CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns host the Jaguars Sunday in a potential playoff preview.
Cleveland is 5-1 at home and currently holds the top Wild Card slot as the fifth seed in the AFC while the Jaguars, who are 6-0 away from Jacksonville, leads the AFC South and is the No. 4 seed.
Here’s what, and who we are watching for against Jacksonville.
Both teams enter Sunday’s game unsure of who will start at quarterback. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be a game time decision after spraining his ankle Monday night. Should he play, Lawrence, who practiced Thursday and Friday, looks for his fourth game in a row with at least 250 yards passing, a 90-plus QB rating and a rushing touchdown. Backup C.J. Beathard completed 9 of 10 passes for 63 yards in relief of Lawrence last week. For the Browns, Joe Flacco was elevated from the practice squad for the second consecutive week and is expected to start but head coach Kevin Stefanski would not say on Friday. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson cleared concussion protocol Friday and is available. Flacco completed 23 of 44 passes for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception last week in his Browns debut against the Rams.
Receiver Amari Cooper, who leads the Browns with 50 catches and is 201 yards shy of hitting 1,000 for the seventh time in his career, also cleared concussion protocol and is available after leaving last week’s game early.
Last week, Flacco targeted Elijah Moore 12 times and Moore caught four of those passes for a season-high 83 yards. Should Flacco start, Moore could continue to be his favorite target.
Jerome Ford are one of two pairs of running back teammates with at least six touchdowns this season. Ford, who caught a 24-yard TD last week, has over 50 scrimmage yards in four of the last five games. Hunt had a team-high 48 yards rushing in L.A.
Myles Garrett is amid a mini sack drought as he continues to play through a left shoulder injury suffered two weeks ago in Denver. He has slipped to fifth leaguewide in sacks as he sits at 13.0 on the season. He will be matched up against Ezra Cleveland or former Brown Blake Hance at left tackle for the Jaguars. Garrett has 8.5 of his sacks in six home games this season.
Cleveland is expected to get cornerback Denzel Ward back on the field following a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the last two games. Jacksonville lost receiver Christian Kirk to injured reserve this week, but Calvin Ridley has at least 80 yards receiving in four of five road games this season.
Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun leads the NFL with 131 tackles this season and is coming off a 13-tackle effort while Josh Allen is tied for third with 13.5 sacks and he has 2.0 sacks in three of five road games in 2023.
Jaguars running back Travis Etienne collected his eighth rushing touchdown last week and looks for 75 scrimmage yards in his third straight game. Etienne has 600 scrimmage yards and six TDs in five road games this season.
Last week – Jaguars lost to the Bengals in OT 34-31; Browns lost to the Rams 36-19
The last time – November 29, 2020: Browns 27, Jaguars 25
Series – Jaguars lead 12-6
By the numbers – A look at how the two teams match up statistically.
Jaguars offense vs. Browns defense:
Scoring: Jaguars 23.8, Browns 20.4
Total yards: Jaguars 346.8, Browns 260.5
Passing: Jaguars 243.6, Browns 153.4
Rushing: Jaguars 103.3, Browns 107.1
Jaguars defense vs. Browns offense:
Scoring: Jaguars 21.6, Browns 21.5
Total yards: Jaguars 354.8, Browns 321.2
Passing: Jaguars 262.7, Browns 186.1
Rushing: Jaguars 93.1, Browns 135.1
Defensive stats
Sacks: Jaguars 26, Browns 34
Takeaways: Jaguars 21, Browns 16
Turnover differential: Jaguars +3, Browns -8
Projected Browns starters – Offense: WR Amari Cooper, LT Geron Christian, LG Joel Bitonio, C Ethan Pocic, RG Wyatt Teller, RT Dawand Jones, TE David Njoku, WR Elijah Moore, WR Cedric Tillman, QB Joe Flacco, RB Jerome Ford
Defense: DE Myles Garrett, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Jordan Elliott, DE Za’Darius Smith, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB Anthony Walker, LB Sione Takitaki, CB Greg Newsome II, CB Martin Emerson Jr., SS Grant Delpit, FS Juan Thornhill
Injury report – OUT: RT Dawand Jones (knee); QUESTIONABLE: CB Cameron Mitchell (hamstring), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder)
Uniforms – Orange helmet, brown jersey, white pants
Broadcast info – Radio: 92.3 The Fan, 98.5 WNCX; TV: WOIO TV-19 (CBS)
Kickoff – 1:05 p.m. Cleveland Browns Stadium; Cleveland, Ohio
Prediction – Browns 23, Jaguars 20
Our prediction record – 6-6