Browns Continue to Hang on to Playoff Life
As we head into Week 16, the Cleveland Browns' playoff position is in bleak territory as they are holding on by a thread at 1% to make the playoffs with only three games left to play! Deshaun Watson and the offense have to generate enough leeway in the score for the defense to conquer teams in the passing game. The question remains for many fans, how will the team continue to glue together to finish the season?
For the Cleveland Browns to make the postseason, they will need multiple things to take place. The Browns will need to win out the rest of their three-game slate.
- vs New Orleans Saints (4-9, 1-3 NFC)
- at Washington Commanders (7-5-1, 4-4-1 NFC)
- at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8, 1-3 AFC)
They will also need the following to take place in the final three weeks of play:
- The Patriots and Jets will have to go 1-2.
- The Raiders, Jaguars/or Titans will have to go 2-1 or worse.
- The Dolphins, Chargers, and Ravens all have to lose out and go 0-3.
The Patriots have the hardest schedule remaining as they face the Bengals, Dolphins, and Bills. While the Chargers have the easiest schedule remaining as they face the Colts, Rams, and Broncos.
Whew! The Browns will have to continue to pray for the downfall of their AFC foes.
Cleveland will take on the Saints at FirstEnergy Stadium for a chilly Christmas Eve Saturday afternoon game.
This Week 16 matchup is a chance for both teams to make one last push toward a dwindling playoff chance.
The New Orleans Saints (5-9) defeated the Atlanta Falcons last weekend, lifting their chances of clinching the playoffs to 4% according to the New York Times Simulator
The Black and Gold can raise their chances from 4% to 10% if they can shock the home crowd in Cleveland.
*cough* *cough* If the crowd can hang on to the warmth and cheer to hang around.
This game will feature a classic Lake Erie weather element.
The teams have the potential to face 13-degree temperatures with an estimated 25-35 MPH wind according to The Weather Channel.
The weather will impact both teams' passing attacks, so a heavy-run formulated game will not be a surprise to many.
Browns All-Pro running back Nick Chubb has not practiced this week after injuring his foot in the victory versus Baltimore last week. There might be a hefty workload to make up for on Sunday. Kareem Hunt, D’ernest Johnson, and Jerome Ford will take a jab out of a Chubb-less run script.
The Saints feature an average offense based around former Bengal QB Andy Dalton, All-Pro RB Alvin Kamara, and rookie WR Chris Olave. Dalton has played surprisingly well for the team after taking over for Jameis Winston.
The 35-year-old Quarterback has thrown for 2,403 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions over a span of eleven games. He is crushing his career high for QBR with a 98.1 while completing over 66.8 percent of his passes.
Nationally, the offense ranks 28th in time of possession, 16th in yards per game, and 22nd in points scored per game.
Former Browns wide-out Jarvis Landry missed practice Wednesday due to a lingering ankle injury that has forced him to miss over six games this season. The team has utilized him in the slot in front of starting tight-end Juwan Johnson. Juice has caught 25 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown.
The Saints defensive front which features Cameron Jordan and David Onyemata has racked up thirty-eight total sacks on the year, which ranks 10th in the NFL. Their talented secondary has struggled to gain takeaways as they rank dead last in the league with only three interceptions over 15 games.
Deshaun Watson and the offense will have to keep an eye out for Tyrann Mathieu as he has played well this season and has an 82.8 coverage grade according to PFF. Rookie cornerback Alontae Taylor has also played really well. He currently ranks 5th in completion percentage allowed and receiving yards allowed according to PFF.
The Brown's up-and-down run defense can look forward to a Saints rushing attack that only averages 111.3 yards per game, which is 21st in the league.
The betting spread on Wednesday favors the Browns by -2.5 points with an over/under of 32.5 points.
