What should we be watching closely in Sunday’s matchup between the Browns and Ravens?
For the third time in four weeks, we have another AFC North slugfest taking place at First Energy Stadium on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens are both 2-1 entering this Week 4 matchup looking to notch another divisional win under their belt as well. The Browns have turned to Elijah Moore a great deal since the injury of running back Nick Chubb, and the Ravens will continue to allow quarterback Lamar Jackson to make plays with the football in his hands.
The Browns look to advance to 3-1 for the first time in awhile as they head into their bye week next week. They will then take on the high-flying San Francisco 49ers coming out of the bye week. Getting a win this week against the Ravens will go a long way in boosting confidence and morale in Berea as they have an opportunity to further their stance as a Super Bowl contender.
Without overlooking the Ravens (that would be a foolish thing to do), however, here are five things to watch in this AFC North showdown.
The early bye week is nearly here as the Cleveland Browns will look to grab their third win before taking some time off. Cleveland will have faced all three division rivals after this weekend’s game as they look to get two early division wins on the season. Can the likes of Deshaun Watson, Elijah Moore, and the offense get it going for a second straight week?
Jim Schwartz and the defense led by Myles Garrett have been on a historic pace to start the season and face the hardest test so far against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. They will have to play smart and disciplined if they don’t want to be burned by Jackson with his legs.
The offense finally looked like a solid unit last week and they go up against a pass rush that had 30 total pressures last week against the Colts. Quarterback Deshaun Watson needs to prove that last week was not a flash in the pan and stack back-to-back good games.
Here are my three bold predictions for this week as the team looks to get off to a solid 3-1 start.
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Pass-Rush
TD
Lamar Jackson
202-101
2
Justin Herbert
405-11
3
Tua Tagovailoa
309-0
4
Kirk Cousins
367-10
3
Jordan Love
259-39
2
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Devon Achane
18-203 rush
4-30 rcv
4
Raheem Mostert
13-82 rush
7-60 rcv
4
Kenneth Walker
18-97 rush
3-59 rcv
2
Christian McCaffrey
18-85 rush
5-34 rcv
1
Zack Moss
30-122 rush
2-23 rcv
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
Keenan Allen
18-215
1
Adam Thielen
11-145
1
Tyreek Hill
9-157
1
Justin Jefferson
7-149
1
Davante Adams
13-172
2
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Sam LaPorta
8-84
1
Travis Kelce
7-69
1
George Kittle
7-90
0
T.J. Hockerson
8-78
0
Pharoah Brown
2-71
1
Placekickers
XP
FG
Matt Gay
1
5
Jason Meyers
2
5
Tyler Bass
4
3
Matt Prater
1
3
Ka’imi Fairbairn
4
3
Defense
Sack – TO
TD
Bills
9-5
1
Lions
7-1
0
Browns
5-0
0
Chiefs
3-2
0
Texans
0-2
1
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
That was pretty light.
QB Derek Carr – Shoulder
RB Gus Edwards – Concussion
WR Mike Williams – Knee
WR Jonathan Mingo – Concussion
Chasing Ambulances
QB Derek Carr – Was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain in his throwing (right) shoulder. It is not season-ending and his time away will depend on the swelling and how it responds to treatment. In the meantime, Jameis Winston will be the starter.
RB Gus Edwards – Was pulled from the loss to the Colts, and replaced by the tag team of Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake. While he’s yet another injured running back for the Ravens, they insist on their committee approach that rarely allows more than a dozen touches to any single back. Gordon should see the bigger share of the workload, but Lamar Jackson also has to be factored into the rushing.
WR Mike Williams – Was carted to the locker room after sustaining a left knee injury. It appeared to be non-contact as there was no apparent collision or twisting. He’ll be evaluated on Monday but if he misses time, Joshua Palmer will move up the depth chart and the rookie Quentin Johnston will become more involved. Palmer logged four catches for 66 yards and a score in the win over the Vikings and has to be a free agent consideration by the Mike Williams owner.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
RB Alexander Mattison – The Vikings acquired Cam Akers from the Rams but they had faced the Buccaneers and Eagles – both have great defensive lines and Mattison was held below 12 carries each week. Versus the Chargers, Mattison enjoyed his last non-Akers weekend by rushing for 90 yards on 20 carries and catching five passes for 32 yards. Maybe he will hold Akers off and keep him as just backfield depth.
WR Tank Dell – The rookie logged seven catches for 72 yards and one score in Week 2 against the Colts but that was a one-game fluke. Or so it was thought. Dell turned five receptions into 145 yards and one score at the Jaguars. No other Texans receiver gained more than 34 yards. Dell is forging a very dangerous relationship with C.J. Stroud.
WR DJ Chark – Debuted last week with just one catch in the loss to the Saints, but he was targeted 11 times against the Seahawks – second highest on the team and caught four passes for 86 yards and one touchdown. The Panthers were forced to start Andy Dalton but the experienced quarterback strongly favored Chark and Adam Thielen (11-145, TD). This is how the offense should work and what Bryce Young aims to become.
WR Josh Downs – The Colts third-round pick stepped up nicely against the Ravens, fielding a team-high 12 targets for eight catches and 57 yards. With Anthony Richardson out, Gardner Minshew was the starting quarterback but he’s already challenging second-year Alex Pierce for the No. 2 wideout role.
WR Elijah Moore – The transplant from the Jets only managed three catches in his first two games but then attracted a team-high nine targets and caught them all for 49 yards. He’s starting to mesh with Deshaun Watson and defenses have enough trouble keeping up with Amani Cooper.
TE Kyle Pitts – He only gained 41 yards on five catches, but it is a positive sign that he led the Falcons with nine targets. Fellow tight end Jonnu Smith was next with eight passes that became five catches for 37 yards in the loss to the Lions.
TE Sam LaPorta – The Lions rookie tight end already started his career with five catches per game, then upped that with eight receptions for 84 yards and one score in the win over the Falcons. After three games, he is on a pace to catch 102 passes. And that’s as a tight end.
RB Kendre Miller – The Saints rookie wideout debuted with 34 yards on nine carries and one catch for no gain. But he led the backfield and now will pair with Alvin Kamara who returns from his suspension this week. Jamaal Williams was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and Tony Jones drops down another notch on the depth chart.
RB Ezekiel Elliott – He already hurt Rhamondre Stevenson’s workload when he was added this summer, but now he’s looked sharper than hi,. Stevenson ran for 59 yards on 19 carries (3.1 YPC) and caught one three-yard pass. Elliott just ran for 80 yards on 16 carries (5.0 YPC) and caught a seven-yard pass. It doesn’t mean that Elliott will overtake Stevenson as the primary, but it points to the fact there is no reason to change the backfield sharing for now.
RB Tony Pollard – After three weeks, the Cowboys starter totals 62 carries for 264 yards (4.3 YPC). He also caught 12 passes for 48 yards. In Week 3, the Cowboys were finally challenged by their opponent and ran Pollard for 122 yards on 23 carries. The interesting part is that he is on a pace for 340 carries and 68 receptions. He’s never had more than 193 rushes in any season in the NFL or college. He broke his leg at the end of last season with a far lesser workload. Rico Dowdle is his backup but hasn’t carried more than seven times in any game. What happens to the Dallas offense if Pollard breaks down?
Huddle player of the Week
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
RB Devon Achane / Raheem Mostert – This is the first time in our 27 years that the Player of the Week is shared. How could it not? Raheem Mostert rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns on the Broncos and added 60 yards on seven receptions with a fourth touchdown. The rookie ran 18 times and gained 203 yards and two touchdowns, plus caught four passes for 30 yards and two more scores to also total four. That is two running backs, on the same team, that combined for 285 rushing yards, caught 11 passes for 90 yards and totaled eight touchdowns between them. That’s two backs in one game that produced 96.5 fantasy points. There were three teams last year that failed to total more than eight touchdowns from their entire backfield over all 17 games.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
Is there reason to remain confident in the offense? Elijah Moore thinks so.
It hasn’t been a pretty start for Deshaun Watson and the passing offense of the Cleveland Browns through the first two games. Watson has only completed 55.1 percent of his passes for less than 400 yards combined over the two games. Now without Nick Chubb, if this team wants to compete for a playoff birth Watson and this passing attack absolutely have to turn it around fast as they take on the Tennessee Titans in this Week 3 matchup.
Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore believes that change is coming and coming fast according to Diana Russini. We saw in camp the Browns utilizing Moore in a variety of ways and as Russini mentions in her article he could be the key to getting this passing attack going against the Titans.
We will find out today if Moore is just talking or if the team can back up the confidence when they haven’t to this point. The Browns need Watson to figure things out real soon or it will be another wasted season in Cleveland.
Here are some quotes from the Browns provided to Russini.
Cleveland’s Elijah Moore told me the Browns offense is going to be explosive today against the Titans. Here’s how the new Brown wants to help his team overcome their injuries and shaky offense.https://t.co/CNbmFJ3awopic.twitter.com/fMjDbRPkI4
The Cleveland Browns are 1-0 for the second straight season after handing the rival Cincinnati Bengals a 24-3 loss in Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday. The defense really stole the show with the defensive line applying a ridiculous amount of pressure on Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offensive line.
The pass-rushing duo of Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith were as advertised with both players having six pressures apiece. It was fun to watch this defense as Grant Delpit played the best game of his career so far.
Jim Schwartz was given good talent to work with and he was creative in capitalizing on the players he had. Watching this defense continue to gel together will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow. If Schwartz can continue to get this level of production out of his players this defense will be a lot of fun.
You can watch this week’s episode to hear all about who stood out and who struggled the most Sunday by clicking here.
Which offensive players stood out the most to PFF?
In the poor conditions, the offense of the Cleveland Browns was a bit sloppy from time to time against the Bengals on Sunday. Nick Chubb continued to be mister consistent and reliable as he rushed for over 100 yards as the most consistent source of offense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson had some bad throws early in the game but used his legs to make up for it.
The interior of the offensive line was pretty consistent and impressive as both guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller played really well. Before his injury, Jack Conklin was playing pretty well though Jedrick Wills struggled in both facets of the game.
Dawand Jones came in and had some nice snaps in his pass protection though his run blocking wasn’t very good at all which is surprising for a guy of his size. Let’s take a look at the ten best offensive players for the Browns on Sunday according to PFF.
Here are some sleeper wide receivers to keep an eye on in fantasy football this season.
Football season has returned!
The 2023 NFL season will kick off later this week when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
Before the regular season begins, fantasy football drafts will be wrapping up in the coming days and fantasy managers will all have the same question — who are the sleepers to target this year?
Each player is listed in order of his average draft spot relative to his position. We consider a “sleeper” to be a player who we expect to outperform his ADP during the season.
The preseason finale caused some last minute roster shuffling for The Eagles Wire and there have been changes with the team needing to trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon.
With all eyes towards the regular season, here’s our final 53-man roster prediction of the summer.
We’re looking at takeaways and observations from the Philadelphia #Eagles 27-13 loss to the Colts in the preseason finale
Philadelphia is a Super Bowl favorite, and the march toward another deep postseason run can now begin after an efficient summer and meaningful preseason.
The starters sat, while Tanner McKee again shined, but it wasn’t enough as the Colts built on a 17-13 halftime lead and exited Lincoln Financial Field with a 27-13 road win.
The Eagles will now work towards the August 29 roster cutdown day, with Thursday night providing some early indicators of who’s in and who’s out.
With the teams off on Friday, here are takeaways and observations of the final preseason game.
We’re looking at instant analysis and recap of the Philadelphia #Eagles 27-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in preseason finale
The Eagles concluded their 2023 preseason with an 0-2-1 record and no serious injuries outside of the thunb surgery that’ll sideline Haason Reddick a few weeks.
The starters sat, while Tanner McKee again shined, but it wasn’t enough as the Colts built on a 17-13 halftime lead and exited Lincoln Financial Field with a 27-13 road win.
Shane Steichen returned to Philadelphia for the first time since being hired by Indianapolis, and he had No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson.
The former Florida Gators quarterback went 6-17 for 78 yards.
Both teams will now work towards the August 29 roster cutdown day, with Thursday night providing some early indicators of who’s in and who’s out.
With both teams off on Friday, here’s an instant analysis of the final preseason game.
