Burns
Hall of Famer
Week 2 Preview
Cleveland, OH - The Browns are entering a Week 2 sitting at 1-0 for the first time since 2004, when they beat the Ravens 20-3 in week 1 of that season. The week 1 win this season over the Steelers broke a streak of 12 straight opening week losses for the Browns, which is a welcome sight for a team that went 1-15 last season.Speaking of the Ravens, that's who Cleveland plays this week, as they travel to Baltimore for another divisional game. This will be the second of 3 divisional games in the first 4 weeks of this new season, so the early part of the schedule is critical for this young Browns team.
Quick side note, the Browns signed LB Akeem Ayers out of free agency this week. He's going to be taking over for Joe Schobert at MLB, who didn't play terrible in week 1, but is much less talented than Ayers. He should help contribute to a defense that had some struggles against the Steelers.
Now, let's move on to Week 2. The Browns are taking on a Ravens team that lost a shootout to the rival Bengals, 52-47, in Week 1. Let's take a quick look at the game recap:
As we can see, Flacco threw the ball very well. Over 400 yards and 4 TD. However, he did have those 3 INTs. The Ravens were even in the turnover battle, but still turned the ball over 4 times. As we saw in Week 1. The Browns team doesn't look like one that will turn the ball over much, so look for the Browns defense to create some turnovers against this Ravens team.
West ran the ball well, but I don't think he'll have much success this week. Cleveland has a stout running defense. One that shut LeVeon Bell down last week. Mike Wallace was a problem for the Bengals, over 100 yards and 2 TDs through the air. It'll either be McCourty or Taylor covering him, so hopefully one of them gets the job done. This Browns secondary left much to be desired in Week 1, giving up over 500 yards passing, but they did get 4 INTs. I could see something similar happening this week: lots of yards, but still creating turnovers.
The Ravens only gave up 98 yards rushing to Cincy. The Browns rushed for 290 against the Steelers. Something has to give. If I had to guess, I doubt Cleveland can run for nearly 300 yards again, but the Ravens certainly won't hold them under 100, especially if Jabrill Peppers is able to be a spark once again.
Baltimore had no sacks in Week 1, which could mean Kizer might have time to throw back there. My prediction for Kizer this week is that he'll eclipse 200 yards, throw a couple TDs, and 1 INT. He's a rookie, and mistakes are still going to be made. On the flip side, the Ravens gave up 4 sacks last week, and the Browns defense had 3. I think the Browns get somewhere between 3-5 sacks this week. Look for Myles Garrett to have a big impact once again.
Based off of Week 1, DaddyLeagues is calling the Browns a 6 point favorite with a O/U of 86 points. That puts the score around 47-39 with Cleveland coming out on top. That's a bit high for my taste. I think both teams' scoring comes back to earth a bit, and I think the Browns defense is better than they showed last week.
Official Prediction: Browns get another key division win, improving to 2-0 on the season with a 31-20 win over the Ravens.
Should be a fun one Browns fans. What do you think, is our prediction right? Are the Ravens gonna send the Browns back to reality? Let us know what you think. Game kicks off at 8 PM CST tomorrow night, only on PX1 Sports.
For all things Cleveland Browns, stay tuned to The Dawg Pound.
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