’s health.

Joel Bitonio, Grant Delpit earn top PFF scores from the Browns Week 12 loss to the Ravens

As one might expect from a 16-10 defeat, most of the top-graded players from the Cleveland Browns in the Week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens come from the defensive side of the ball

As one might expect from a 16-10 defeat, most of the top-graded players from the Cleveland Browns in the Week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens come from the defensive side of the ball. Pro Football Focus issued seven of its 10 highest grades to players on the Cleveland defense from the loss.

The top-graded Browns defender was safety Grant Delpit. His 91.1 grade edges out rookie LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who earned an 88.1 overall score for his excellent effort in Baltimore.

Interestingly, PFF does not credit Delpit with the coverage on Baltimore’s touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews despite him being the only Browns defender in the vicinity. That certainly helps prop up Delpit’s grade.

On offense, left guard Joel Bitonio was one of the few Browns players who earned a good grade. Bitonio scored 89.5 overall in 60 snaps, best on the offense. Tight ends Harrison Bryant (82.0) and David Njoku (77.4) were the only other offensive players to top 70 in overall grades.

The rest of the top 10 Browns from the game, via PFF:

  • Delpit 91.1
  • Bitonio 89.5
  • Owusu-Koramoah 88.1
  • Bryant 82.0
  • LB Malcolm Smith 78.0
  • CB Greg Newsome 77.7
  • S John Johnson III 77.7
  • Njoku 77.4
  • DE Myles Garrett 73.2
  • LB Sione Takitaki 72.1

Those are the initial grades. There is potential for Njoku’s grade to drop after the PFF analysts review the game tape another time; he was not credited with a drop initially despite a fairly obvious dropped pass in the game.

Browns fall to Ravens: What we might know after Week 12

Mediocre, the Browns are what their record says they are. A lot of struggles in Week 12 as well as a few successes. In the end, the team is 6-6 but somehow still in the playoff chase:

The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens had an interesting game in Week 12. Instead of interesting, ugly could also be used to describe it. The Ravens turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the second quarter but the Browns offense only scored three points off of those turnovers.

While the final score was close, 16-10, Baltimore seemed to be in control for most of the game. The home team ended up with a 14-minute advantage in time of possession by the end of the game despite losing the turnover margin.

Both sides struggled on offense with Lamar Jackson throwing for only 165 yards and 68 yards rushing despite 17 carries. Two big plays to tight end Mark Andrews saved the game for Baltimore’s offense.

Here is what we might know after Week 12 for the Browns:

David Njoku makes the TD catch that nobody is sure really happened

Browns TE David Njoku (probably) caught a pass ruled as a touchdown in the Sunday night matchup with the Ravens

The Cleveland Browns finally scored a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens when tight end David Njoku hauled in a low throw from Baker Mayfield in the third quarter of Sunday night’s game. Well, at least we think he caught it.

Nobody really knows.

The different replay angles from the NBC broadcast feed were inconclusive. No matter what was ruled on the field was going to stand, and the officials called it a touchdown as the play unfolded. The ball might have hit the ground, it might have glanced off Njoku’s thigh, it might have done both, but in the end it was indeed a touchdown.

Here’s the catch in question:

Twitter isn’t so sure what it saw…

Browns Vs Ravens SNF game highlights seen here

Browns. Ravens. Sunday Night Football. Cleveland’s highlights here:

The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens had a key matchup in Week 12 that was circled when the schedule came out. The two teams have two games in three weeks with the Browns having their bye week in between.

On Sunday Night Football, Cleveland has a chance to make a statement against Baltimore. The Browns haven’t lived up to their expectations so far this season struggling against good teams outside of the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Bengals destroying the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in Week 12, a Cleveland victory would put them just a half-game behind the Bengals and Ravens for the top of the division and hold the tiebreaker over both teams, before their second matchups.

Keeping track of all the highlights from Sunday Night Football for Browns fans right here: