Detroit travels to FirstEnergy Stadium (FirstEnergy is just another example of stadium naming rights gone wrong) in Cleveland for a statement game for both teams. Detroit is 3-2 and about where most fans and pundits thought they’d be while Cleveland is a surprise 3-2 and can’t seem to catch a break with QB health (but that hasn’t stopped them from winning 3 straight).
This is a match up faced with boredom for both fan bases, unless you like defense and stalling offenses. Cleveland comes into the game with a top 10 defense in both aspects, 7th against the pass and 8th against the run, but considering whom the Browns faced passing wise, the Lions will be sure to put that to the test.
While this game favors Detroit match up wise no game is a given on the road. Cleveland’s offense plays right into the Lions defense’s hands. Cleveland has 6 INT’s on the year while Detroit is tied for 4th in the NFC in takeaways. The Browns are also only seeing 79 yards a game on the ground and with the Lions’ defensive tackle combo of Suh and Fairley I really don’t see that getting any better.
A side note, since dealing Trent Richardson, the Browns are averaging 94 yards a game but Willis McGahee is only at 2.7 yards a carry though.
Cleveland now hands the ball back to maligned QB Brandon Weeden as Brian Hoyer is out for the year with a torn ACL. Weeden on the season has a 69.2 QB rating, completes only 54% of his passes, and has a reputation of holding the ball too long as told by the 16 sacks. Again this grades very well for Detroit despite being in the bottom 3rd in sacks Detroit is 3rd in pass deflections with 32 so in retrospect the Lions have no problems getting to the opposing quarterback. Weeden too should help Suh and company finish the job.
Now outside of Jordan Cameron and Josh Morgan the Browns don’t have much talent on offense. They traded away Trent Richardson and signed Willis McGahee but the problem with that is this isn’t Denver or 2011 anymore.
So the 1st place Cleveland Browns will not look passed these Lions as they have Green Bay, Kansas City and Baltimore coming up. They know full well this is a match up of their defense verses Detroit’s offense.
Match ups to watch
Calvin Johnson vs. Joe Haden
Jo Haden has had moments in his short career that shows he could be a lock down CB. The problem is he talks the talk a little more than he can walk the walk. Haden will match up against the most gifted WR in football today. Even with Megatron a little banged up he should be able to get some nice numbers against a talented CB that can be cut lacking focus on the field. If Haden even played as hard as he talks (he once called himself the No. 2 CB in the league behind Revis). Advanced stats though would suggest he isn’t even the best corner on his team.
Reggie Bush vs. Browns LB’s
Bush was held in check last week against Green Bay but it’s not like the Packers had some lock down blueprint written against him, Detroit was missing another big piece of the offensive puzzle. Calvin Johnson is back and we’ve seen what these two mean to each other and what they mean for Stafford. The Browns have two linebackers that will draw the task of herding Reggie Bush. Paul Kruger and D’Qwell Jackson make up one of the best linebacking units in football right now and are leading this team.
Josh Gordon vs. Detroit Secondary
Houston should take the lead with this one but with him battling injuries this will be a group effort effort against Josh Gordon. We might even see Darius Slay out in the nickel to try and undercut routes with Houston playing off. We also might see Delmas and Quin over the top on brackets.
Cleveland Pass Rushers vs. Detroit’s OL
The Browns are 3rd in the NFL with 18 sacks and have pressure coming from everywhere. They have 13 players with a sack and have 28 pass deflections to go with it. This has been Cleveland’s recipe for their recent success. If the Lions stop the pressure they very well could have themselves a win.
Prediction
Calvin if healthy should get loose for a couple TD’s, but that’s it for the end zone as Cleveland’s defense is stingy and better than fans realize. The Detroit Defense should have a easy time with Weeden.
20-17 Lions in ugly fashion
