5 reasons Cleveland Browns overcome OBJ adversity, beat Bengals
The Cleveland Browns were embarrassed in front of their home crowd on Halloween, scoring just 10 points.
Coach Kevin Stefanski is facing the most adversity he’s endured as a head coach, and now we’ll see the reigning Coach of the Year tested.
The Odell Beckham Jr. drama has engulfed the week, but quarterback Baker Mayfield has emerged as a leader after speaking to the press after Wednesday’s practice.
I like it when Baker faces big time adversity and this will be the biggest test of his career. A win keeps the Browns on track in a tight division, but a loss would be brutal to the team’s playoff chances.
The Bengals are looking to wipe away some embarrassment, as well, after losing embarrassingly to career backup Mike White and the lowly New York Jets just one week after being hailed as the new AFC favorites following a huge road win against the Ravens.
As of Wednesday, the Bengals were 2.5 favorites. It hasn’t happened a lot this season, but the Browns are underdogs, as they should be.
Here’s five reasons the Browns get back on the winning track and quiet some of the OBJ noise with a win against the Bengals.
1.Cleveland Browns #FreedofOBJ
Lebron James tried to #FreeOBJ, but really, it’s the Browns who are freed of the wideout.
Remember when Beckham wore that Andre Rison shirt during the preseason? Talk about some eerie foreshadowing.
Anyway, it’s a mere coincidence that it’s almost a year to the day Cleveland plays at Cincinnati. When the two tangled at Paul Brown Stadium one year ago, Beckham suffered his season ending ACL injury and the Browns offense started to roll.
With Beckham out, I do expect the Browns offense to be better, even with quarterback Baker Mayfield still suffering with a banged up non-throwing shoulder. This statement isn’t made with blind hope. There’s proof the Browns are better without Beckham, and for the second year a row, we’ll get to see if it rings true.
With Beckham out, I’d anticipate more of a role for Anthony Schwartz or Donovan Peoples-Jones, assuming he’s revered from his groin injury. Teams have been stacking the box daring Mayfield to throw the ball to his receivers. He’s going to have to do it to give Nick Chubb a chance in this one.