The Cleveland Browns have the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and will need to keep an eye out for these three players if they want to win.
The Cleveland Browns were lucky to get past the Bengals with a win. Getting out of Cincinnati with another “W” won’t be easy. The Bengals are a surprisingly good offensive team. Their running game isn’t much to fawn over but rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has shown some remarkable poise as a rookie.
The problem that the Browns will have to deal with this time around, unlike their first encounter, is a lack of healthy bodies. Nick Chubb, Wyatt Teller, and Jarvis Landry are all either out or dealing with some pretty nasty injuries. Then there’s Ronnie Harrison who really didn’t play much in their first meeting, only six snaps on defense, and he’s expected to dress for Sunday’s game but it’s still unknown if he’ll play or how much he’ll play.
This is a battered Browns offense and a gutted Browns defense. The Bengals nearly beat the Browns last time, and this time around the good guys are going down to Cincinnati and are going into this game with some doubt. The critics are coming for Baker Mayfield, right or wrong. Teller’s injury has crippled the running game and replacement running back Kareem Hunt has not looked good in replacement.
The Browns may not be the same team they were in Week 2 when they first faced off. The defense will need to up their game and the offense has to be able to protect Mayfield. Otherwise, this game could end up being a disaster.
Tee Higgins
Tee Higgins has come on nicely. The second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has really found a rhythm with fellow rookie Joe Burrow and that’s translated to results. Higgins is third on the team in targets, tied for third on the team for receptions but second on the team in yards received, and first on the team in touchdowns caught.
Clearly Higgins is someone that the Bengals have done well to work into their system. With his athleticism and the growing rapport with Burrows, he’s going to be someone the Browns will need to keep an eye out for. The team hasn’t really needed AJ Green to step up, and Higgins may all but push Green out of Cincinnati at this rate. He’s become a bit of a big-play guy for them, and with the fact, the Bengals have three genuinely good receivers to boot, the Browns usually poor defense may be absolutely gutted against this Bengals passing attack.
The team will need to get to the quarterback and take away anything over the top defensively. Slowing down this passing attack is imperative if the Browns hope to avoid another late-game meltdown like they had in Week 2. If not, then this may turn into a loss for the 4-2 Browns.
Carl Lawson
The most effecient defensive player on a rather forgettable defense is arguably Carl Lawson. Lawson is a defensive end for the Bengals who leads the team in sacks (3.5) and tackles-for-a-loss. While he’s not Myles Garrett or J.J. Watt on the line of scrimmage, he has shown to be able to get after quarterbacks with relative ease and can get deep on that aline of scrimmage to disrupt the running game.
He’s not going to single handily stop the Browns like an Aaron Donald could but he will be more than enough of a matchup problem for Jedrick Wills when he’s on the field. Wills hasn’t been as consistent in the passing game as he has been in the running game and teams are taking note. Indianapolis and Pittsburgh absolutely ran right past him, lending for Baker Mayfield to get tossed around all game. Granted in the Pittsburgh game, no offensive linemen besides J.C. Tretter played moderately well, so that’s not so much his fault then.
Yet, if the Bengals test Wills’ lateral quickness they just find that Lawson could have a huge day after all. The Browns will need to worry about him most of all but that doesn’t mean the Bengals defense can’t have a shockingly big day as a unit. Running the ball well, and getting Mayfield out under center is the way to go.
Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow has lived up to the hype so far through his first six games. He’s thrown for over 1,600 yards in his rookie campaign, currently 9th best in the NFL. He’s completed 65% of his passes and has shown the ability to make plays happen. While his record, 1-4-1 isn’t great it has shown promise. Of those four losses, only one has been a blowout, partly because of Burrow’s ability to keep his team in the game past the point they really should be.
He’s shown great poise but against the Browns none of that really matters, as just about any quarterabck in the league can throw on this team’s defense. Getting to burrow and forcing him to make mistakes is going to be crucial. There’s no otherway this defense has shown to be able to slow anyone down.
Unless there’s significant pressure all game across the line of scrimmage on this hapless Bengals offensive line, then there’s every chance in the world that Burrow goes and throws for over 400 yards on the Browns. The Browns secondary isn’t good enough to slow them down and the linebacking corp has proven time and time again they can be beaten. Burrow is the key to the whole gameplan for both teams.