Browns: 3 players who need to step up against the Raiders
By Chad Porto
Rashard Higgins
The Browns have more to worry about than Rashard Higgins replacing Odell Beckham Jr. Jarvis Landry is not playing well, and his surgically repaired hip isn’t healed. He’s playing far below expectations. Higgins won’t just have to replace Beckham’s production but possibly Landry’s as well. While Landry will continue to play, probably against a physician’s advice, that doesn’t mean he’s as good as he was the last two seasons.
Higgins will need to be able to make an impact at the same rate he did last week. There’s simply no other way this offense will be as consistent as it needs to be to win without Higgins stepping up huge. The Browns are without Beckham, Nick Chubb, Wyatt Teller, and Austin Hooper for the game. Landry’s still in obvious pain, and that Kareem Hunt has not been a great replacement for Chubb. The Browns may need Higgins more than they realize.
That may not be fair to put all that on Higgins, as Harrison Bryant will also need to step up as well, but Bryant has shown he can. Higgins is coming off of his best game in two and a half years. So there’s more pressure on Higgins to prove it wasn’t a fluke.