The (3-6) Cleveland Browns matchup with the (6-3) Buffalo Bills in week 11 of the NFL season.
The Browns enter this matchup coming off a tough loss against the Miami Dolphins.
Who will prevail?
Let’s take a look at our writer’s bold predictions for this Sunday’s matchup.
Writer: Wendi Oliveros
We now know that the Cleveland Browns have a location change for their Week 11 game against the Buffalo Bills.
Is it strange that I thought the Browns would have been more competitive with the Bills in the snowy windy catastrophic weather event?
Settled in a dome in Detroit, the advantage goes to the Bills.
The Bills have a Thanksgiving game against the Lions so it is not as if they weren’t already preparing plays for a dome game.
The extreme winter weather just expedites the use of those plays by a few days.
Also, the Bills are in the midst of a two-game losing streak and at 6-3 are tied for second place in a surprisingly competitive AFC East division.
If you listened to the preseason analysis, the Bills are supposed to be in the thick of things in January and February.
Back in August, some believed they could win the Super Bowl.
The Bills have experienced their midseason adversity and are now ready to move on from it.
As for the Browns, this season has been a case of missed opportunities and losses that should have been victories.
It is not clear what the identity of the 2022 Browns is; the defensive play has been lackluster and the offense has been adequate with Nick Chubb being the sole outstanding component of it.
All of this means a victory is in store for Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
My Prediction: Bills 31, Browns 24
Writer: Pat Opperman
Well, it looks like the snow in Buffalo might still provide an advantage to the Cleveland Browns.
Bills management made the insane decision to wait until Saturday to fly out to Detroit.
And now the team faces a real challenge in getting to Ford Field in time.
Whether they show up overnight Saturday or early Sunday, players could be tired and distracted by the ordeal.
There could even be some anger over how they were made to travel on dangerous roads or fly in bad conditions.
Anger directed at team officials is better than anger over their recent losses and the related urgency to win this week.
Meanwhile, Cleveland took buses to Detroit and should arrive rested and ready to take on the Bills.
While both teams’ fans normally travel well, Buffalo folks will probably still be shoveling out their homes on Sunday.
And the saddest thing is, the Browns need these off-field considerations to think about winning.
Amid assertions that opposing teams have Joe Woods’ defense figured out, Cleveland figures to hope for a shootout victory.
And with a quarterback who fades in crunch time, that is not a winning formula for the Browns.
My Prediction: Bills 38, Browns 27
Writer: Ben Donahue
After a brutal 39-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins last week, the Browns head to sunny Detroit to face the Buffalo Bills.
The switch to a domed stadium in Michigan helps both teams as far as the weather, but it won’t change the outcome of the game much.
Buffalo is coming off a tough loss to Minnesota and has dropped two straight.
They still have a formidable offense ranked second in the NFL that sports quarterback Josh Allen and receiver Stefon Diggs.
So, anyone taking the scores of Buffalo’s last two games at face value is missing the bigger picture.
Even nursing an injury to his throwing arm, Allen still passed for 330 yards and Diggs caught 12 balls last week.
There was also the improbable Allen fumble at the goalline late in the game that gave Minnesota life.
Nine times out of ten, that doesn’t happen.
Cleveland’s pass defense gave up a ton of plays to the “Cheetah” and the “Penguin” during their game against the Dolphins.
The Browns’ secondary has a rating of over 98 to opposing receivers for the year and had an awful 135 rating last week alone.
Meanwhile, the Bills’ defense is also ranked second in the NFL.
They face a good Cleveland run game with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and Buffalo can be had on the ground.
Unfortunately, if the Browns let the game get away from them too soon (like last week) the offense will have to switch to their passing game to try and keep up.
As it stands now, the Browns are not in the same league as Buffalo and it does not matter where the game is played.
My Prediction: Bills 31, Browns 17
NEXT: Browns Nation News And Notes (11/20/22)
