The Browns are set to kick off their season with a tough divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. As both teams look to shake off early-season jitters and rust, the Browns enjoy the advantage of hosting this game in front of their passionate fan base. Starting the season 1-0 against their strongest divisional rival would be significant for a Browns team with high playoff aspirations this season. How’s that going to happen? Let’s find out!
1. Make Joe Burrow uncomfortable
Although Burrow has made a full recovery from his injury, he missed valuable practice time to get back up to speed for the regular season. The Browns’ defensive strategy should revolve around making Burrow as uncomfortable as possible in the pocket to disrupt his timing. In a clean pocket Joe Burrow may be the best quarterback in the NFL, but he lacks some of the elite athleticism to escape the pocket and create downfield consistently. The Bengals will be missing La’el Collins due to injury, who will leave a void on the offensive line. Whether it’s Cordell Volson, Cody Ford, or Jackson Carman stepping in, Collins’ replacement will be a significant weak link in Burrow’s protection. If I were Schwartz, I’d exploit this weakness by shifting Garrett or Smith inside, lining up over the backup guard on clear passing downs, or throw some blitzes and stunts at him to sow confusion and miscommunication. Myles Garrett has a track record of performing well against these Burrow-led Bengals, and another standout performance from him would certainly boost the Browns’ chances of winning this game.
2. Contain the three-headed monster
The pass rush alone won’t be able to stop this impressive passing offense. Containing the receivers to give the pass rushers time to get to the quarterback will be equally as important. The Bengals have one of, if not the best receiving trio in the NFL, consisting of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, all of whom have played alongside Joe Burrow for at least three years. While the Browns will have Denzel Ward back for the contest, it appears that newly acquired Juan Thornhill will be sidelined with a calf injury. Overcoming the absence of your starting free safety against a pass heavy offense will be challenging, but fortunately for the Browns, they have excellent depth at free safety in Rodney McLeod, who was a reliable starter for the Colts last season. However, having Ward back is huge for this defense, as it will ease the matchups for Newsome and Emerson. Ward is one of the NFL’s premier corners in man coverage, which the Browns will likely run at a significantly higher rate now than under Joe Woods. I would expect a decent amount of press coverage to disrupt the Bengals’ timing and prevent quick completions. Nevertheless, the pass rush will make this secondary’s job a lot easier, as the time to throw will be significantly reduced by players like Garrett and Smith, who can get to the quarterback in a hurry.
3. Get the offense rolling
Offenses tend to take some time to find their rhythm, which was partially evident in the Chiefs game on Thursday night. That is nothing to be overly worried about, but a quick start offensively could give the Browns an advantage over the Bengals who were without their starting quarterback for the past few weeks and had one fewer preseason game. Expect a lot of “bread and butter” plays like quick timing routes or screens, designed to get easy completions and build confidence. The running game will also play a significant role in the game plan, as it is the most established aspect of this offense. However, there will also be new opportunities to utilize Watson as a runner and incorporate Moore into gadget (run) plays, which I believe could very well be the case in week 1 already. Since this was Watson’s first full offseason with the team, I am eager to see how well his chemistry with the receivers has developed. This will be critical because part of the offensive strategy will involve taking shots downfield to exploit an overhauled secondary, especially at the safety position. In conclusion, while the offense doesn’t need to be flawless in their first game, they will need to put together functional drives, ideally resulting in scores, to compete with the high-powered Bengals’ offense.
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