Tag: Cleveland Browns
Week 11 NFL OVER UNDER picks
Browns’ Jameis Winston remains QB1 after bye week
Jameis Winston remains the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns coming off their bye week, coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Monday.
The Browns (2-7) return to action this Sunday against the host New Orleans Saints (3-7), the team that employed Winston for the four previous seasons.
Winston is 1-1 as the starter since the Browns lost Deshaun Watson to a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 7. He guided a 29-24 upset of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 but threw three interceptions in a 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9.
Winston, 30, has completed 59 of 99 passes for 652 yards with five touchdowns and three picks in seven games (two starts) this season.
Drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 2015, he has thrown for 22,756 yards, 146 TDs and 102 interceptions in 100 games (82 starts) for the Buccaneers (2015-19), Saints (2020-23) and Browns.
–Field Level Media
Browns OC Ken Dorsey takes play-calling role: ‘No magic pill’
Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey goes from listening on the headset to calling plays this week, one of the numerous moving parts in Cleveland entering Week 8.
Jameis Winston will start with Deshaun Watson out for the season and the Browns (1-6) searching for answers to their poor output on offense.
“Just trying to win a football game. Just trying to win a game,” Dorsey said. “Just like players, if somebody takes a step back or is not in there, players have to be ready to step up. It’s no different for coaches.”
His first test comes against the Baltimore Ravens (5-2), who are riding a five-game winning streak. The Ravens are averaging 35 points per game since starting the season 0-2, but aren’t without weaknesses. Baltimore is last in the NFL in pass defense (287.1 yards per game).
The Browns’ season-high point total was 18 in the team’s lone win of the season. Cleveland’s scoring average — 15.6 points per game — is 29th in the NFL, but the Browns are last in offense (253.9 yards per game), yards per play (4.00), yards per pass play (4.43), third-down conversion percentage (23.71) and sack percentage (13.89).
Dorsey was handed the play-calling responsibility by head coach Kevin Stefanski in hopes of a new voice bringing a spark.
“It’s a lot of reflection, evaluating where we’re at. It’s just a decision that’s for right now. We take these things week-by-week,” Dorsey said.
“There’s not a magic coach or a magic pill to play better on offense. It’s going to be work. It’s attention to detail. At the end of the day, it’s us locking in and fighting. Playing with extreme physicality. Playing with speed. Playing with confidence.”
Dorsey said he evaluated where the offense is and covets the chance to help Cleveland turn the season around.
“There’s a lot of great coaches out there. A ton of great coaches,” he said. “During the week you do a lot of game-planning and put your guys in position to make plays. The great coaches are the ones throughout the years that make those adjustments in-game. Not just coaches but staffs. Because you want to utilize all of your eyes on game day. We’ve been able to do that at a high level. That’s where you saw those second halves, doing some good things. We want to make those adjustments so you don’t come in Sunday and say, ‘Oh, we didn’t see that.’”
–Field Level Media
Browns RB Nick Chubb: Practice return ‘felt like a dream’
Browns running back Nick Chubb returned to practice on Wednesday and plans to be on the field on gameday when he’s ready.
In his one-step-a-time progression following reconstructive knee surgery, Chubb required a helmet on Wednesday for the first time in 12 months. He checks off another step Thursday when he dons full pads and gets to run through a tackle attempt for the first time since Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s legal, but low, hit sent him down this rehab path.
The timing of his next move is anyone’s guess.
“I guess we’ll all find out at the same time,” Chubb said Thursday of when he might be cleared to play in a game. “I’ve practiced one day. I have no idea. Today I get the pads on.”
Mental hurdles are largely behind him, said Chubb, who is returning from multiple torn ligaments and two surgeries on his left knee. He attacked rehab from the injury that took him out in Week 2 of last season. Not long after, Chubb was conducting self-charted two-a-day training sessions that both shocked and thrilled Cleveland’s front office.
Chubb said he’ll need to make sure he’s where he needs to be before returning for his first game since Sept. 23, 2023.
“They told me take however long I need to. Whenever I feel great, I’ll be out there,” Chubb said.
At practice on Wednesday, Chubb said he felt great energy and teammates shared a similar sentiment. The spike in joy for the franchise is welcome after a 1-3 start has the Browns scrambling to stay in contention in the AFC North.
Chubb said he’s in a third different running back room and noticed the growth of former backup Jerome Ford, who is the team’s rushing leader for the second consecutive season.
“He’s come a very long way,” Chubb said.
Because Chubb survived a major knee injury at Georgia, he understands that others will have concerns about his risk of re-injury. He claimed Thursday there is no similar thought between his ears.
“Once you get out there and you’re running around, it’s like you’re 8 years old again. It’s like riding a bike. (Injury risk) is not something in my head,” Chubb said. “It didn’t feel real. It felt like a dream. It felt great to get all of that off my shoulders and get back out there.”
Chubb, 28, is a four-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time 1,000-yard rusher. The 2018 second-round pick ranks fourth in franchise history with 6,511 career rushing yards.
–Field Level Media
Browns RB Nick Chubb to return to practice Wednesday
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb will practice for the first time this season on Wednesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday.
Chubb began the regular season on the physically unable to perform list. He had surgery last September to repair a torn left MCL and meniscus, and underwent another surgery in November to repair a torn left ACL, injuries he sustained in Week 2 of 2023.
Players who begin the regular season on the PUP list are required to sit out a minimum of four games.
Stefanski said the Browns (1-3) are opening the 21-day practice window for adding Chubb to the 53-man roster.
“He’s working very hard,” Stefanski said. “Natural progression is for him to start practicing … we’ll see how he goes from there.”
The Browns lost 20-16 to the host Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Cleveland returns to action on Sunday at Washington (3-1).
Chubb, 28, made four consecutive Pro Bowl teams (2019-22) and rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of those seasons, including 1,525 in 2022.
Since being selected by the Browns with the 35th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Chubb has run for 6,511 yards and 48 touchdowns in 77 games (70 starts).
Jerome Ford is Cleveland’s leading rusher this season with 203 yards on 39 carries (5.2-yard average) and one touchdown in four games.
–Field Level Media
Week 4 OVER UNDER picks, best bets
Looking to avoid 0-3 start, Giants shift focus to Browns
The New York Giants are already in must-win territory when they visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Giants (0-2) lost their first two games of the season to the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders. If they lose to the Browns (1-1), things really get dicey. New York then has a short week before hosting the Dallas Cowboys next Thursday.
“I’m pissed because I hate losing with a passion,” Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II said Wednesday. “I take that hard — losing. I really don’t like it. For me, it’s just something that I’m not going to keep accepting.”
The anxiety is growing as only two teams (out of 32) that started 0-2 over the past four seasons made the playoffs.
That 6.3 success rate raises the urgency. But Giants coach Brian Daboll said he doesn’t think desperation has set in.
“I want to see consistency like we talk about every week,” Daboll said. “Go in, prepare the right way, come out, play a good football game, do good in situations, play together. Each week is its own week, and we’ll just focus on the Browns this week.”
Cleveland split its first two games, getting routed by the Cowboys in its opener before posting an 18-13 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
“It wasn’t perfect, wasn’t always pretty, but it was gritty,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of the victory. “And I thought the guys found a way there. And it’s certainly a learning experience. I think win, lose or draw, you gotta learn from these things.”
One area the Browns need to improve is penalties. Cleveland has committed a league-worst 24 penalties.
“I’m not going to ignore the fact that we have the most called penalties against us in the league,” Stefanski said. “We watched every single one of them as a team. We’re going to correct the ones that we can correct and we’re just going to play really clean with our technique, but it’s something that we’ll continue to address.”
The Browns averaged 17.5 points over their first two games, while New York is posting 12 per game.
Still, Stefanski is surprised the Giants are winless.
“That 0-2 is very misleading to me,” Stefanski said. “They lost at home in Week 1, which obviously we lost at home in Week 1. And then they go on the road, and they play good enough to win, and had some extenuating circumstances with the kicker.”
Veteran Graham Gano entered the game against Washington with a sore groin and then injured a hamstring while trying to chase down Austin Ekeler on a 98-yard opening kickoff return for touchdown that was negated by a Commanders’ penalty. Punter Jamie Gillan missed an extra point after New York’s first touchdown and the Giants later missed on two two-point conversion passes in the 21-18 loss.
The loss of Gano hurt the most when New York faced fourth-and-4 from the Washington 22-yard line with the score tied. The Giants went for it and failed to convert when rookie Malik Nabers dropped a pass that would have resulted in a first down. The Commanders took over with 2:04 left and won on Austin Seibert’s 30-yard field goal as time expired.
“Once you look back on the record, you are going to feel like one of those losses was mine,” said Nabers, who has 15 receptions in two games. “I’m going to continue to move forward, get better and work on how I cannot drop that pass again.”
Gano was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday and New York signed Greg Joseph off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad to handle the kicking.
The only Giants’ player to miss practice Wednesday was cornerback Nick McCloud (knee).
Cleveland tight end David Njoku (ankle) is expected to miss his second straight game. Others to miss practice Wednesday were star defensive end Myles Garrett (foot), offensive tackle Dawand Jones (knee), receiver Jamari Thrash (illness) and running back Pierre Strong (hamstring).
Browns standout cornerback Denzel Ward (shoulder) played just 11 snaps against Jacksonville. He was a limited practice participant on Wednesday.
In the most recent meeting, the Browns recorded a 20-6 road win over the Giants in 2020.
–Field Level Media
Browns WR David Bell set for surgery on dislocated hip
Cleveland Browns wide receiver David Bell will undergo surgery for a dislocated hip and will miss the remainder of the season, coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Monday.
Bell, 23, was carted off the field early in the second half of Sunday’s 18-13 victory at Jacksonville. Trainers attended Bell on the field after he was tackled from behind by Arik Armstead following a 6-yard catch.
“Feel badly for David, but he will bounce back,” Stefanski said.
Bell finished his first game of the season with three catches for 27 yards.
A third-round pick in 2022, Bell has 41 receptions for 408 yards and three touchdowns in 32 games (six starts), while in his third season.
Stefanski also announced that running back Pierre Strong is week-to-week with a hamstring injury and defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo has cleared concussion protocol.
The Browns (1-1) host the New York Giants (0-2) on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Browns holding TE auditions after David Njoku injury
The Cleveland Browns plan to audition several free agent tight ends on Tuesday with David Njoku expected to miss multiple games with a high ankle sprain, ESPN reported.
Irv Smith, Tommy Sweeney and Geoff Swaim are among the candidates reportedly heading to Cleveland for interviews and workouts.
Njoku, 28, was injured in the third quarter of Sunday’s season-opening 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The 2023 Pro Bowl selection finished with four catches for 44 yards.
Veteran Jordan Akins, 32, is the only other tight end on the Browns’ depth chart. He had three catches for 27 yards against the Cowboys, raising his career totals to 169 receptions for 1,914 yards and eight touchdowns in 91 games (30 starts) with the Houston Texans (2018-22) and Browns.
Smith, 26, has 109 catches for 973 yards and 10 TDs in 49 games (21 starts) with the Minnesota Vikings (2019-20, 2022) and Cincinnati Bengals (2023). He was a second-round pick by Minnesota in 2019.
Sweeney, 29, was a seventh-round pick by Buffalo in 2019 and caught 18 passes for 165 yards and one score in 24 games (four starts) with the Bills (2019, 2021-22).
Swaim, 30, was a seventh-round selection by Dallas in 2015 and has 110 receptions for 846 yards and six TDs in 100 games (65 starts) with the Cowboys (2015-18), Jacksonville Jaguars (2019), Tennessee Titans (2020-22) and Arizona Cardinals (2023).
–Field Level Media