Don’t Expect Hobbled Jaguars To Lay Down

By Greg Newland on December 8, 2023

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The Cleveland Browns’ two-week western swing resulted in an unfortunate pair of losses, which makes this week’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars a must-win if they want to keep control of their playoff destiny.

The Browns currently sit at 7-4 which puts them in the playoffs — at least theoretically, at the moment. They hold the tiebreaker over the Indianapolis Colts, who are right behind them and have upcoming games against the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals, who are both rounding out the tail end of the Wild Card race.

I’d feel a whole lot better about the situation if the Browns weren’t on their fourth starting quarterback (assuming Joe Flacco starts again), but after last week I must admit the Browns can win with him under center.

The task could be less imposing than expected this week given that the Jags will almost certainly be without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He suffered an ankle injury late in the game last week against the Bengals that looked dire in the moment. Some reports suggest he wants to try and give it a go, but there is no way he will be fully healthy.

Had the Jaguars found a way to win last week, there is no way he would even consider trying to play this weekend.

Even though it appears that the Browns will be facing C.J. Beathard, who is also fighting through a shoulder injury, don’t expect this team to just lay down.

The Jaguars’ offensive line is playing fantastically, their strong receiving corps can get themselves open, and their RB1 can be electric given the slightest bit of space.

Remember, Beathard isn’t a guy who has never played in the NFL. The Iowa alum has been in the league for six years now and has started 12 games.  His overall record is only 2-10, but he is more than capable of making a throw when needed. Just look at his stat sheet last week in relief for Lawrence.  He went 9/10 for 63 yards and kept this team competitive after Lawrence went down.

I’m not saying I’d rather face Lawrence, obviously, but the Browns’ defense hasn’t played well the last two weeks, so they can’t overlook this offense or they could once again get beat up and down the field.

The Jacksonville defense doesn’t look great on paper, but they are sneaky good. Remember, their offense has been so strong that teams are often behind and just airing the ball out to try and catch up.  The Jags’ defense has been willing to give up some of the underneath stuff to protect leads, which has made some of their statistics look less impressive in otherwise dominant wins.

Josh Allen is as good a pass rusher as you will see in this league, Devin Lloyd is one of the most athletic and active linebackers around, and this secondary has shown they can play tight coverage when needed.

Flacco looked good last week against the Rams defense but the pass rush of the Jags off the edge will be a much bigger test for the Browns third and fifth tackles in the preseason.

Help is On the Way

While the Jags won’t just hand the Browns the much-needed win, there is also some promising news out of Cleveland in addition to the setbacks in Jacksonville. After watching the depleted secondary get torched the last two weeks, Denzel Ward and Cameron Mitchell look like they both should return.

The Browns have been known for their suffocating man-to-man coverage all season, but the last two weeks forced to run more zone coverage. It did not go well.

What can you expect when you have a guy like Mike Ford, who is an elite special teamer, playing corner for more than half the snaps in a game? With Ward and Mitchell back, this defensive unit takes a massive step in the right direction.

Following another week of rest, let’s hope that Myles Garrett and Juan Thornhill are also closer to getting healthy. Thornhill has not been himself the last few weeks with a calf injury, and they need him to step up again.

Garrett dinged up his shoulder against Denver; no matter what he says, he wasn’t himself last week. Not only did he not have a tackle, but I only remember him getting to the quarterback on one or two occasions, which is minimal compared to what he has done all season.

It’s doubtful that this injury will fully heal until the offseason, but let’s hope another week of rest will allow him to increase his production in front of the home crowd.

The offense won’t get as much help back, as it appears that Amari Cooper is still a questionable to return. This receiving corps goes from slightly above average to very mediocre without him on the field. Flacco demonstrated his ability to spread the ball around last week, but without Cooper on the field, his job becomes that much tougher next week.

Let’s hope the Browns can get back to running the football. It hasn’t worked at all the last two weeks, and the Browns were playing from behind in both games because the defense was struggling to get off the field.

If the defense can get back to their old selves and the offense can find a way to score 17 points, they can win this game. Jacksonville will give it their best effort, and even without their star quarterback they can be formidable. But given that Lawrence will likely be sidelined for the week, plus the advantage of the home crowd and the Cleveland weather, the Browns must find a way to win this one.

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