There is an adage attached to the NFL that says “Week 1 is a liar,” which means that what you see from teams during those games is not necessarily what the rest of the campaign will be like. The Cleveland Browns can only hope that is the case.
The Browns were non-competitive in their opener, falling behind early and getting blown out by the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-10. Now, they are back on the road, facing off against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as touchdown-plus underdogs again.
There are two keys to the Browns pulling an upset on Sunday: establishing a better running game and getting pass-rush pressure on Mayfield.
Against the Jaguars, running back Quinshon Judkins gained just 33 yards on 12 attempts, which is a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. That is despite the Browns’ rebuilt offensive line ranking seventh in the league in run-block win rate.
Getting Judkins more successfully involved would not only allow the offense to decrease its dependence on struggling quarterback Deshaun Watson, but better time of possession would also limit the opportunities Mayfield and the Buccaneers’ offense have with the ball. At Jacksonville, Cleveland had the ball for almost eight fewer minutes than its opponent.
On defense, the Browns need to get significantly more pressure on Mayfield than they did on Trevor Lawrence in Week 1. The Jaguars quarterback was sacked just once, to start a two-minute drill in the first half, and he was pressured on less than 20 percent of his 25 dropbacks.
Cleveland, under new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, blitzed just three times. In addition, Jared Verse did not have a sack, QB hit, pressure or hurry in his debut, failing to provide any production in that area as the replacement for Myles Garrett.
With Mayfield looking for revenge on his former team, the Browns might be able to take advantage of his heightened emotions, and an uneasy pocket could contribute to him having a bad game in what would be a surprising Cleveland victory.
NEXT: Insider Raises Concerning Question About Browns' Defense
