The Cleveland Browns are preparing for their 2022 Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
The regular season finally kicks off after an eventful offseason that fatigued many.
Here are three bold predictions for the Browns in their Week 1 matchup against Carolina.
1. Myles Garrett Breaks His Single Game Sack Record
The Browns’ defense will be ready for their former quarterback Baker Mayfield.
And the Carolina Panthers offensive line is not as stacked as the Browns’ o-line Mayfield played with.
That spells trouble for Mayfield who is looking to enact revenge on this former team.
September 26, 2021.
Justin Fields is sacked a staggering 9 times.
The Chicago Bears piled up a whole ONE yard of net passing.
The Browns allow just 6 completions the entire game.
Myles Garrett sets the new Browns single game record with 4.5 sacks.
Dominance. pic.twitter.com/zoh17fP4bl
— Nick Karns (@karnsies817) April 6, 2022
The Browns defense knows Mayfield’s tendencies and will be in his face repeatedly in Week 1.
Myles Garrett could tie or break his single-game sack record of 4.5 which came last year against the Chicago Bears.
Could the Browns’ defense get 9 sacks on Mayfield as they did on the Bears last year?
It is certainly possible.
2. Nick Chubb Has A Huge Day
Nick Chubb is a superstar.
He is quiet, and we hear a lot more about his peers, including Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The top 10 RBs in @EAMaddenNFL:
1. Derrick Henry: 97
2. Nick Chubb: 96
3. Christian McCaffrey: 96
4. Jonathan Taylor: 95
5. Dalvin Cook: 94
6. Joe Mixon: 93
7. Alvin Kamara: 90
8. Aaron Jones: 89
9. Austin Ekeler: 88
10. Ezekiel Elliott: 88— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 20, 2022
Chubb will do what he does best, let his play on the field do the talking.
He will best McCaffrey’s game stats by a mile.
The bold prediction is over 100 yards rushing with two touchdowns.
3. Browns Finally Break Season Opener Losing Streak
The Browns have not won an opening game since 2004.
This streak will be broken in Carolina on Sunday, September 11.
The irony is that the streak will come at the expense of Baker Mayfield who started for the Browns in their last three season-opening losses.
Of note: The Cleveland Browns haven't *won* a season-opening game since 2004… but they tied one in 2018.
Pretty ridiculous, nonetheless, but that tie gives them a teeny little two-year losing streak.
— Mike Gould (@miketgould) June 19, 2021
Conclusion: Baker Will Not Get Revenge
Plenty of Browns fans still like Baker Mayfield so they may have mixed feelings about this game.
Then again, that narrative may have changed after the news of the past week.
Cynthia Frelund’s he said-she said off-the-record comments did not help his cause with some fans.
Panthers QB Baker Mayfield said he did not say what Bills reporter Cynthia Frelund claims he said pic.twitter.com/hcf5kOnk8a
— Ellis L. Williams (@BookofEllis) August 31, 2022
Worse than that are the T-shirts.
This was a misstep on Mayfield’s part.
He should have focused on football and the game and stayed out of merchandising and marketing himself, especially against his former team.
They’re here. The ONLY officially licensed shirts out there https://t.co/hrjzFNPhxc
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) September 2, 2022
All of this fueled the Browns’ fire to be even more dominant in this game.
Like Mayfield, the Browns have a lot to prove, and the best way to quiet the incessant offseason chatter is with a decisive Week 1 win.
In recent years, the Browns had the Kansas City Chiefs (2021) and the Baltimore Ravens (2020) on opening day so this is a very winnable game for the Browns in comparison.
One more prediction, and it is not a bold one: there will be plenty of Baker Mayfield jerseys in the crowd in both orange and brown and blue and white shades.
NEXT: 3 Players To Watch In Browns Vs Panthers Game
