The Cleveland Browns look to capitalize on their momentum after their upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the team prepares for their home opener against another NFC South opponent in the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers, who are coming off a thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons, will look to build their own momentum and take advantage of an uncertain NFC South.
Here are the 3 X-factors for the Panthers vs. Browns in Week 2:
Browns defensive line vs Panthers offensive line
The trenches will once again be an emphasis on Sunday. Carolina’s offensive
line is a work in progress. Cleveland’s defensive line is a work in progress. Something has to give. As for the Panthers, they are missing key starters in Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton but it’s hard to gauge how good their offensive line is considering how they haven’t played a competent pass rush.
For the Browns, their pass rush hasn’t materialized the way fans expected it to, but there are a lot of moving parts. Defensive end Jared Verse has gotten off to a slow start, but defensive tackle Mason Graham has quietly emerged as the best defensive lineman on the team.
For either team to have a chance to win this game, it will be determined in the trenches.
Will the Browns running game materialize?
In terms of the offense, the one part of the Cleveland offense that has struggled is the running game. The Browns are ranked towards the bottom in every run metric, but context is key when describing this current run game.
- Entirely new offensive line from last season
- Learning a new scheme in terms of the run game
One of the many reasons why the Browns running game has struggled is because teams are stacking the box; Cleveland faced a stacked box 30% of the time last week against Tampa Bay. Carolina’s run defense ranks 16th in rushing defense success rate early on this year. For the Browns offense to have some form of a chance, the run game has to be established.
Deshaun and the fans
It’s a topic of discussion, so let’s discuss. The last time Deshaun Watson played in front of the Browns fans, he was booed. Granted, it was a preseason game, but it was clear Watson was affected by it from his post-game comments. How does Watson prepare to play in front of a fanbase that doesn’t particularly care for him? How will he look if the team goes 3-and-out on their first drive?
If the Cleveland offense is humming, the fans will be rocking, which will have the positive impact a great fanbase can give a team.
Watson played well last week against the Buccaneers, but the Panthers defense will provide a different challenge. For Watson, he just has to block out the noise and play efficient football. It seems like a tall task for Watson to do considering how he hasn’t done it consistently, but he has an opportunity to redeem himself (in some way) by playing competent football for another week.
The fans are going to be critical regardless; it’s up to Watson to just block out the noise and play.
What do you think the X-Factors for Week 3’s Browns vs. Panthers matchup will be?
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