Browns: 3 keys to victory against the Houston Texans
By Chad Porto
The Browns are looking to go to 6-3 on the season but to earn that sixth win they’re going to have to do these three things to beat the Texans.
The Cleveland Browns are the odds on favorite to win against the Houston Texans on Sunday but that doesn’t mean it’s a lock, nor does it mean it’s going to be easy. The Texans are out of the playoff chase but aren’t going to just lie down. They’re going to want to fight and that means they’re going to come to play on Sunday
To beat them, there are things that the Browns will need to do and they won’t be easy, even if they’re obvious. So with that, let’s hop on into the things the Browns need to do to ensure they walk away with the victory on Sunday.
Keep J.J. Watt out of the backfield
This is a no brainer. J. J. Watt isn’t just really good at pass-rushing, Watt is one of the best run stoppers on the line of scrimmage in the game. Guys like him and Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald gobble up runners with relative ease and never take plays off. Watt’s going to be hell-bent to hit someone as he’s become more than disgruntled with his time in Houston. There’s every chance in the world that he’s playing for a new team come the summer of 2021 and if that’s the case, that means every game from here on out is a tryout of sorts.
Watt is still dangerous despite his injury history, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was playing on arguably the worst all-around defense in the NFL, he may have much better numbers. Instead, Watt is getting doubled, if not tripled team in Houston’s 3-4 defense. Already playing as a defensive end in a 3-4 is hard enough, but doing it when there is no other pass-rushing threat? That’s why you see Watt struggling so much. Had Cleveland made a run for him, whoa, that would have been huge.