Thanks to a trade for superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., among other moves, the Browns became a potential-filled football sensation this offseason. Some even picked the long-time downtrodden franchise to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIV.
After notching a 7-8-1 record a year ago under the leadership of No. 1 overall rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, 2019 brought more hope in Cleveland than it probably should have.
Now, as the midpoint of the season hits, the Browns are a 2-4 football team trying to prove that the hype wasn't misplaced and that they are capable of playing up to their impressive talent.
From the perspective of the Patriots' dominant defense, according to safety Devin McCourty the Browns are "definitely" the most talented opponent New England has faced this season.
"On offense, you talk about all the skill positions: wide receivers, tight ends. Then you look at the running back position, you look at the quarterback position – they're talented as a group. You've got a ton of first-rounders. You've got the high picks, guys that have been highly productive in this league. So, I think from a defensive standpoint, it's a game, like I said earlier, that we all have to be on point," McCourty explained.
Cleveland's talent isn't restricted to the offense, the Browns defense has plenty of would-be stars in its own right, led by another former No. 1 overall pick in defensive end Myles Garrett.
"Every team in the NFL is talented, honestly, and anybody can get beat on any given Sunday if you're not prepared. But, these guys have a lot of great players on their team," running back James White said. "Like I said, they're going to come out ready to go coming off a bye week, so they'll be refreshed. So, they're going to give their best shot."
Though Bill Belichick does a good job hyping up the coming opponent each Wednesday in his meeting with the media, his sell-job was a little more believable regarding Mayfield, Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Garrett and Co.
"Certainly a lot of explosive players to worry about with this team. They've got a lot of weapons on offense, defense and special teams. They make a lot of big plays and certainly cause a lot of problems," Belichick said. "Coach [Freddie> Kitchens is a very aggressive coach offensively. They do a good job of attacking defenses and creating a lot of explosive plays in all areas of the game. They have great runners, receivers, quarterback, experienced offensive line. Defensively, they do a good job of turning the ball over, creating negative plays and long yardage, three-and-outs."
Of course the Patriots do a lot of those same things, certainly on the defensive side of the ball, and have earned their undefeated record as midseason arrives.
New England (7-0) will look to continue to prove it's as good as its record says Sunday evening at Gillette Stadium while the Browns are hoping to make a statement that they're indeed better than their record would indicate.
Here are a few key factors to focus on as Belichick hopes to log his 300th career victory against a Browns franchise he interestingly coached for his first NFL win, a landmark that actually came against the Patriots team that later in his career he'd go on to establish as a dynasty, a dynasty that's continuing to chug right along.
Start fast, again – The Patriots win in New York last Monday night went exactly as planned. Start fast on offense, put pressure on Sam Darnold and cruise to victory. New England took away the Jets' spirit with the way it started at MetLife Stadium. A similar plan should be in the works against the Browns on Sunday. Cleveland has the talent on both sides of the ball to be dangerous, but they also have the ability to get blown out as they showed in the debacle against the 49ers. If the Patriots start fast again, it could break the Browns' will to win. But, if Cleveland hangs around or even makes some key big plays of its own early on, it could inject life into the talented visitors who have some frontrunner swagger to them.
No big plays – The Patriots defense has been so stingy, not just in points allowed, but in third down conversions that no team has been able to move the ball with any regularity against it. Cleveland's offense ranks 30th in the NFL (29.6 percent) in third down conversions, while the Patriots are No. 1 in third down defense allowing just 14.3-percernt conversions. So unless both teams dramatically change their money-down performances, it's hard to imagine Mayfield marching his team down the field with regularity. So the only way the Browns can probably hit payday offensively is the big plays that Belichick has talked about all week. Of course the dominant defense for the Patriots has been good in that area, too. New England has allowed just 11 pass plays in seven games longer than 20 yards and only two longer than 30 yards. If the Browns don't hit some big plays they probably have little chance at the upset.
Block Garrett – Sounds simple, but Myles Garrett is an elite NFL defender. He leads the Browns with nine sacks on the season, tied for the NFL lead. He's a long, athletic edge presence but far from the only guy on the Cleveland front that can get after it. Brady has done a very good job helping his line out by getting rid of the football quickly most of the year, including in Monday's win in New York. Garrett and Cleveland will be looking to get after Brady and his offensive line (and tight ends) some to give themselves the chance at the upset. Questions remain about Marshall Newhouse's work at left tackle as well as a concern about Shaq Mason missing time to an ankle injury this week. The Patriots line has its work cut out for it against Garrett and a solid Browns front. As always, everything on offense stems from the guys in the trenches being competitive.
Pick up where you left off – The Patriots lead the NFL with 18 interceptions, including four on Monday night when Darnold was "seeing ghosts" in New York. Mayfield has thrown more interceptions (11) than any other quarterback. That would seem to be a nice recipe for Devin McCourty and the Patriots defensive backfield to continue their playmaking ways. New England has notched three or more interceptions in four of seven wins. As such, the team has been plus-2 or better in turnover differential in four of seven wins, sitting at an NFL-best plus-14 for the season. The Browns are minus-6 on the season, ranking as the NFL's 28th squad in turnover differential. It is worth noting that Brady has thrown an interception in four straight games. If the Boogeymen keep their turnover talents rolling it could be long evening for Mayfield and the Browns. But, if the young quarterback takes care of the football it would give he and his team a puncher's chance.
Some run, somewhere – Chubb (5.3 avg.) leads a Browns rushing attack that ranks second in the league in yards per attempt on the season. The Patriots rush defense is just 15th in yards per attempt on the ground. Look for Cleveland to try to get Chubb going early and he, like so many of his teammates, has the ability to hit big plays. One of the areas that's been suspect at times on the Patriots defense has been tackling, an issue in both Buffalo and Washington. The front must keep Chubb corralled and from breaking free for a big run. Conversely, the Browns allow 5.0 yards per carry on the ground, second worst in the NFL as they prepare to take on a Patriots ground game that's sputtered for most of the season. Sony Michel -- Chubb's former backfield teammate at Georgia who went four picks earlier in the 2018 NFL Draft -- has continued to struggle to the tune of averaging less than 4 yards a carry in five of seven games, including the last two contests. While the Patriots defense will focus on keeping Chubb in check, New England should try to jumpstart Michel's disappointing season against a willing Cleveland front.
Prediction – Proven production trumps potential every time. That's really what this game boils down to. Are the Browns capable of upsetting the Patriots at Gillette? Probably. Is it likely? Probably not. The talent just hasn't come together with any consistency for Cleveland under Kitchens' questionable leadership, whereas New England has played to and maybe beyond its talents, at least on defense, throughout the first half of the season. So many numbers and matchups say New England will control this game. But, it must continue to execute to get that done. Certainly Jarvis Landry's non-guarantee win guarantee will be used as motivation by Belichick's driven troops. In the end it will be about clean play. Belichick's well-coached squad is far cleaner than Kitchens' team that's sloppy with the ball, sloppy with penalties and hasn't played up to its talent with any regularity. Look for the Patriots to run the ball and continue to be a conservative work in progress in the passing game on the way to a 27-13 victory in which turnovers, once again, help keep the home crowd quite happy.
