Browns: 5 expectations for Week 5 against the Colts

After four games, we largely know what the Cleveland Browns are going to be for the duration of the year, so now it’s time for some weekly expectations.

The Cleveland Browns for the first time in some time have finally started to show fans that they’re going to be consistent and not just consistently bad either. While talking about playoffs is far from the fingers of this writer, the idea that the team should start hitting certain milestones every week isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

To be fair, the idea of hitting something as insane as 300 yards rushing again this year seems unlikely. So holding them to that standard isn’t going to happen. That doesn’t mean expectations will be low. This team has so much potential and has shown so much already that to go easy on them now, or expect the bare minimum is not what we as a fanbase should be doing. We should be demanding the most out of them and not settling for anything but their very best.

That’s why they’re going to be held to some high standards this week because they can take it. They have it in them to be great. So let’s demand that they be great.

Five expectations for The Cleveland Browns in Week 5

175 rushing yards minimum

The loss of Nick Chubb is going to hurt, but Kareem Hunt can easily hit 100 yards on his own if given enough carries. Now all he needs is D’Ernest Johnson is contribute 50-70 yards on his own and maybe Baker Mayfield or another back will add on a few and bang. It’s not that hard to expect either, they’ve hit 200 yards rushing twice in their three-game winnings streak, and the other game they hit 158. They’re averaging 226.6 yards rushing in those three games. They’re simply being asked to rush for 51.6 yards less than their average. Seems reasonable.

Three team sacks

Even with the injuries to the Cleveland Browns defensive line, this seems doable this week. The Colts are expected to lean on Phillip Rivers, which means the Browns should have plenty of opportunities to chase after the largely immobile Rivers. If the hype around Myles Garrett is deserved, he’ll absolutely dominate here. By himself, he should have two sacks alone. We’ll see if he and the rest of the line can step up.

Baker Mayfield hits 65% of his passes, two touchdowns, 200 yards minimum

This one seems the least likely but it can still happen. Mayfield has hit 69% twice on this three-game winning streak but last week only hit 62%. 200 hundred yards seems likely but two touchdowns, that may not be as easy.

The defense gives up over 350 yards

Not every expectation is good. Until the defense decides otherwise, we should expect them to keep getting gashed by offenses, even bad ones. Washington hung 309 yards on the Browns, and the Colts are better than they are.

One blown deep ball touchdown gave up

Your obligatory Karl Joseph alert.