Browns: 3 things Cleveland has to do to defeat the Texans

Be creative offensively

The Texans don’t have a lot of talent defensively, at least not a lot of talent that you’d consider among the best in the league. Christian Kirksey is their best player, followed by Whitney Mercilus and maybe Zach Cunningham. They’re not the most dynamic defense the Browns will see this season but with injuries to left tackle Jedrick Wills and Chris Hubbard, Cleveland will have to worry about their line.

An offensive line can be sunk by one bad player and with rookie James Hudson getting the nod, it’s very possible that he has a lot of issues in his first pro start. That’s to be expected but if his play affects the line as a whole, there will be problems. He’ll be going up against Mercilus who will be exactly that. To help get away from any potential issues that come with a rookie starting against a former All-Pro pass rusher, the team should consider getting creative offensively.

The Browns did this against the Chiefs with an end-around to Jarvis Landry, as well as some interesting play calling in the passing game that really highlighted Anthony Schwartz.

If the Browns can do that, while doing a lot of shorter, underneath stuff to the tight ends, and focusing the rushing game off the right side of the line, the Browns should be able to handle the Texans’ patchwork defense.