Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots roll into town this weekend to face the Cleveland Browns.
And Kevin Stefanski’s players want to treat their guests about as well as they were treated during a visit to New England last year.
That 45-7 thrashing was as thorough a defeat as one can imagine.
It might help that the Browns are not in a particularly good mood of late.
Our unofficial depth chart against the Patriots
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 11, 2022
While New England comes off a strong shutout victory, Cleveland has been staggered by 2 winnable losses.
And stopping their mini-losing streak this weekend is vital to keeping 2022 playoff talk alive.
Here are 3 bold predictions about the Browns’ game versus the Patriots.
Time To Ring Up David Bell
Rookie David Bell caught almost everything thrown at him during the preseason.
But Amari Cooper, David Njoku, and Donovan Peoples-Jones account for most of Jacoby Brissett’s regular-season targets.
Brissett locks into hot receivers for a game, or even for a series within a game.
Is anyone else a bit surprised that David Bell has only been targeted 6 times so far this season? #Browns
— Craig Fountain (@CraigAFountain) October 11, 2022
But Belichick’s defensive standard is to take away the big guns of the opposing offense.
This week, Bell is the receiver most likely to find room to receive the lion’s share of passes.
It’s a breakout game for the Browns’ 3rd wideout, to the tune of 6 receptions on 8 targets for 80 yards and a score.
Defense Shuts Down Patriots Runners
Rhamondre Stevens is the last man standing in the Patriots’ offensive backfield.
The running back answered the call with well over 100 yards last weekend.
Meanwhile, statisticians switched from yards to miles to record the rushing distance earned by the Chargers in Cleveland.
Stefanski said team is doing full evaluation of defense to fix run stopping issues.#Browns
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) October 10, 2022
Joe Woods says he isn’t worried, but still had the team doing tackle drills during the week.
And Andrew Berry was looking for new defensive players before the end of the game.
Pride and urgency kick in against the Patriots, and Woods’ unit holds New England under 90 total rushing yards.
Cade York’s Most Excellent Day
Kicker Cade York is only a rookie in the NFL, but he has been kicking field goals since high school.
And he never ever missed 2 field goals in a game in his life.
Earlier in the season, York missed a couple of extra points, another rarity for the young kicker.
#Browns Mike Priefer on Cade York: "I think because he went through that situation he'll learn and continue to improve."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) October 13, 2022
But he recognized he has to bear down more and hasn’t failed to drive a conversion straight down the middle since.
York might not miss a field goal the rest of the year, starting with every chance he gets Sunday.
Stefanski will set up York’s bounce-back performance with at least 4 field goals on top of a couple of extra points.
And that adds up to a 26-20 victory over the Pats.
NEXT: Can David Njoku Make His First Pro Bowl This Season?
