Just two weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns’ home opener against the Carolina Panthers looked very different. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Shedeur Sanders would be the Browns’ starting quarterback by now, and the Panthers did not figure to have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL.
Now, it’s still up to quarterback Deshaun Watson to keep pace with Bryce Young and Carolina’s dynamic attack. If the Browns can win a second straight game, they will have even more momentum heading into a short week.
The two Browns players who will be key to a victory on Sunday are running back Quinshon Judkins and edge rusher Jared Verse.
It would be easy to mention Watson, who will be dealing with a potentially negative fan reaction from the home crowd despite playing well in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But both Judkins and Verse are off to very disappointing starts to the season and need to contribute a lot more.
Judkins has just 54 rushing yards on 24 carries, which is a paltry average of 2.3 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, that is in line with some of his struggles from last season, when, despite his 827 total rushing yards, he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
Judkins did have a career-high-tying five receptions in the 23-19 upset win against the Buccaneers, taking a bigger role in the passing attack with Dylan Sampson on injured reserve. Now, with the starting offensive line entering its third game together, it’s time for the running game to contribute a lot more to Cleveland’s offense.
On defense, Verse has arguably worse stats than Judkins does on the other side of the ball. The defensive end does not have a sack this season and made just one tackle against the Buccaneers.
Entering Week 3, Young ranked second in the NFL in passing yards, behind only Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints. He has been sacked four times, twice in each game: a loss to the Chicago Bears and a win against the Atlanta Falcons, when Carolina combined to score 71 points.
With almost ideal weather conditions on Sunday, if the Browns’ defense is unable to slow down Young, it might be too much for their offense to overcome.
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