Can Cleveland's Offense Stay Hot Against The Jets Defense?

Since Joe Flacco joined the Browns, the Cleveland offense has been one of the best in all of the NFL.

The passing attack is averaging a league-best 326.7 yards per game and Flacco himself has thrown for 10 touchdowns over that span. The Browns' rushing attack has faltered and has become a weak point for this team.

Since Flacco joined the team, they only average a mere 63 yards rushing per game between Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr.

The Browns have become a one-dimensional group but have still been able to find great success.

Thankfully for Cleveland, they are facing a Jets team that is limping toward the finish line after their season was derailed early with the injury to Aaron Rodgers.

This Jets defense was built to win the Super Bowl this year. They have elite players at all three levels that until the last few weeks have been playing great football.

On the year, they are the fourth-ranked defense in all of the NFL. They give up, on average, 294.8 yards per game. That is only 34 yards more than what the vaunted Cleveland defense surrenders.

They are stellar against the pass. They give up a measly 168 yards per game, good for second in the league. On the backend, they are led by safeties Jordan Whitehead and Tony Adams who each have four and two interceptions respectively. They both play at the safety position and are a factor against the run accounting for a combined 162 tackles.

Where New York is vulnerable is in the run game, exactly where the Browns are struggling. The Jets give up 126 yards per game on the ground which is ranked 24th in the NFL.

Linebackers CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams will lead the way as they have tallied 136 and 124 tackles individually. Their 260 tackles make up nearly 25 percent of the team's total stops on the year.

They support the Jets defensive front which is made up of Quinton Jefferson, Solomon Thomas, Quennin Williams and John Franklin-Myers. They lead a pass rush that has gotten to the quarterback a combined 40 times, which is 16th in the NFL.

In games where they have given up 20-plus points, they have been vulnerable through the air. The Dolphins threw for over 250 yards in both of their games, the Bills threw for over 300 in their Week 12 win.

The key for Cleveland on Thursday is to find success in the passing game and find it early. They can take the top off the defense and they need to do so to establish an early lead.

If Cleveland can get off to a quick start, the Browns defense will dominate the game and it will be a party at Cleveland Browns Stadium.