Before the season, Cleveland fans expected to be 2-1 at the very least before heading west to face the Las Vegas Raiders.
Yet two poor performances at home have stymied the once-promising start to the Browns’ season.
To get back on track today, Cleveland needs to address two major areas to pick up their second win of the season and even their record.
Reduce The Penalties
Las Vegas is the most-disciplined team in the NFL this season, having committed only 11 penalties through three games.
That means the Raiders are not letting mental mistakes kill drives or extend their opponents’ opportunities, unlike the Browns.
Through three games, Cleveland is the third-worst NFL franchise at committing penalties, racking up 29 miscues for 212 yards.
It’s especially damaging on offense as the Browns have been flagged 10 times for either false starts or offensive holding penalties.
With the offense struggling, the makeshift offensive line will need to do everything without drawing flags to buy Watson time during his passes.
Make The Raiders Pass
Las Vegas enters this contest as the league’s worst rushing team, averaging just 51 yards on the ground through three games.
The Raiders are fourth in the league through the air despite having Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell behind center.
Cleveland has the deepest secondary Las Vegas has faced this season, and the Browns can take advantage of this mismatch, especially now that Davante Adams is not suiting up.
The Browns will need to pin their ears back and attack the Raiders’ signal-caller as neither Minshew nor O’Connell are particularly athletic or gifted scrambling quarterbacks.
Expect Cleveland to load the defensive front and create one-on-one matchups against the Raiders’ wide receivers throughout today.
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