Coming off a solid upset in Week 3, the Detroit Lions head back home on Sunday to play the Cleveland Browns. Detroit enters the game 2-1, with their recent win coming against the Baltimore Ravens on “Monday Night Football.” The Lions made a statement in front of the country that they aren’t the team you thought they were after Week 1. This team is a legit Super Bowl contender, and with more players returning to this roster, it’s going to get tougher for opponents to overcome this roster.
The Browns
are coming off their own upset, defeating the Green Bay Packers 13-10 due to the defense and special teams coming in clutch in the end. Cleveland has an impressive defense that has had two good outings, and if they make just a few more stops, they could be 2-1 as well. For Detroit, they must respect Cleveland and not get in their own head about having a better record and being a better team overall. While their record is 1-2, Cleveland could surprise some people like it did against the Packers.
Let’s discuss the Browns and see what has changed for better or for worse, and what the Lions are getting into their Week 4 matchup.
Cleveland Browns
Last season
- 3-14 record (4th in AFC North)
- 32nd in points scored, 27th in points allowed
- Overall DVOA: 32nd (32nd on offense, 25th on defense)
Hopes were high in Cleveland after the 2023 season, when the Browns went 11-6 and made the playoffs. Their starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson, would return from his season-ending shoulder injury and struggle to do anything with the football. He threw for just over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions in the first seven games of the year, before he tore his Achilles, ending his season. With Watson out, Cleveland tried a few different quarterbacks out, from Jameis Winston to Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe; all combining for a 2-8 record compared to Watson’s 1-6 record.
While the quarterback position was a mess, there were a few bright spots on the offense. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy had a career year, getting 90 catches for 1,229 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end David Njoku emerged as a top option as well through the air with 64 catches for 505 yards and was the team leader in receiving touchdowns (5). The running game saw back Jerome Ford do fair in his six starts, getting 565 yards and three touchdowns before Nick Chubb returned to the team and had 332 yards with three touchdowns before his season ended early once again, this time with a broken foot.
The defense was once again relying on edge defender Myles Garrett to do all the heavy lifting, as he led the team in sacks with 14. They had defensive end Za’Darius Smith for half the season as well, who had five sacks before they traded him to the Lions. They didn’t get much else pass rush outside those two players, though. The secondary couldn’t help much either, as they had the fewest interceptions in the league (4) and were tied in fifth for most yards per passing attempt at 7.6.
2025 offseason
Key additions: QB Joe Flacco, LB Jerome Baker, DT Maliek Collins, G Teven Jenkins, LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
Key losses: QB Jameis Winston, WR Elijah Moore, RB Nick Chubb, LT Germain Ifedi, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, LB Jordan Hicks
2025 NFL Draft picks
Round 1: DT Mason Graham
Round 2: LB Carson Schwesinger
Round 2: RB Quinshon Judkins
Round 3: TE Harold Fannin Jr.
Round 3: QB Dillon Gabriel
Round 4: RB Dylan Sampson
Round 5: QB Shedeur Sanders
The offseason for Cleveland was an interesting one, to say the least. First, in January, Watson tore his Achilles during rehab from his October 2024 surgery, and he would have surgery once again to fix the tear. This left the Browns without their starting quarterback for most likely the entire 2025 season. While they were dealing with that, Garrett had requested a trade from the team. After weeks of discussion, Garrett ended up signing a new extension with the team..
When it came to free agency and the draft, the Browns made some tough decisions. They moved on from their star running back in Chubb and drafted Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson to help out Ford in the room. They brought back quarterback Joe Flacco after he helped the team in 2023, and drafted not one but two rookie quarterbacks in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. They even got a backup tight end in Harold Fannin Jr. to give whoever the starting quarterback was another option as the team moved on from wide receiver Elijah Moore.
The defense saw some big changes, releasing defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, but signing defensive tackle Maliek Collins and drafting defensive tackle Mason Graham to upgrade their interior defensive line. The linebacker room got an upgrade as well, with Jerome Baker, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Carson Schwesinger coming to bolster up the middle part of the field as the team lost veteran Jordan Hicks to retirement back in July. The defensive line wasn’t the only trench change the team saw, as they let starting left tackle Germain Ifedi go, but signed guard Teven Jenkins.
2025 season thus far (1-2)
Week 1: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 17-16
Week 2: Lost to Baltimore Ravens 41-17
Week 3: Defeated the Green Bay Packers 13-10
Stats:
- 30th in points scored, 18th in points allowed
- Overall DVOA: 18th (29th on offense, 3rd on defense, 25th on special teams)
This season has been a rollercoaster so far for the Browns, as they almost defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, but a missed field goal by kicker Andre Szmyt, and a later interception by Flacco sunk their chances. After that, the Ravens beat them with no mercy and had the Browns fans questioning if this team would even win a game this season. Then last week, while the offense still struggled, the defense clamped down on the undefeated Packers, and this time special teams came through as the Browns blocked a field goal late in the fourth quarter, and would end up making a 55-yard field goal to win the game.
Flacco hasn’t impressed as the starting quarterback so far, throwing for 631 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He has made a few impressive throws, but nothing substantial, and a lot of risk-taking opportunities that end up costing him in the end. Jeudy is still the top wide receiver option with 10 catches for 134 yards, but the rookie Fannin has appeared to become Flacco’s favorite target as he leads the team in catches with 15 for 136 yards. The running game has been difficult has seen some moderate success. Rookie back Judkins made his debut in Week 2 and has become the leader in the backfield with 155 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
The defense is again led by Garrett, as he already has four sacks this season, and the Browns defense as a whole has 11 sacks, the second most in the NFL. The defensive line is the strong suit of this team. According to PFF, they’re generating the most pressure out of anyone in the NFL with a 90.2 pass rushing grade, with the next highest being 81.7 from the Houston Texans. If Cleveland can figure out things on the offensive side of the ball, it can win games with the way this defense has played.
Injury notes
Key players ruled out: QB Deshaun Watson (PUP), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (PUP), CB Martin Emerson Jr. (IR)
Key players to monitor: RT Jack Conklin (elbow), LG Joel Bitonio (back)
The Browns aren’t down too many key players heading into the game on Sunday. The two main players to watch out for are right tackle Jack Conklin and left guard Joel Bitonio.
Conklin missed the last two games with an elbow injury, and last week, he was limited in practice all week. If he can upgrade to full, he could return on Sunday. Bitonio hasn’t missed a game this year, but last week he didn’t practice at all due to a back injury, and those kinds of injuries can be scary. Bitonio could have flare-ups, and if he can’t withstand the pain in his back, he could miss as well. If the Browns are down either player, or both, the offense will have a much tougher time, no matter what they want to do.
Biggest strength: Run defense
Cleveland has the best run defense in the league right now, allowing only 57.3 yards per game, 2.3 yards per carry, and one touchdown. The longest run they have allowed so far is only for 11 yards, which is crazy to think about three games in. If the Lions are going to win this game, running the ball might be out of the question, despite it being their bread and butter.
In a matchup like this, though, Detroit won’t be afraid to test how good the Browns’ run defense really is and if they can slow down the likes of Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. With the additions of Collins and Graham on the interior, that defensive line is forcing teams to throw the ball on them instead of running, and when they do, their pass-rushing skills are strong, too.
Biggest weakness: Quarterback
You could talk about the offense in general here, but it seems like Judkins has been a bright spot in a dark cloud for this unit. The offense can only be as good as your quarterback, and Flacco is not playing well at all. He is making costly mistakes and not the same guy that won a Super Bowl with the Ravens long ago. This team’s depth at quarterback was lengthy during the preseason, when they had multiple quarterbacks duking it out to find out who the starter was after the team signed Flacco, drafted two rookies, and even traded for Kenny Pickett at one point.
Pickett was the odd man out, but it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that Flacco would start. The Browns were leaning towards him due to his experience and how well he helped them in 2023, but two years later—and even then— Flacco isn’t the same guy he used to be. The Browns aren’t going to bench him for either Gabriel or Sanders yet, but this team could use an upgrade at the position.
According to PFF, they have the worst offensive grade (55.5) and the ninth-worst passing grade (61.5). The Browns have the lowest yards per pass attempt (5.0), QB rating (69.6), longest pass completed (26 yards), and are tied for the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns with three.
Key matchup: Lions offensive line vs. Browns defensive line
We’ve seen what this team is like when the running game is and isn’t working this season. Against the Packers, the Lions looked lost in the run game, and the offensive line was making mistakes. After that game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell decided to take some stuff off of the offensive line’s plates, and suddenly, in Week 2, this team looked like itself. The running game was an improvement, not exactly where it should be, but still a helpful part of the offense. In Week 3 against the Ravens, it was strong, impactful, and the difference maker we all know and love.
Going up against the best run defense and the strongest defensive line the Lions have seen this season so far, how the game goes all depends on the five big bodies up front. If Goff doesn’t have time to throw, the Lions could be in for a tough one. Goff hasn’t been sacked since Week 1, and it’ll be difficult for that to stay that way.
The Lions’ offensive line is the third-best pass and run blocking team per PFF, so the battles between Browns Garrett and Lions tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell will be the best matchups to watch on passing downs. When it comes to running the ball, seeing Mason Graham take on the Lions’ interior of Graham Glasgow, Tate Ratledge, and Christian Mahogany will be interesting, as if Detroit can open up lanes on the interior, they won’t have to worry about Garrett getting involved.
Vegas line for Monday: Lions favored by 8.5
