Browns fan favorite ready to make significant impact in Week 16 showdown vs. Bills

Cleveland Browns fans can get excited about seeing one of their favorites hit the field for his first significant playing time of the season against the Bills.

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II (90) celebrates after a sack during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cleveland Browns fans have been waiting all season for this moment as they are about to see a favorite of theirs play a bigger role on defense.

Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. was sitting on the couch for most of the season after playing the previous two seasons with the team. Cleveland came calling him back last week to help with depth and play the rest of the season for the team.

Hurst made his season debut with the Browns against the Chicago Bears in Week 15, but he would only play four defensive snaps and eight special teams snaps. He made one tackle in the 31-3 loss to the Bears.

Entering Week 16 against the Buffalo Bills, Hurst should be seeing more playing time on defense. He's entirely back with the team at a good time as the Browns face the top rushing offense in the NFL.

Buffalo has averaged 158.5 rushing yards per game, which is about seven yards more than the second-place team in the NFL, the Bears. The Browns will have to key in on James Cook, who has rushed for 1,415 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, as well as Josh Allen, who has 535 yards and 12 touchdowns.

As for the Browns, they are pretty solid defending the run, allowing 110.1 yards per game on the ground. That ranks 14th in the NFL in that category.

Cleveland has struggled to stop the run of late after the loss of defensive tackle Maliek Collins for the season. That has hurt the Browns' ability to stuff the run, as they allowed 142 yards and two scores in the loss to the Bears.

Since joining the NFL in 2018, Hurst has been more of a run stopper, especially the last few years, as his pass rush numbers aren't significant. The Browns are just okay with that, as Myles Garrett singlehandedly can handle that.

They need Hurst to get enough penetration on the line to eliminate the running holes. This will help the Browns in forcing the Bills to be more of a passing team with their average receivers. Cleveland also happens to have the best pass defense in the NFL, allowing 169 yards per game, so the Browns need to force Buffalo to play to its strength.

If Hurst can make that kind of impact on stuffing the Bills' running game, an upset win as they had against the Green Bay Packers earlier in the season isn't out of the realm of possibility.