The Cleveland Browns will look to rebound from their poor season-opening performance against the Dallas Cowboys by heading south to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars today at 1 p.m.
Cleveland is attempting to avoid their first 0-2 start during head coach Kevin Stefanski’s tenure with the team, and the Browns will have to show improvement to improve on last week’s showing.
Here are three bold predictions for the Browns ahead of that contest.
Deshaun Watson Throws For 250 Yards
The Browns debuted their new-look offense for the first time against the Cowboys, and the second half was, uh, better?
They weren’t as bad as their first-half showing, to say the least.
Today will be the second time quarterback Deshaun Watson helms the offense against a competitive defense, but there’s no Micah Parsons awaiting Cleveland today.
The biggest jump teams make is between their first and second game, and the offense should look better than it did last week.
Expect Watson to throw for over 250 yards against a defense missing two starters in the secondary.
Jerome Ford Finishes With 100 Total Yards
Running back Jerome Ford had 18 touches against Dallas, and he averaged nearly 3.9 yards per touch.
It’s easy to imagine that Ford gets to 20 touches in today’s contest, and fans can expect him to break off at least one run for double-figures against Jacksonville.
Finishing the game with 100 total yards – with 40 or more coming through the air – is a reasonable expectation.
Za’Darius Smith Records Two Sacks
Defensive end Za’Darius Smith rested during the week with a bad back, but don’t expect the veteran to be held back by his back against the Jaguars.
Jacksonville will key in on Myles Garrett, giving Smith room to operate.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence prefers to be a pocket passer, allowing Smith to capture two sacks against this AFC South opponent.
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