The Cleveland Browns have not begun the 2024 NFL season how they had planned and are staring at a 1-3 start if they can’t figure things out against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4.
One team insider recently revealed what the team needs to do differently against the Raiders to get back to .500.
ESPN Cleveland Tony Grossi said the Browns need to get the run game going against the Raiders and pointed out that even though the Raiders beat the Baltimore Ravens, they have a bad run defense that the Browns need to exploit.
.@TonyGrossi says the Browns HAVE to run the ball and run it better against the Raiders on Sunday.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/P1aIxwaGtR
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 25, 2024
Grossi added “Put the big guys back on the field. Smashmouth the ball, and hopefully that gives you a lead, and in the meantime, (Deshaun) Watson gets a little more accurate…and you get out of Vegas with a win.”
Cleveland ran the ball 18 times for 69 yards in its Week 3 loss to the New York Giants after two solid performances on the ground in Weeks 1-2.
Las Vegas gave up 131 yards on the ground to the lowly Carolina Panthers last week and gave up over 150 yards on the ground in each of the team’s first two games.
The 152.7 rushing yards per game the Raiders are surrendering is the 4th-worst in the NFL at the moment and should serve as a glaring target for the Browns.
Getting the running game going would surely take some pressure off the struggling Watson and also let the defense settle into a nice groove.
The Browns may still be waiting for Nick Chubb’s return, but that doesn’t mean the running game needs to be on hold too.
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