Tag: Cleveland Browns

Steelers vs Browns injury update: Cleveland offensive line banged up this week

The Browns could be minus both of their starting OTs vs the Steelers.

When you play on a short week, injuries are always magnified because teams simply don’t have enough time to properly evaluate when players are hurt and how ready they are to play when the game comes three days early.

This week the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns draw the short straw with Thursday Night Football and for the Browns this could have significant implications on the outcome.

Last week against the New Orleans Saints, starting offensive tackles Jedrick Wills and Dawand Jones were both out. This week the Browns have to square up against T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig, so not having their starting offensive tackles gives Pittsburgh a huge advantage.

The Browns are also minus their top tackler. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah went on IR with a neck injury.

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Amari Cooper’s earnest joy after beating the Chiefs doubled as tremendous Browns’ shade

“It’s the first time in a like, long time that I actually felt joy from winning this game.”

Amari Cooper has seen a lot in his decade as an NFL wide receiver.

He came into the league to help spur the then-Oakland Raiders to brief relevance as a contender and back to stasis as an AFC West underdog. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, where he was subject to the whims of team owner and de facto general manager Jerry Jones. When Jones could no longer afford him, he took a ride on the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback carousel before a 2024 trade brought him to the Buffalo Bills.

Even though his 2023 Browns qualified for the postseason with a 39-year-old Joe Flacco behind center, it’s clear the five-time Pro Bowler ended up in a better place. He said as much Sunday night after Buffalo’s 30-21 victory over the formerly undefeated Kansas City. It was a statement that showcased gratitude toward the Bills and quiet displeasure with Cleveland.

“It’s the first time in a like, long time that I actually felt joy from winning this game,” Cooper told reporters after Buffalo improved to 8-2. “Just the way we played, from having so many guys on the team who are, you know, playmakers and they come up, they show up when their number is called. Collectively, as a group, it’s just amazing.

“It’s just kind of a different place too, Buffalo, compared to the other places I’ve been to. It’s a tight knit group, I would say. A lot of the guys go out together. They hang around each other 24-7. It truly shows up on the field.”

Brown had two deep receptions for 55 yards in Week 11’s win. While he only has seven catches since being traded in October thanks, in part, to a wrist injury that cost him a pair of games, he’s been a viable deep threat for a team in need of contributors alongside Josh Allen.

Cooper’s played for good quarterbacks before. He’s been on playoff teams. But something in Buffalo appears to be different. Now he’ll have the chance to prove he can be one of those playmakers who steps up as the Bills attempt to shake the postseason woes that have kept them out of the Super Bowl in the Allen era.

Bookies not giving Browns any home-field advantage vs. Steelers

The Browns open as 3.5-point underdogs at home against their AFC North rival

As the Cleveland Browns return home looking for a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on a short week, the betting bookies do not give them any sense of home-field advantage.

And to be honest, the Browns have not earned that advantage this season, sitting at 2-8 after an abysmal loss to the New Orleans Saints. According to BetMGM, the Browns open up as 3.5-point underdogs as they take on their AFC North rivals on Thursday Night Football.

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The Steelers, riding their high of defeating the Baltimore Ravens, now sit at 8-2 on the season. Quarterback Russell Wilson has taken their offense to new heights, and the Mike Tomlin-coached team continues to play like a Mike Tomlin-coached team.

The Browns do not have much to play for at this point besides getting young players looks to evaluate, and their 2025 NFL draft positioning. However, can they play spoilers along the way the rest of the way out?

Browns continue journey up 2025 NFL draft board with another loss

The Browns currently hold pick No. 3 in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Cleveland Browns have nothing to look forward to in the regular season except for 2025 NFL draft positioning, so that is what we are looking forward to as well.

After yet another loss, this time at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, the Browns now climb even higher up the draft board. Where exactly do they sit, however?

With just seven games remaining, the Browns currently hold the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The only two teams ahead of them are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately for the Browns at this point, the Titans are also in need of a quarterback.

To get in position for the one quarterback worth the top pick in this draft, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the Browns will need to continue their losing ways and hope the Titans win at least one more than them along the way.

Their best bet as we stand today would be to take the best player available. This could include the likes of Colorado’s playmaker Travis Hunter, Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, or even the surprise pick of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

Should the Steelers be worried about Russell Wilson?

The Steelers are winning but Russell Wilson isn’t playing well.

A win is a win, right? Maybe not. We’ve seen Pittsburgh Steelers teams win in spite of poor quarterback play before and when the playoffs get here, it never ends well. The Steelers made the move from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson a month ago and the team has gone undefeated during that stretch.

But the last two weeks have been ugly performances by Wilson with Sunday’s against the Baltimore Ravens his least inspiring. Wilson looked lost at times, panicked and was not prepared for what should have been an easy day against the worst pass defense in the NFL.

When the Steelers needed a quarterback to make a play on Sunday and close out the win, the team turned to Justin Fields and he delivered.

What the Steelers have done through 10 games has been tremendous. The defense, special teams and coaching all deserve a huge amount of credit for these wins even when the offense isn’t at it’s best. But with seven more really tough games left on the schedule, should the Steelers lean in more to Fields or is it more about pushing Wilson to do more in the passing game?

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Juan Thornhill comes under fire after questionable effort vs. Saints

The veteran safety has some explaining to do.

The Cleveland Browns are experiencing an abysmal 2024 season after another loss to the New Orleans Saints, and it seems to have taken its toll on safety Juan Thornhill.

Thornhill, who signed as a free agent before the 2023 season, has spent most of his time with the team on Injured Reserve. And now, he has come under fire for giving questionable effort on a long catch-and-run that resulted in a Saints touchdown on Sunday. The Browns lost the game 35-14.

As Saints wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught the football and worked upfield, Thornhill can be seen in backside pursuit. For a player who ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2019, it sure looks like Thornhill has the brakes on a bit.

This is largely symptomatic of the effort the Browns have seen from players with money on the line this season like Thornhill and offensive tackle Jedrick Wills, who made a “business decision” not to play against the Baltimore Ravens that cost him his starting job.

Can we just simulate the rest of the season already?

Amari Cooper takes subtle jab at Browns after win over Chiefs

Did Amari Cooper take a shot at the Browns?

As the Buffalo Bills handed the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season, wide receiver Amari Cooper took a subtle shot at his former team: the Cleveland Browns.

Speaking to the media in the locker room after the game, Cooper told those in the scrum that this win over the Chiefs was “the first time in a long time that I have felt joy after winning a game.” Meanwhile, the Browns are 2-8 after dropping another ugly game to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Cooper was traded to the Bills earlier in the season with a sixth round pick in exchange for a third round pick and a seventh round pick. In this game against the Chiefs, Cooper racked up two catches for 55 yards. Since the trade, Cooper has tallied a total of 114 yards and one touchdown on seven catches for the Bills.

The Browns in the meantime have continued to turn to young wideouts Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, and Elijah Moore who are all experiencing big numbers with Jameis Winston at the helm.

Nothing but the best for Cooper as he plays for a Super Bowl contender.

Darren Rizzi becomes second 2-0 coach in Saints history

Darren Rizzi is just the second coach in Saints history to open up at 2-0 after New Orleans defeated the visiting Browns:

Darren Rizzi is just the second coach in Saints history to open up at 2-0, outside of just Sean Payton after New Orleans defeated the visiting Cleveland Browns, 35-14.

It’s worth noting this was expected to be a close game, with the Browns favored by one point. It was anything but that as multiple Saints hit milestones and put together a complete game.

That comes on the heels of the team’s 20-17 upset win over the Atlanta Falcons, who were one of the hottest teams in all of the NFL until last Sunday as the leaders of the NFC South division.

That’s not too shabby for a special teams coordinator turned interim head coach with what seems to be little or no notice. The changes the Saints seem to have made after the team parted ways with Dennis Allen have made the team almost unbelievably look night and day.

The Saints were struggling in all phases of the game under Allen after their hot 2-0 start in which they combined for 91 points on offense over those first two victories, but look refreshed and competitive now after snapping a seven-game losing streak.

New Orleans had had just five interim head coaches before Rizzi stepped in for Allen, and they combined for an abysmal 12-35 overall record.

Can Rizzi and the Saints stay hot moving forward? They will have a chance to prove they can do just that as they face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Dec. 1.

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Browns suffer more devastating injury news in loss vs. Saints

The Browns have lost starting left tackle Dawand Jones for the season

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that Dawand Jones is out for the season with a fractured ankle injury that will require surgery.

The Browns starting left tackle was carted off during the Week 11 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. The injury occurred late in the first half when fellow offensive lineman Wyatt Teller accidentally fell on the back of his teammate’s ankle. Dawand Jones had an immediate reaction to the injury by taking his helmet off and showing no signs of getting up. With backup left tackle Jedrick Wills out with an injury, Cleveland was forced to rely on their third-string left tackle.

This is a huge disappointment for Cleveland, who is currently trying to develop players like Dawand Jones for the future. His current experience at left tackle is limited, and the Browns would’ve liked to find out if he can be a permanent solution for next season and so forth. Until Wills can return, Germain Ifedi is expected to be the Browns’ starting left tackle moving forward.

Elijah Moore’s toe tap ties it up vs. Saints

Elijah Moore what a catch!

The Cleveland Browns have tied the game against the New Orleans Saints as quarterback Jameis Winston found Elijah Moore deep in the back of the endzone.

With under nine minutes to go in the third quarter, Winston found receiver Moore for a 30-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-12 before the PAT. After missing the two-point attempt earlier, Winston hit tight end David Njoku on the conversion to tie the game at 14 apiece. His second touchdown pass in the game.

Cleveland took eight plays to go 92 yards on the scoring drive after forcing a Saints punt in their territory. Running back Nick Chubb rushed three times on the drive for 27 yards after receiver Cedric Tillman made a 20-yard grab to give the offense some room.

With a quarter and a half to go, Winston is up to 299 yards with two touchdowns, completing 19 of 29 passes. Jeudy has caught six of eight targets for 142 yards and a touchdown, while Moore and Njoku have added 50 and 49 yards, respectively.

With plenty of football left in this one, the Browns will need to limit defensive breakdowns and continue their offensive success to come away with win number three.