Cleveland Browns (1-3)
After an upset victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 3, the Browns came back to earth last Sunday. Their offense once again could not support their defense adequately enough
as they lost by 24 points to the Detroit Lions. Similar to their Week 2 performance against the Ravens, the Browns managed to hang around a bit thanks to a strong defensive showing, before they began to crumble in the second half.
The Browns will now head overseas to take on the Minnesota Vikings in London, concluding their three-game run of NFC North opponents. Cleveland is technically the home game in this matchup but given the neutral site, they won’t have their usual home-field advantage when playing in Ohio. Although, the Pittsburgh Steelers did have a raucous crowd in their favor last week against the Vikings in Ireland.
The Vikings defense, while they’re coming off a less-than-stellar performance against the Steelers, is not a favorable matchup for the Browns. Their pass rush and turnover prowess could pose problems for rookie Dillon Gabriel, who who is set to make his first career start. The Browns announced Gabriel would replace Joe Flacco at quarterback earlier this week. The only offensive silver lining for the Browns thus far has been the emergence of fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins, who has 237 rushing yards and two scores over the past three games. His workload has increased in each outing, and he saw 21 carries against the Lions.
Given their offensive struggles, the Browns will likely need to force multiple turnovers in order to have a fighting chance of winning. Carson Wentz, the Vikings’ starter, has been turnover-prone in recent years, so Myles Garrett and company could make that happen.
Baltimore Ravens (1-3)
The Ravens’ early season struggles went from bad to worse last week, as they suffered a 37-20 loss in Kansas City to the Chiefs. The game was slowly getting away from them early before they saw several key starters exit with injuries on both sides of the ball; OT Ronnie Stanley, QB Lamar Jackson, LB Roquan Smith, CB Marlon Humphrey, and CB Nate Wiggins.
The team’s defense was already absent their top three defensive lineman, and more piling injuries have now compounded. The Ravens have look lost on both sides of the ball at times recently but especially on the defensive end, where they rank as the worst in the league in numerous categories. Now, they’ll have to try to salvage their season without the services of their starting quarterback and several other starters in Week 5.
With Cooper Rush under center, the Ravens will face a top-ranked Houston Texans’ defense featuring a talented pass-rush and stingy secondary. The same offensive success the Ravens experienced in Weeks 1-3 will be hard to come by. They’ll need a big performance from Derrick Henry on the ground.
Despite their strong defense, the Texans are just 1-3 themselves. It wasn’t until last week against the Tennessee Titans that they found some offensive juice after a three-game lull to start the season. The Texans’ offense will still a tough task for the undermanned Ravens’ defense. If they can finally manage to generate more pressure against a shaky offensive line, they have a better chance of finding success.
Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
The Bengals are arguably reeling worse than either the Browns or Ravens right now. After a 38-point loss two weeks ago, the Bengals were blown out again this past Monday night — losing 28-3 to the Denver Broncos. They’ve scored only 13 points with Jake Browning under center the past two games while their defense has continued to struggle, even more so now that they’ve been on the field more in disadvantageous positions.
Cincinnati continues to find difficulty rushing the ball effectively and they are generating any explosive plays in the passing game, either. They ran for 53 yards on 15 carries and generated 125 yards through the air last week. Granted, these two dismal performances came against a pair of stingy defenses in the Vikings and Broncos, but nevertheless the Bengals were outplayed significantly on both sides of the ball.
Now, they’ll have to play a rolling Lions team that’s won three straight games and is clicking offensively. The Bengals will have a tall task to slow down Detroit’s rushing attack after allowing 100+ yard rushers in back-to-back weeks. They’ll definitely need to win the turnover battle and fluster Jared Goff with pressure in order to keep the Lions in check enough for a competitive game.
The Bengals’ elite wide receiver duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have unsurprisingly been victimized by the team’s offensive ineptitude without Joe Burrow at quarterback. If either of them, Chase in particular, can find a way to make plays and create yards after catch in this matchup, it’d go a long way in helping the Bengals keep pace with the Lions.
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
The Steelers are on an early bye in Week 5 after winning their second straight game to improve to 3-1.
