The Cleveland Browns will host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in the penultimate home game of the 2025 NFL season.
Cleveland comes into the contest riding a three-game losing streak for the third time this year, while the Bills have won three in a row to stay on the heels of the New England Patriots in the AFC East Division.
The Bills are 9-3 against rookie quarterbacks since 2019, allowing just 13.6 points and 271 yards of offense per game. That is not necessarily a good thing for a Cleveland team averaging
16 points a game and starting rookie quarterback Shedeuer Sanders.
On Thursday, Cleveland’s coordinators held their weekly meeting with the media, and here are the key takeaways from what they had to say about the upcoming game against the Bills.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz
The Browns have allowed 326 rushing yards in the past two games, and with the Bills leading the league in rushing yards, the defense needs to be better at controlling the run this week, according to Schwartz:
“We have as big a challenge as we’ve had the whole season with the run game of Buffalo, not just with James Cook, who’s an outstanding running back that can threaten all 53 and a third of the field, and he can run with power between the tackles, but you also have to include quarterback Josh Allen’s legs (as) he’s rushed for 500 and some yards also. So, 2,000 yards between the two of them.
“We had a couple streaks against Chicago where we lost like four snaps in a row, five snaps in a row, … and if you allow a team to run the ball that way, then they’re going to be able to control the game. So, I’d probably say that’s probably the biggest thing for us.”
One thing for certain is that if the Browns don’t start stopping the run, it is going to be difficult for defensive end Myles Garrett to break the NFL record for sacks, according to Schwartz:
“If we don’t consistently stop the run game, if we don’t throw teams into second and long situations and third and long situations, it makes it hard to rush the passer. So, we have to do our part in there. (Against Chicago) we saw third down, we saw screens, you know, we saw stuff like that because everybody knows what our strengths are and how they try to combat that. And it’s up to us defensively to force teams to be able to have the drop back and pass, which would help Myles, right?
“If Buffalo comes out and runs it 60 times, you’re not going to get any sacks. If he gets a lot of opportunities, his success rate is pretty high, and, you know, we’re a pretty good pass rush team, so I like those odds, but it all ties back (to stopping the run). And that’s the message we have, is we got to force teams to drop back and throw, and don’t let them control the game with the run game.”
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy has struggled all season (40 receptions for 519 yards) and was part of a key turnover against the Bears. But the club still believes in him, according to Rees:
“Whether or not he’s made every catch that we want him to make, we’re going to still feature him. We’re still going to work with him; we’re still going to trust him. None of that on our end is wavering at all. That’s why we still want to find ways to utilize his strengths. Every time the ball goes to Jerry, we have trust that it’s going to be a completion, and we have trust that he’s going to win.
“That’s what Jerry has earned with us. We want to continue to pour into him and continue to make sure that, you know, fundamentally and mentally, and (all) the things we’re asking him to do, we’re continuing to bring the best out of him. We do have trust that he’s going to make plays for us moving forward.”
Running back Quinshon Judkins has rushed for less than 50 yards in three of the past four games, something that only happened twice in the previous nine games. The Bills are allowing 143.1 rushing yards per game, which the Browns need to capitalize on, according to Rees:
“We have to find the ability to run the ball. It’s kind of been hot and cold for us throughout the year, and we got to really rely on that and find ways to get Q going and allow our offense to be complementary, like when you can run the ball well, it really opens up a lot of things and you can stay efficient and it keeps you in better situations on third down. So definitely a huge point of emphasis for us.”
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone
Cleveland continues to have issues on special teams, primarily when it comes to covering kicks, which comes down to fundamentals, according to Ventrone:
“I do think that it comes down to, when you’re covering punts, kickoffs, it really does come down to the fundamentals of the game. Leveraging blocks, block destruction, shedding blocks, tackling, all those things (are a) factor.
“And I feel like the times when we’ve had issues are when we’re not executing those necessary fundamentals of the game, we’re not leveraging the ball well enough. Specifically, like the last two weeks on our kicks, we haven’t done a great job of playing outside into the football. It’s pretty basic principles that we haven’t executed that well.”
Kicker Andre Szmyt converted a 50-yard field goal last week for Cleveland’s only points against the Chicago Bears, which is a sign of the progress he has made this season, according to Ventrone:
“I mean, credit him for the execution on the kick. Obviously, we get the hold down well, we protect, and just really good execution on the play in really cold temperatures. The ball definitely was not flying like it had been in previous weeks. And then for him to just be able to bounce back after that first game, kind of reset, he has had really good practice weeks. I feel like he has done a good job throughout the season.”
The Browns and the Bills kick off on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. Stay tuned to Dawgs By Nature for coverage throughout the weekend and all day on Sunday.
