Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
We asked @TheBrownsWire five questions about the #Browns ahead of their #TNF clash with the #Broncos.
Ahead of the Denver Broncos’ game against the Cleveland Browns on “Thursday Night Football,” we asked Jared Mueller of Browns Wire five questions about Denver’s opponent and Thursday’s game. Here are our questions and Jared’s answers!
Here’s a look at the Broncos’ updated depth chart going into Thursday’s game against the Browns.
After making a flurry of roster moves earlier this week, the Denver Broncos have an updated depth chart for their “Thursday Night Football” showdown with the Cleveland Browns. Here’s a look at the team’s current depth chart going into Week 7.
The Broncos’ roster moves at wide receiver Wednesday seem to suggest Jerry Jeudy won’t play on Thursday evening.
The Denver Broncos made two roster moves at wide receiver ahead of their “Thursday Night Football” showdown with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday. The moves seem to suggest wide receiver Jerry Jeudy won’t play in Week 7.
Checking in on all things Broncos with our sister site, Broncos Wire. How has Teddy looked? Is he using his weapons? Is Von Miller “back” after last year’s injury and more:
To prepare for Thursday Night Football where the Cleveland Browns take on the Denver Broncos, we talked with Jon Heath from Broncos Wire. With both teams 3 – 3, what can we learn about how the visitors have fared this season?
Teddy Bridgewater has had an interesting career, has his time in Denver been seen as a resurrection or just another pit stop locally?
Three games into the season, it seemed after if Bridgewater might be more than just a holdover QB. After the last three losses, though, I think it has become clear that he’s just a short-term solution. Denver will likely trade for, draft or sign another QB next offseason. Bridgewater is a good game manager and the Broncos can win with him, but they’ll probably want to bring in a younger QB with more long-term upside in 2022.
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Between Sutton, Jeudy and Fant, the Broncos have some great weapons, are they being used to their fullest?
Jeudy has unfortunately been injured the last few weeks but he looked excellent before his ankle injury. He’s very iffy for Thursday and if he doesn’t play, Jeudy should be back in Week 8. That’s big news for the Broncos’ offense because he has been greatly missed. Sutton is the team’s No. 1 target but Bridgewater hasn’t had a great connection with the talented WR in recent weeks. Perhaps that will improve over time. Fant’s performances have been up and down, but that seems to fall primarily on him. Denver could certainly get more out of that trio than it has been.
Von Miller is returning from injury, has he been explosive as always and able to back up his “kill him” threat?
He looks completely recovered, thankfully it wasn’t the kind of injury that has lingering problems — once it’s healed, it’s healed, and Miller had all of last season and the full offseason to recover. Miller has been a little quiet in the team’s last two games but he does face a lot of double teams and chips, so it’s not as if his production has slipped because of a lack of explosiveness. He’ll be looking for a bounceback performance this week after two games without a sack, and he’s made it quite clear that he believes a big game is in store for him.
Nationally, Vic Fangio is viewed mostly as lukewarm, how is he viewed locally?
Most fans were willing to give Fangio patience because he didn’t pick his QB in 2019 and the 2020 season was impacted by many circumstances out of his control. Entering his third season, though, Fangio has to deliver. Denver started well this year but after three straight losses (and terrible performances), it seems that a majority of fans are ready to move on. Unless the Broncos can turn things around and make a legitimate push for the playoffs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fangio’s time in Denver come to an end before next season.
What is your prediction for Thursday night?
Under normal circumstances, I would definitely pick the Browns to win this game. But without their starting QB and top two RBs (plus several other big injuries), Cleveland could struggle on Thursday evening. Broncos, 20-13.
Viewers can watch Thursday Night Football with an Amazon Fire TV product.
Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater is questionable for Thursday’s game against the Browns.
Denver Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (foot/quad) is questionable for Thursday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Denver’s complete injury report can be seen below.
| Player | Mon | Tue | Wed | Game Status |
| OT Garett Bolles (knee) | DNP | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| ILB Baron Browning (concussion) | DNP | DNP | Out | |
| ILB Alexander Johnson (chest) | DNP | [Injured reserve] | [IR] | Out |
| OLB Andre Mintz (hamstring) | DNP | [Injured reserve] | [IR] | Out |
| OLB Aaron Patrick (ankle) | DNP | DNP | Out | |
| QB Teddy Bridgewater (foot, quad) | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| TE Noah Fant (foot) | Limited | Limited | Full | |
| RB Melvin Gordon (hip) | Limited | Full | ||
| DE Shelby Harris (wrist) | Full | Full | ||
| S Justin Simmons (hand) | Full | Full | ||
| S Caden Sterns (illness) | Not listed | DNP | Limited | Questionable |
Cleveland’s final injury report will be added below when it becomes available.
| Player | Mon | Tue | Wed | Game Status |
| WR Odell Beckham (shoulder) | DNP | DNP | ||
| RB Nick Chubb (calf) | DNP | DNP | Out | |
| OT Jack Conklin (knee) | DNP | DNP | ||
| CB A.J. Green (shoulder/groin) | DNP | DNP | ||
| RB Kareem Hunt (calf) | DNP | [Injured reserve] | [IR] | Out |
| QB Baker Mayfield (shoulder) | DNP | Limited | ||
| LB Jeremiah Osusu-Koramoah (ankle) | DNP | [Injured reserve] | [IR] | Out |
| LB Malcolm Smith (abdomen) | DNP | Limited | ||
| C JC Tretter (knee) | DNP | DNP | ||
| OT Jedrick Wills (ankle) | DNP | DNP | ||
| DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle/chest/knee) | Limited | Limited | ||
| DE Malik Jackson (knee) | Limited | Limited | ||
| DE Takkarist McKinley (ankle) | Limited | Full | ||
| TE David Njoku (knee) | Limited | Limited | ||
| LB Mack Wilson (calf) | Limited | Limited | ||
| DT Myles Garrett (knee/ankle) | Full | Full | ||
| DT Malik McDowell (elbow/foot) | Full | Full | ||
| CB Greg Newsome (calf) | Full | Full | ||
| CB Denzel Ward (neck) | Full | Full | ||
| CB Greedy Williams (knee) | Full | Full | ||
| DT Jordan Elliott (neck) | Not listed | Limited |
The Broncos are considered 4.5-point underdogs against the Browns.
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How to watch, listen and stream Thursday Night Football as the injured Cleveland Browns take on the visiting Denver Broncos:
The Cleveland Browns season has not started the way the team or fanbase would have liked. A promising 3 – 1 start has quickly fallen to a .500 record entering Week 7. A short week coming off a late Sunday game going into Thursday Night Football was going to be tough no matter what but injuries will make it even more difficult versus the Denver Broncos.
For the Browns, Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will miss the game. A number of other starters or key contributors on both sides of the ball will be questionable for the matchup at home.
The Broncos had a similar start to their season with three easy games leading to a 3 – 0 start. More difficult opponents led to three straight losses to match Cleveland’s 3 – 3 record.
In a game that the Browns just need to find a way to win, Thursday Night Football versus Denver could be very challenging. Below are important game details about this Week 7 matchup. If you have questions about the game, reach out to us on Twitter @TheBrownsWire.
Who: Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos
When: Thursday, October 21st, 8:20 p.m. ET.
Where: First Energy Stadium, Cleveland, OH
In-market live stream: Amazon Prime, fuboTV (try it for free)
TV: FOX, NFL Network
Radio: ESPN 850 WKNR, 92.3 The Fan WKRK & 98.5 WNCX
TV: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
Radio: Jim Donovan, Doug Dieken and Nathan Zegura
Case Keenum, the last Broncos QB to play in all 16 games in a season, will start against Denver on Thursday evening.
The Cleveland Browns will start Case Keenum at quarterback when they host the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football,” the team announced Wednesday.
Baker Mayfield, the team’s starter, recently suffered a complete labrum tear in his left shoulder. Mayfield wanted to play through the injury, but that would have risked making it worse. Instead, Cleveland has opted to start Keenum, giving Mayfield two full weeks between games to recover.
Keenum will be familiar with his opponent this week. The 33-year-old quarterback played for the Broncos in 2018. Denver hasn’t had another quarterback start all 16 games (now 17) in a single season since trading Keenum in 2019.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are also dealing with a quarterback injury. Teddy Bridgewater has a foot injury and he was noncommittal about his Thursday status during his Tuesday press conference. Denver coach Vic Fangio said he expects Bridgewater to play, but the QB was listed as “limited” on the team’s estimated practice report Tuesday.
If Bridgewater is not cleared to play this week, Drew Lock will start in his place. Lock has eight wins and 10 losses as a starter on his resume.
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Broncos OLB Von Miller is very confident going into a ‘Thursday Night Football’ showdown with the Browns.
Here’s @broncos LB @VonMiller proclaiming he will play well, and will have a couple of sacks, even if he doesn’t know who the @Browns backup tackles are.@KOAColorado #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/cpIgtGjuS3
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) October 19, 2021
The Cleveland Browns have been hit hard by injuries this week and they might be without both of their starting offensive tackles against the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 7.
With Jack Conklin (knee) and Jedrick Wills (ankle) both in danger of missing Thursday’s game, Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller is feeling confident going into the nationally televised prime-time showdown in Cleveland.
“I’ve got to play well in this game — I will play well in this game,” Miller said during his Tuesday press conference. “I’m going to go off. It’s going to be a good game for me. I don’t want to guarantee a win [on behalf of] my teammates, but I guarantee I’ll have … I’m going to have a great game.
“I’m going to go out there and play well, get a couple of sacks and if I can do that, then we will win …. The pressure’s on me to play well, I will play well. I don’t know who the tackle is I’m going against, but I’m going to kill ’em. I’m going to kill ’em and the other guy too on the other side and I’m going to play extremely well and I’m going to make plays for my team.”
Viewers can watch Thursday Night Football with an Amazon Fire TV product.
This isn’t the first time Miller has made a bold prediction going into a “TNF” matchup. After losing four straight games in 2018, Miller said “we’re going to kick their ass” before facing the Arizona Cardinals.
Miller delivered on that promise, totaling two sacks and two forced fumbles in Denver’s blowout 45-10 win on the road.
Alex Taylor and James Hudson are the Browns’ backup tackles. Taylor is yet to start in a regular season game and Hudson has just one career start on his resume. Going up against Miller would be a tough task for either player.
Thursday’s game will be televised on both NFL Network and Fox.
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The Broncos can attempt to save their season against the Browns on TNF. A loss would almost certainly sink them.
Playing in a nationally televised “Thursday Night Football” showdown with the Cleveland Browns this week, the Denver Broncos will attempt to save their season.
Yes, just seven weeks into the year, Denver’s season is on the line.
After starting the year 3-0 against bad teams, the Broncos have since lost three straight games. It’s not just that they lost, but how they lost: Denver has looked terrible over the last three weeks.
After an embarrassing double-digit loss at home to the Las Vegas Raiders last week, the Broncos faced a short turnaround before traveling to face the Browns. That’s just the way star defender Von Miller would like it.
“I feel like it’s easier this way,” Miller said Sunday. “Whenever I lose, I’ve always been the type of guy to say, ‘Let’s run it right back.’ If you beat me in cards, I want to run it right back so I can get that win. If you beat me in a video game, I want to run it right back so I can get a win. I want another shot at it super quick. There’s no better time to do it.
“We’ve got 96 hours to get it done. I like it like this. I want it as fast as possible. I want to get this taste out of my mouth fast as possible. I want to play right now and it’s the perfect situation to be in. We get to play extremely fast, and we get a break right after that. It’s all about winning though.”
If Denver does not bounce back and get a win in Cleveland, the team will drop below .500 with five more tough division games remaining on their schedule, plus a road showdown against the Super Bowl-contending Dallas Cowboys.
With six more difficult games on deck, the Broncos can’t afford to fall to 3-4 this week. A win would give them momentum going into a 10-day break before a winnable game at home against the 2-4 Washington Football Team. Denver would still face a tough road to playoff contention if the team improved to 5-3 over the next two weeks, but it would be within reach.
“We have to rally back,” coach Vic Fangio said after Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. “The way you rally back is have a good week of preparation — albeit a short week — and then go out and play well. There’s nothing that rallies you back and gets your confidence up like making some good plays and playing some good football. That’s what we have to do.”
It all starts this week against the Browns, who will be without their two star running backs. There’s a lot of football left to be played this year, but the forecast for the rest of the Broncos’ season will likely be determined on Thursday evening.
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Broncos are set to play on national television for the first (and likely only) time this season on Thursday.
The Denver Broncos‘ 2021 schedule includes just one nationally televised game, a “Thursday Night Football” showdown with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 21. The game will be televised on both NFL Network and local FOX stations, with Prime Video offering streaming coverage.
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Unless their season turns around, the Broncos might be unlikely to get flexed into anymore nationally televised games this fall.
Every afternoon NFL game after Week 10 is eligible to be flexed to “Sunday Night Football,” but Denver hasn’t looked like a team worthy of “SNF” consideration in recent weeks.
The Broncos’ season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 9 is also eligible to be flexed to Saturday, Jan. 8. The NFL will flex a pair of games to Saturday that weekend that will be nationally televised. But unless Denver is in contention for a playoff spot in Week 18, that game seems unlikely to get flexed to Saturday.
So there’s a possibility that the Broncos could return to prime time TV later this season, but it’s probably more realistic to assume Thursday evening will be Denver’s only nationally broadcast game of the year. Let’s enjoy it!
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