The Browns, once again, in back-to-back weeks, got blown out on the road to a West Coast team. This time, being the Los Angeles Rams, with the final score in a losing effort, of 19-36. Cleveland, once again, struggled on the defensive side of the ball and allowed a handful of Rams playmakers to have some of their best games of the season. Starting at quarterback: the Browns’ defense allowed Matthew Stafford to have one of his best games of the year, throwing for 279 yards, and 3 touchdowns, and allowed Stafford to post a 110.1 QB rating: his second-highest rating of the year.
The Rams star wideout Puca Nacua shined once again: he had 4 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown and added 34 rushing yards to his amazing day. Running Back Kyren Williams chipped in as well, as he continued his excellent 2023 season with 88 rushing yards and a touchdown and continued his case of being one of the best up-and-coming running backs in football. The Rams’ offense felt like it could do whatever it wanted for the entire day, and to make matters worse, the Browns’ defense forced 0 turnovers against a quarterback that throws the 9th most interceptions in football, and the Browns recorded a goose egg in the sack department, in contrast to what the Browns have done 34 times this year, the 12th best in football. The Defense had no answers for the Rams’ offensive attack on Sunday and was a huge reason for the loss on Sunday.
One bright spot from the game was the showing from Joe Flacco, potentially playing the best game out of any backup we have seen from the Browns this year. Flacco threw for 254 yards, 2 touchdowns, and had a handful of impressive throws, including a 42-yard bomb to Elijah Moore, a 3rd and 20 first down to Amari Cooper, and threading the needle on a throw to Harrison Bryant for 23 yards across the middle of the field. These were just a couple of the impressive throws that Flacco had on Sunday, and he made a great case for being the starter for the remainder of the season for the Browns.
Though Flacco had one blunder, and it was a costly one, with the Browns regaining possession with 6:51 in the fourth quarter, and down just 1 with the score being 20-19, Flacco on the first play of the drive, tried to throw a 40-yard bomb to Elijah Moore and missed him poorly, and threw an interception to, none other than, former browns safety John Johnson. On the ensuing rams drive, the Rams scored a touchdown to put it to an 8-point game. The following drive was a 4 and out, and the Browns gave the ball to the Rams in their own territory, and the game was soon out of reach.
So, the Rams won 36-19 with an additional garbage time touchdown and safety, and advanced to 6-6, with their eyes on an NFC wild-card spot, and the Browns fell to 7-5 on the year. So, the Browns’ mood has changed, and a team that once looked like a playoff lock just a few weeks ago, now has to fight every second of every week, to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Browns, with the remaining 5 games of the year, head home with battle scars, wounds, and lost men going into the final stretch, and will return home and play an 8-4 Jaguars team. The Browns, for the first time all season, will catch a break on the injury list.
The Jaguars’ 2023 season can be viewed as a success, as they have carried some momentum over from their end-of-the-year surge last season, which saw them go on an end-of-the-year winning streak and clinch a playoff berth for the first time in 5 years. The Jaguars’ last two seasons have been very interesting, and a story that fans have enjoyed watching over the past two years. The Jaguars started last season horribly: after 8 weeks of the season, they found themselves at a 2-6 record, with signs of their team being years away from relevancy and Trevor Lawrence still being a couple of years away from being even close to what they expected when they drafted him.
Well, they have had quite the turnaround to say the least: since that point, the Jacksonville Jaguars are 15-6, and ended last year on a 5-game win streak and they streaked their way to a playoff berth, beating the Titans at home to win the AFC South. After they had clinched a playoff spot, they had one of the most impressive playoff victories in NFL history. They then beat the Los Angeles Chargers after improbably surmounting a 27-point deficit and won with a score of 31-30. Arguably completing the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history.
This Jaguars team is a good one, and a lot of important pieces have helped them be at 8-4, first place in their respective division, and having this impressive 15-6 streak. First, look at no other than Trevor Lawrence: a man the Jaguars gave the keys to their Franchise just 2 years ago, and has shown will be their starting franchise quarterback, for as long as he wants to be. Lawrence has had a solid year thus far, throwing for 3,004 yards (10th) 14 touchdowns, has the 7th-best completion percentage with 67.9, and has the 12th-best QB rating out of all quarterbacks. These stats may not jump out at you as you are reading, and perhaps these numbers aren’t where Lawrence might’ve wanted them to be 12 games through the season, but he has this team averaging the 9th most points per game with 23.8 points per game and in first place in the shockingly great AFC South division.
Another contributing factor in the Jaguars offensive success is running back Travis Etienne, who has the 6th most rushing yards out of all running backs with 771, 6th most touchdowns with 8, and is 5th among running backs in receiving yards with 346 yards on the year. Lawrence, Etienne, and this Jaguars offense have had some explosive victories and some crucial wins where they show up big time offensively. They include a 25-20 victory in London vs Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills: a game that saw Etienne have 184 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Sweeping the 7-5 divisional rival Indianapolis Colts, putting 30 plus points on them both times, including 37 points in a 17-point victory in week 6, and getting a crucial divisional win against the Houston Texans 24-21 just a few weeks ago.
The Jaguars have had some great wins this year, and Head Coach Doug Pederson has helped this offense reinvent itself over the past couple of seasons and has brought Trevor Lawrence from a disappointing rookie season, into the conversations of being a top 5 quarterback in football. The Jaguars’ defense on the other hand has been a different story, as their only bright spot is their rushing defense, as they allow the 5th fewest yards per game with 93.1. The Jags allow the 8th most total yards per game (354.8), the third most passing yards per game (261.7), and the 13th most points per game with 21.6.
This Jags team is a good one, led by a great coach, and former Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson, and is headlined by the electric QB and RB duo in Lawrence and Etienne, but some questionable losses have caused them to lose a seat at the table of the best teams in the NFL. Some of the losses that have prevented this team from being taken seriously, Include a 34-31 loss last Monday night to the Cincinnati Bengals with Jake Browning at quarterback, who they allowed to have 354 yards passing, a rushing and passing touchdown, and an 80% completion percentage for the game. An embarrassing loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers, losing to them by 27 points, with a score being 34-3, a game that saw Lawrence throw for just 185 yards, and added two ints to his underwhelming performance, and a 20-point loss to the Texans in week 3 with a score of 37-17.
So, this Jags team, though still good, has some work to do to show the rest of the league that they are among the league’s best teams in football and are a threat to make it to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas. Their season is defined by good moments and bad moments, and the majority of their bad moments, they have been able to get over in a matter of days, though a bad moment that happened last Monday night, could be one that they can’t move on from some quickly.
During Monday night’s game against the Bengals in the fourth quarter with 5:47 remaining, Quarterback Trevor Lawrence dropped back to pass, and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson pushed Jags right tackle Walker Little back into Lawrence, and in Little’s retreat, saw him stepping on Lawrence’s right ankle, and rolled his ankle under his foot. Lawrence tried to stand up after the hit, then fell just seconds after, and was not able to put any weight on his right foot after getting up. Lawrence was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game, and quarterback Cj Bethard stepped in for Lawrence. Bethard looked functional as he replaced Lawrence for the remainder of the game, but far from the play that Lawrence could provide. Bethard threw for 63 yards and had a fumble that was thankfully recovered by the Jags.
The Jaguars lost to the Bengals in overtime, and Lawrence’s health was in the thoughts of every Jags fan and on every member of the team’s mind, as they left Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville on Monday night. Thankfully, Lawrence was diagnosed just days later with a high ankle sprain, and Lawrence was seen practicing throughout this week. Pederson has ruled Lawrence as a game-time decision going into Sunday’s game, as has given no inclination of who the starter could be at 1 o’clock. So, the Browns could be facing Jacksonville at a good time, but the same could be said in Jacksonville, going against this current Cleveland Browns team.
The Browns finally traveled back home on Sunday Evening, after spending two weeks on the West Coast, and the clear skies and beautiful weather in Denver and Los Angeles did not help the Browns’ performance in the slightest. The Browns lost both games by a combined 34 points, the most out of any team in football over the past two weeks.
The Browns not only showed they were not able to overcome some key players missing on both sides of the ball but showed once again how questionable this defense is on the road. Despite key players being ruled out before the game including cornerback Denzel Ward, out for both games, the defense put up some horrible efforts, allowing nearly 300 yards of total offense to the Denver Broncos, 29 total points, and allowed 169 rushing yards to a team that averages 115 rushing yards per game.
Then this past Sunday, the Browns’ defense once again did not show up, as they allowed the Rams to have 399 yards of total offense, 34 points offensively, Stafford to throw for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns, and receiver Puca Nacua to have 139 yards of total offense and a touchdown. This Browns team has been completely unrecognizable during away games, and in an incredibly odd fashion, become one of the worst defenses in football on the road. As they allow 343.8 yards per game, which would put them tied for 12th worst in football, and a tie with the Las Vegas Raiders. They allow an abysmal 122 rushing yards per game, which would put them at 8th worst in football, and allow 30.5 points per game, which would put them at the worst defense in football in allowed points per game.
Thankfully for the Browns, they are coming home, where they are not only at their best, but are one of, if not the best defense in the league at home. They are giving up on average just 10.1 points per game at home, the best in the NFL by almost a touchdown (5 points), allowing just 175 yards of total offense, which is best in the league by nearly 85 yards, and just 83.5 passing yards per game, best in the NFL by 68 yards. So, the Browns come back to a place where they play their best, and hopefully against a team with their backup quarterback, looking to continue to improve on their impressive home resume.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Browns may have found their quarterback to end the season with, and hopefully have him line up under center for the Browns in a playoff game. Quarterback Joe Flacco was impressive for most of Sunday’s game, making some big-time throws early in the game, and still showcasing his impressive arm talent that includes strength and accuracy. Flacco by far was the best backup quarterback the Browns have played this year, though, despite this, the Browns announced on Sunday their decision at quarterback will be a game-time decision, and they will decide Sunday morning if they haven’t already, who will line up under center on Sunday. So it will be between just Joe Flacco and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, as they will be without a familiar name for the rest of the season, because on Saturday afternoon around 2 o’clock, the Browns announced that they have elevated Joe Flacco from the practice squad, and have waived PJ Walker who will off the active roster for the rest of the season. So, for the remainder of the season, it will be a quarterback room headlined by Joe Flacco and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and the fate of the season lies in their hands.
So, the Browns’ keys to victory on Sunday are playing to their strengths, and tapping into a particular strength that has been missing for some weeks now, and that is to hopefully lean on their defense, which has provided them with so much success at home this season. Another big factor will be trying to find success in an offense that is below the league average in points per game (21.5 and ranked 17th), total yards per game (321.2 and 12th worst), and passing yards per game (186.1 and 9th worst), and whoever lines up under center for the Browns, will be asked to perform at a someone solid level, if they want to win on Sunday, and to win many more in the coming weeks. The Browns will look to advance to 8-5 on the season and look to take advantage of them moving up to the 5th seed in the playoff rankings, thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday night, putting them at 7-6 on the season. The Jags will look to advance to 9-4 on the season, and continue to lock themselves into a playoff spot, going into the final weeks of the season.
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