Straight off their third straight road victory in a row, the New England Patriots will finally return to their Gillette Stadium home in Week 8. In order to keep their current win streak alive and improve
to 6-2 on the year, however, they will have to go up against a team that is superior to their two most recent opponents (New Orleans, Tennessee) and definitively capable of creating some issues.
Well, in parts. Let us explain.
Browns key stats
The Browns are off to another disappointing start, winning just two of their first seven games and looking all sorts out of sync particularly on offense. The numbers, at least on that side of the ball do therefore not look particularly pretty — something that cannot be said for the team’s defense.
Record: 2-5 (3rd AFC North)
Scoring differential: -39 (25th)
Turnover differential: 0 (t-14th)
Offense: 16.1 points/game (30th), 270.7 yards/game (30th), 8 giveaways (t-13th), -0.137 EPA/play (30th), -0.184 EPA/dropback (31st), -0.050 EPA/run (16th)
Defense: 21.7 points/game (t-13th), 256.1 yards/game (1st), 8 takeaways (t-13th), -0.069 EPA/play (3rd), 0.027 EPA/dropback (8th), -0.214 EPA/run (2nd)
As can be seen, Cleveland fields one of the better defensive units in the NFL (which is not a surprise given the personnel we will discuss momentarily) — a group capable against both the run and the pass and mightily efficient across the board. Unfortunately for coordinator Jim Schwartz and company, the entire group is being held back by the other side of the ball: the Browns’ offense has been bad.
Starting out with Joe Flacco as quarterback, who has since been traded to Cincinnati, the unit stumbled out of the gate. Flacco has since been replaced by rookie Dillon Gabriel, who may not have the same level of experience but who made fewer back-breaking mistakes when on the field. As a consequence, the unit started showing some signs of life in last week’s win over Miami, but its ability to sustain that success can be questioned given the overall performance so far this season.
Browns 2025 season
As mentioned above, the Browns won just two of their seven games so far. Their most recent victory came just this Sunday, and in blowout fashion: Cleveland left the moribund Dolphins no chance in a 31-6 victory (that was in large part due to Miami’s inability to shoot itself in the foot).
Week 1: 17-16 loss vs. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)
Week 2: 41-17 loss at Baltimore Ravens (0-2)
Week 3: 13-10 win vs. Green Bay Packers (1-2)
Week 4: 34-10 loss at Detroit Lions (1-3)
Week 5: 21-17 loss vs. Minnesota Vikings (1-4)
Week 6: 23-9 loss at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-5)
Week 7: 31-6 win vs. Miami Dolphins (2-5)
The Browns started out with a close loss to the pre-Joe Burrow injury Bengals, followed by a blowout against Baltimore. In Week 3, the team achieved an upset win over the Packers before a three-game losing streak that saw a change at quarterback — Dillon Gabriel was inserted in Week 5 — and was only capped last Sunday against the Dolphins.
Browns active roster
Roster up-to-date as of Oct. 22, 5 a.m. ET | *denotes nominal starter
Quarterback (2): Dillon Gabriel* (8), Shedeur Sanders (12)
Running back (4): Quinshon Judkins* (10), Jerome Ford (34 | KR), Dylan Sampson (22 | KR), Raheim Sanders (35)
Wide receiver (5): Jerry Jeudy* (3), Isaiah Bond* (16), Jamari Thrash (80), Gage Larvadain (84 | PR), Malachi Corley (83)
Tight end (4): David Njoku* (85), Harold Fannin Jr.* (44), Blake Whiteheart (86)
Offensive tackle (4): Cam Robinson* (68 | LT), Jack Conklin* (78 | RT), Cornelius Lucas (71), K.T. Leveston (72)
Interior offensive line (6): Joel Bitonio* (75 | LG), Ethan Pocic* (55 | C), Wyatt Teller* (77 | RG), Luke Wypler (56), Teven Jenkins (74), Zak Zinter (70)
Interior defensive line (5): Mason Graham* (94), Maliek Collins* (96), Shelby Harris (93), Mike Hall Jr. (51), Adin Huntington (98)
Defensive edge (5): Myles Garrett* (95), Isaiah McGuire* (57), Alex Wright (91), Cameron Thomas (99), Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (90)
Linebacker (5): Devin Bush* (30), Carson Schwesinger* (49), Jerome Baker (17), Mohamoud Diabate (43), Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (42)
Cornerback (6): Denzel Ward* (21), Tyson Campbell* (7), Myles Harden* (26), Dom Jones (37), Tre Avery (28), Jarrick Bernard-Converse (20)
Safety (5): Ronnie Hickman Jr.* (33), Grant Delpit* (9), Rayshawn Jenkins (5), Donovan McMillon (31), Damontae Kazee (23)
Specialists (3): Andre Szmyt (25 | K), Corey Bojorquez (13 | P/H), Rex Sunahara (50 | LS)
The Patriots are relying heavily on their rookie class this season, with several of its members playing key roles for the team so far. The Bengals, however, are even more dependent on their first-year players: in total, they are fielding six rookie starters between their offense and defense, while also trusting first-year players in the kickoff and punt return roles.
The most important among those rookies, obviously, is the aforementioned Dillon Gabriel. A rather surprising third-round pick in this year’s draft, the Notre Dame product started out as the No. 2 behind Flacco (and ahead of fellow rookie Mel Kiper Jr. favorite Shedeur Sanders) but was handed the reins on October 1. Since then, Gabriel has completed 64 of 107 pass attempts (59.8%) for 546 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Gabriel plays a vital role for the Browns, and so do second-round running back Quinshon Judkins and third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr, who are ranked first (529) and second (294) on the team in yards from scrimmage, respectively. Judkins also leads the team in touchdowns (5) while averaging 4.3 yards per run, whereas Fannin Jr. sits atop the table in both catches (32) and receiving yards (290).
Also among the starters on offense is undrafted rookie wideout Isaiah Bond (11-123), who serves as WR2 behind Jerry Jeudy (22-257). Fourth-round running back Dylan Sampson has averaged 23.0 yards on seven kickoff returns.
The Browns’ youth movement is not quite as extensive on defense, but the team is still relying on two rookies in starter roles: fifth overall selection Mason Graham along the interior defensive live and second-rounder Carson Schwesinger at linebacker. Neither has stood out statistically quite like some of the offensive rookies, but both are leading their respective position groups in snaps.
Of course, no discussion of the Browns’ defense would be complete without the team’s best player: future Hall of Fame edge rusher Myles Garrett, who remains one of the best defenders in the NFL. He may only be ranked 10th in sacks (5.0) and 13th in pressures (27) this year, but make no mistake: he is once again playing at an All-Pro level, a “Tuesday player” for any offense, and capable of single-handedly deciding games in his team’s favor.
Add other veterans such as defensive tackle Maliek Collins, linebacker Devin Bush, cornerback Denzel Ward or safeties Ronnie Hickman Jr. and Grant Delpit and you get a defense that has quality on all three levels. It’s rankings are not an accident.
Browns reserves
Practice squad (16): QB Bailey Zappe (11), RB Ahmani Marshall (39), WR Kaden Davis (89), WR Luke Floriea (81), TE Sam Cannella (87), OT Thayer Munford Jr. (64), OT Tyre Phillips (69), OL Garrett Dellinger (52), OL LaDarius Henderson (67), DT Simeon Barrow (58), ED Sam Kamara (92), ED Julian Okwara (53), LB Eugene Asante (36), LB Edefuan Ulofoshio (54), CB Dee Williams (29), S Chris Edmonds (41)
IR (8): WR DeAndre Carter, WR Cedric Tillman, OT Dawand Jones, OL Justin Osborne, LB Winston Reid, LB Nathaniel Watson, CB Martin Emerson, CB Anthony Kendall
PUP (2): QB Deshaun Watson, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
The Browns have some intriguing names on their reserve rosters, starting with a familiar face: one-time Patriots starter Bailey Zappe is the team’s third quarterback on the practice squad. The truly notable names, however, can be found elsewhere, with Cleveland’s injured reserve and physically unable to perform lists featuring some prominent players.
Deshaun Watson is the team’s highly-paid nominal starting quarterback, but he has become one of the worst trade acquisitions in NFL history since joining the club in 2022 and it seems unlikely he will return to the lineup anytime soon. Also on PUP is linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who — unlike Watson — has positively contributed to the team in the past and if not for a neck injury originally suffered last season would be a starter on defense.
On IR, we find the team’s starting left tackle (Dawand Jones), No. 3 wide receiver (Cedric Tillman), a former starting cornerback (Martin Emerson) and the team’s primary return man (DeAndre Carter).
Browns coaching staff
Head coach: Kevin Stefanski
Coordinators: Tommy Rees (OC), Jim Schwartz (DC), Ray Ventrone (STC)
Credit where credit is due, head coach Kevin Stefanski has some remarkable staying power considering he has gone a combined 42-49 (.462) since his arrival in 2020 and 1-2 (.333) in two trips to the playoffs. Those two forays into the postseason apparently bought him plenty of patience with Cleveland’s ownership, because since the Browns’ last appearance in the tournament after the 2023 season, the team has won just five of 24 games.
The stability at head coach stands in contrast to the coaching staff. This offseason, the team hired Tommy Rees as its third offensive coordinator in three seasons. On the other side of the ball, Jim Schwartz is in his third season, with special teams coordinator — and former Patriots player Ray Ventrone — in his third season at the job.
