Game Preview, Week 5: Cleveland Browns at Washington
October 5, 2024
by Steve Thomas
Don’t look now kids, but Washington is on a three game winning streak for the first time since 2022. Not only that, but they’ve scored 38 or more points for two games in a row, and that hasn’t happened since . . . wait for it . . . 1991. This week, Washington looks to continue the good vibes against the Cleveland Browns, who’ve had a pretty tough season to date. This game will be Washington’s chance to really prove that they belong in the discussion of the NFL’s better NFC teams, which is frankly something that I didn’t think we’d hear this year. Washington can’t afford to take a week off at this point and play down to the competition, which is something that prior iterations of this team have done many times. Hopefully all that’s over with now, though, and we all get to see Washington put another beating on an inferior opponent. Will that happen? We’ll all find out on Sunday in Washington’s first home game in two weeks. Our game preview starts below.
Game time & location: Sunday, October 6, 2024, 1:00 p.m. ET, Northwest Stadium, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Jason Benetti, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Browns radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 232 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Browns roster: Click here
Browns depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Browns: 12 – 35 – 1 (last 10: 6 – 4)
Last meeting: L, January 1, 2023, 10 – 24
Early odds: Washington, -3.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Keep up the offensive momentum in the air
Washington has been on an offensive tear that, by Washington standards, has nearly unprecendented in more than a generation. A big part of this success is the fact that quarterback Jayden Daniels has been hyper-accurate, as a record level. In this game, Washington needs to keep doing what they’ve been doing for the past two weeks. Cleveland has had much better statistical success than Arizona – specifically, Cleveland’s opposing quarterback rating this year is 85.6, compared to 110.4 for the Cardinals – so that may be more of a challenge in this game. Daniels and the Washington offense should stick to its strategy of short and screen passes with the occasional longer attempt to keep Cleveland’s secondary honest. A key to this game is to simply keep up the same level of performance as they’ve produced recently.
Take advantage of a weak Browns running game
The Browns’ opponents have averaged 4.6 yards per carry so far this season, which is worse than Cardinals, who are at 4.4 yards per carry. Washington has been doing very well on the ground this season, particularly recently, and that success is obviously important to any NFL offense. There’s no reason why Washington shouldn’t be able to at least duplicate the kind of results that the running back group has been producing recently. Washington’s offense game plan needs to be tailored to take advantage of Cleveland’s weakness in this area.
Control Jerome Ford
Ford is having a good season so far, with 39 carries for 203 yards, which is 5.2 yards per carry. In contrast, Washington’s run defense has been mostly terrible, with opponents averaging 5.3 yards per carry, which is ranked 31st in the league. Throw in the fact that Cleveland’s resident creepy slimeball, Deshaun Watson, is not having a quality season in the air so far, and that’s a recipe for lots of carries for Ford. Washington needs to somehow come to grips with their substandard performance so far this season and focus on keeping Ford in check.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Garrett is on the injury report this week due to an achilles problem, but assuming he plays, this could be a major, serious problem for Washington. Wylie, on the other hand is almost certainly the weak link in Washington’s offensive link. This adds up to a potential problem for Jayden Daniels, and thus the rest of the offense, as Garrett is probably the most talented pass rusher that Washington has faced so far this year. Washington needs to game plan some help for Wylie in this matchup. Keep an eye out on how this one is looking early in the game.
Benjamin St-Juste vs Amari Cooper
Cooper has tortured Washington many times over the years during his time with Dallas. Cooper hasn’t put up great stats so far this year, mainly due to the fact that quarterback Deshaun Watson hasn’t performed even close to the value Cleveland should expect based on what they’re paying them. Regardless, though, Cooper is capable of beating all of Washington’s corners with regularity. St-Juste is the most likely option to face Cooper, considering that St-Juste is – by default – the team’s #1 outside corner. Keep an eye out on how well St-Juste does in one-on-one situations against Cooper, because this one has the potential to go wrong.
This is probably the highest-profile matchup of the game. McLaurin and Daniels seem to have found their groove over the last two games, with 16 total targets. Ward, of course, is a 3x-Pro Bowler, so this is the match that should attract the most attention. Let’s hope that McLaurin is able to continue his recent quality performance and do well against a very talented opponent in Ward.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Browns |
| G N. Allegretti, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | T J. Conklin, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| TE Z. Ertz, NIR (rest); Wed: DNP | DE M. Garrett, achilles; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| DE C. Ferrell, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: O | LB J. Hicks, ribs/elbow/triceps; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| LB D. Hampton, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | CB G. Newsome II, NIR (personal); Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| S T. Owens, shin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | DE O. Okoronkwo, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| RB B. Robinson Jr, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q | C E. Pocic, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| WR N. Brown, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | T J. Wills Jr., knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| S P. Butler, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | DE A. Wright, triceps; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| RB A. Ekeler concussion; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | RB N. Chubb, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: O |
| DT J. Newton, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | G M. Dunn, illness; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| CB E. Forbes Jr., thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | RB N. Hines, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: O |
| LB J. Magee, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: O | T J. Hudson III, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| QB M. Mariota, pectoral; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q | T D. Jones, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| S Q. Martin, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | TE D. Njoku, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| DL E. Obada tibia/fibula; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: O | RB P Strong Jr., hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| CB M. Emerson Jr., concussion protocol; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP | |
| WR J. Jeudy, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| LB J. Owusu-Koramoah, hand; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| DE Z. Smith, neck; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
Steve’s Prediction
Washington is on a role, and while the Browns may be a slightly better team than at least Washington’s week 2 opponent, the Giants, I don’t think this game is going to go well for the visiting team. It seems highly unlikely that Washington can continue scoring 38 or more points, simply because of how hard that is in an NFL game, so I’ll predict slightly less of an offensive output. Washington wins 31-21 to go 4 – 1 on the season.