The (3-5) Cleveland Browns matchup with the (6-3) Miami Dolphins in week 10 of the NFL season.
The Browns enter this matchup coming off a big win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Who will prevail?
Let’s take a look at our writer’s bold predictions for this Sunday’s matchup.
Writer: Wendi Oliveros
The 3-5 Cleveland Browns have not played football in the month of November.
After the Halloween victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, it has felt like a long bye week.
The good news is that it appears players have gotten healthier during the bye.
Denzel Ward made his way back out to the practice field and says he is playing though he is not yet officially cleared from the concussion protocol.
The Browns will need all of their healthy players to handle this explosive 6-3 Miami Dolphins team.
Despite the disparity in their records, these teams have similar statistics through the first half of the season.
The Browns gained an average of 397.4 yards per game while the Dolphins have 393.2.
In points scored, each team has allowed an average of 24.9 while scoring 25 (Browns) and 23.7 (Dolphins).
There are two big differences that I see.
The passing game for the Dolphins with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as Tua Tagovailoa’s receivers is better than the Browns’ passing game.
And the Dolphins have played well at home in 2022, only losing one home game (to the Minnesota Vikings) this season.
Because of these two factors, I am predicting that the Dolphins will edge out the Browns in yet another close game for Cleveland this season.
My Prediction: Dolphins 27, Browns 24
Writer: Pat Opperman
Miami smells blood after the Jets’ Week 9 upset of the Buffalo Bills made capturing an AFC East title more realistic.
And Josh Allen’s elbow injury helps highlight what Tua Tagovailoa is doing with the Dolphins.
Tagovailoa is 6-0 in games he finished this season, and even with his injury-shortened loss, he is 14-2 over his last 16 starts.
He doesn’t care about flashy numbers, but he takes care of the ball and makes enough big plays.
And that’s exactly what the Browns need from Jacoby Brissett to save Cleveland’s playoff hopes.
Fans hope Kevin Stefanski uses the “Bengals Plan” the rest of the season, with heavy doses of rushing.
But it is the defense that must continue to find its strengths and cover its weaknesses.
Joe Woods’ unit is as healthy as ever, but fans won’t mind if he keeps some recent changes in play.
Putting the green dot on John Johnson energized the maligned safety and Sione Takitaki looked great in the middle of the linebacker corps.
Momentum might have been lost during a bye week, but what a great victory this could be for the Browns.
Stefanski can move to 3-0 after bye weeks if the defense holds up.
It’ll be dicey, but…
My Prediction: Browns 25, Dolphins 23
Writer: Ben Donahue
The Cleveland Browns are fresh off their bye week and immediately enter a tough three-game stretch.
First, the Browns face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, followed by the Buffalo Bills, and then Tom Brady and his Bucs.
This is the make-or-break portion of the team’s schedule.
Winning even one of these games would be a boon for the team as the countdown for Deshaun Watson’s debut gets closer by the day.
It will be interesting to see which Cleveland team shows up on Sunday.
Will it be the team that dropped four straight in October or the squad that crushed the Cincinnati Bengals by 19 points in Week 8?
Regardless, they play a Dolphins team that has won three straight after losing three straight when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was injured.
The Fins sport a great trio of playmakers in Tua and receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Here’s an interesting stat: Miami has not lost this year when all three have played an entire game together.
Tagovailoa has thrown for over 300 yards the last two weeks and has passed for six total touchdowns, no interceptions, and has a 130+ rating in those games.
Meanwhile, the Browns’ pass defense has given up seven touchdowns to receivers this year including a 96.9 rating to opposing pass catchers.
The best way to defeat a pass-heavy opponent has always been to chew up the clock and leave that offense little time to work.
That’s perfect for Cleveland as Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb are built for such a day.
When used to their potential, Chubb averages 105.1 yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry while Hunt averages four yards per tote.
Miami’s defense is ranked 26th in the NFL, which means Kevin Stefanski can let loose the dogs.
Sprinkle in some passes against a Fins secondary that gave up a ton of yardage to Chicago’s Justin Fields last week and we have ourselves a game.
Unfortunately, since the contest is in Southern Florida, and the Browns are still too streaky for my liking, I’m picking against them.
My Prediction: Dolphins 30, Browns 24
NEXT: Browns Nation News And Notes (11/13/22)
