3 Questions the Browns Need to Answer vs. the Jets

As the Browns enter a pivotal week 3 matchup against the New York Jets http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jamie-collins-jersey , they are under a lot of pressure to finally deliver a win. Here are three key questions they will need to answer if they want to achieve a victory.1. Can the Browns continue to force turnovers at this rate?So far the Browns are +6 in turnover margin, one of the stats that correlates the strongest to winning football games at any level. With 3 INTs and 5 fumbles recovered, the Browns are really generating turnovers so far. In fact, those 8 takeaways lead the NFL. That’s a great sign from a Gregg Williams defense, as an aggressive style will bleed big plays from time to time, but will need to generate big plays to make up for it. With 14.46 Expected Points Added by the defense so far (good for 5th in the NFL) it seems that the high-risk, high-reward style is paying off.Through two games the Browns defense has forced an INT on 3.9% of opponents’ dropbacks. If the Browns’ opponents were a quarterback, they would be tied with Ryan Tannehill for the 8th highest INT% on the year. That’s great, and it seems relatively sustainable. When teams don’t gameplan around Myles Garrett, he gets to the quarterback. And when they do, Larry Ogunjobi has picked up the slack so far. Add the improved secondary to that mix and the Browns seem to have the talent and the formula to make life hard for quarterbacks.The Browns’ other source of turnovers—fumble recoveries—does not seem nearly as sustainable. Historically, the fumbling team recovers a fumble just north of 50% of the time, meaning defenses who recover more than 50% of available fumbles usually fall back to earth. So far, the Browns have forced 5 fumbles and recovered all of them. And as impressively on the other side of the ball, the Browns have fumbled 4 times and recovered all of them. That’s right, every time the ball has been fumbled in a Browns game this year, the Browns have come away with it. While impressive, that is likely not sustainable. Many Browns fans know about Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold’s fumbling issues in college, and anyone who jumped into the comments section around draft time probably read about his turnoverissues in some form. Long story short; in his 27 games at USC Darnold fumbled the ball 21 times and threw 22 INTs. So far in the NFL Darnold has been just as prone to throwing interceptions, as he has thrown 3 INTs through two games or a pick on every 4.8% of his dropbacks. That’s the 3rd worst percentage in the NFL. Darnold has only fumbled the ball once so far, so maybe he has fixed his issues there or maybe it’s just a small sample size. Either way it seems like the opportunities are there for the Browns defense tonight.2. Is this the week the Browns passing game clicks?The Browns’ offense so far has been underwhelming. Tyrod Taylor hasn’t lit the world on fire, but he played fairly well in week 2 after playing in a downpour in week 1. His 6.3 yards per passing attempt are only good for 28th in the league, which will need to improve if he wants to keep rookie Baker Mayfield on the bench. Still Kevin Zeitler Jersey , throwing the ball (when we aren’t playing in monsoon-like conditions) might be the Browns’ best option. Or, at least dropping back to pass might be. Leading rusher Carlos Hyde is averaging a paltry 2.8 yards per carry so far, which is the result of facing a lot of stacked boxes where he has no real chance to succeed. Even when adding in a “passing premium” for the additional risks of throwing the ball, the Browns are more efficient through the air. And as an added bonus, Tyrod Taylor is averaging a team-high 8.6 yards per carry when he takes off to run. This is the perfect week to turn the passing game loose, as the Jets don’t have any great edge rushers, and their secondary gets worse as more DBs get on the field. Will the Browns be able to capitalize?3. Can the Browns finally match up on special teams?I touched on our special teams issues from week 1 here, and they were more subtle. Last week against the Saints the 4 missed kicks were glaring. If we thought former ST Coordinator Chris Tabor was bad, the first two weeks of this season have proved that it can always get worse.Even with the Browns dominating the turnover battle, we can still give back field position and points on special teams. If we can’t at least play the Jets even on ST, there will be that much more pressure on the offense to pick up the slack in this game, and look for GM John Dorsey to potentially make some moves at the bottom of the roster to add talent to special teams in the coming weeks.What key questions do you think the Browns need to answer tonight? Let’s discuss below. The final score of this game turned out to be pretty much how everyone expected, with Kansas City winning 37-21 over Cleveland. The Browns are now 2-5-1 and couldn’t pull off enough magic in their first game without former head coach Hue Jackson. All of the defensive injuries didn’t help, as the club lose CB E.J. Gaines, CB Denzel Ward, and LB Christian Kirksey early on — in addition to already being without FS Damarious Randall and LB Joe Schobert.The Browns got the ball first and were able to get past midfield after a 4th-and-1 conversion in which RB Nick Chubb received a favorable spot. Trying to move the ball further, though, WR Damion Ratley dropped a third down screen pass. Cleveland pinned the Chiefs back inside the 5 yard line with their punt, but it didn’t matter. QB Pat Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 95-yard drive in less than three minutes, capping the drive with a 50-yard screen pass to RB Kareem Hunt to go up 7-0.Cleveland moved the ball better on their next drive, but the officials missed a pass interference call in the end zone that was blatant. Then, on a 3rd-and-7, TE David Njoku completely ignored a blocking assignment to allow a free rusher to sack QB Baker Mayfield. Fortunately Authentic JC Tretter Jersey , K Greg Joseph was still able to connect from 51 yards out to make it a 7-3 game.The Browns saw both of their starting cornerbacks, Denzel Ward and E.J. Gaines, go to the locker room to begin the next drive. On the final play of the first quarter, the Chiefs faced a 3rd-and-19 from midfield. For the second time in the game, Cleveland failed to defend the screen pass, allowing RB Spencer Ware to go 25 yards on the catch-and-run for a first down. At the start of the second quarter, Mahomes fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to TE Travis Kelce to make it a 14-3 game.Cleveland answered with a lot of runs by RB Nick Chubb and then a 23-yard wheel route on 4th-and-2 by RB Duke Johnson. In goal-to-go, Chubb punched it in from 3 yards out to make it a 14-9 game. Interim head coach Gregg Williams opted to go for two, but Mayfield’s pass was intercepted, keeping it a five-point game.Kansas City was not phased. They scored a touchdown on their third consecutive drive to start the game, which included converting their second third-down attempt of the afternoon with the option. Hunt rammed it in from 1 yard out to put the Chiefs up 21-9 with 2:24 left in the first half.Cleveland responded again, with the help of another fourth down conversion (the Chiefs jumped offsides). The utilization of Johnson as a receiver continued, as he broke a tackle for a 19-yard touchdown with 0:26 left to make it 21-15. The two-point try failed again.The Browns’ defense forced a lot more third down situations to start the second half, but Mahomes kept converting each of them. In the red zone, he fired a perfect pass over the middle to Kelce for a 13-yard touchdown, despite SS Jabrill Peppers being right there for the perfect coverage, to put the Chiefs up 28-15.Things quickly went south. The Browns couldn’t convert, leading to their first punt attempt of the game. P Britton Colquitt had his punt blocked, allowing Kansas City to take over at the 21 yard line. The Chiefs quickly punched it in with a 10-yard run by Hunt to go up 34-15 (the kicker missed the extra point).Cleveland was putting a drive together, but then Mayfield was dropped for a loss of 13 yards when DE Chris Jones came unblocked for a sack. Faced with a 3rd-and-goal from the 23, QB Tyrod Taylor checked in as Mayfield was evaluated in the medical tent. The screen pass to Njoku went for 11 yards, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Chiefs gave the Browns a 1st-and-goal at the 6 yard line. Two carries to Chubb went for a total of 1 yard, setting up 3rd-and-goal from the 5 to begin the fourth quarter.Mayfield returned and fired a quick slant to Johnson for a touchdown to make it a 34-21 game. Cleveland went for two again Womens Damarious Randall Jersey , but was sacked, making the team 0-of-3 on those attempts.Cleveland held the Chiefs to a 39-yard field goal attempt on their next drive, which K Harrison Butker connected on to make it a 37-21 game. The Browns faced another 4th-and-2 situation at midfield on their next drive, but this time, they were unable to convert, turning the ball over on downs to the Chiefs with 7:47 to go in the game. Cleveland forced a punt after a sack by DE Myles Garrett, getting the ball back with 5:20 to go, still down by 16 points.Mayfield started the next drive with 14- and 31-yard passes to Njoku and WR Antonio Callaway, respectively, to put the Browns in scoring range. On the next play, though, he rolled left and tried to throw across his body, leading to an interception. The game was pretty much over after that.Quick HittersQB Baker Mayfield: 29-of-42 for 297 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.RB Nick Chubb: 22 carries for 85 yards (3.86 YPC), 1 TD. 1 catch, 5 yards (1 target). RB Duke Johnson: 9 catches, 78 yards (9 targets), 2 TD. 1 carry, 8 yards (8.0 YPC).WR Jarvis Landry: 6 catches, 50 yards (7 targets).DE Myles Garrett: 1 sack. Custom Tennessee Titans Jerseys