We are now less than 48 hours away from the Week 12 matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. Led by Russell Wilson, the Broncos are looking to win their fifth-straight game as they have found a bit of a rhythm, beating the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills during their win streak. The Browns, on the other hand, are looking to win their fourth game in a row and their fifth in their last six outings.
While the Browns are entering this matchup with significant injury damage to their roster, including the likely absence of Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, they have found ways to win uglier games this season. Can the Browns find a way to win ugly once again as rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson gets his third career start in the Mile High City?
As the Browns prepare to advance to 8-3 on the season and further boost their playoff chances, here are our weekly Browns Wire Staff Predictions.
Browns Alchemy (@BrownsAlchemy): Browns over Broncos
The Cleveland Browns will have a challenging game in Denver.
The Broncos have a strong pass defense led by Patrick Surtain Jr. His matchup against Amari Cooper will be must must-watch. The Browns’ offensive game plan will be based on a strong run game out of heavy personnel.
David Njoku should have another big game this week. The Browns’ defense will suffocate an average Broncos’ offense. The Broncos will try to spread the ball around, but their wide receivers are ill-equipped to handle the Browns’ defensive backs. The Broncos need to rely on Javonte Williams if they want to keep the game close.
The Browns will get out to an early lead and will fight to maintain it for the rest of the game.
The Browns will grind out a 17-6 victory as they roll through the center of the Broncos’ defense.
Jacob Roach (@roachizm): Browns over Broncos
The Browns continue to not care what adversity is placed in front of them, they just overcome it and press on. The defense continues to win games as the offense does just enough each week to get the win. I thought that Dorian Thompson-Robinson took a step forward last week and if he can continue to grow this team can make noise in the playoffs.
Going up against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL if Cleveland can control the clock and not turn it over they can grab win number eight. Russell Wilson has been playing better as of late and he has talent at the wide receiver position. If the Browns play smart on offense and find a way to pressure Wilson they will be just fine, give me the Browns 21-13.
Tyler Greenawalt (@TyGreen14): Browns over Broncos
The Browns ride into Denver with a three-game winning streak despite a plethora of injuries. They’ll face a red-hot Denver Broncos team that’s won four consecutive games. But someone has to lose. This should be another low-scoring affair as both defenses have played well recently. Denver has the better skill position players, but Cleveland’s defense remains the cream of the crop this season.
Expect another close defensive battle and another Browns win behind a more efficient Dorian Thompson-Robinson, 17-14.
Cory Kinnan (@fakecorykinnan): Browns over Broncos
The Browns will need a better showing out of their run game in order to take the pressure off of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The good news? Even over their four-game win streak, the Broncos have fielded a below-average run defense.
Quarterback Russell Wilson is also top-five in Time to Throw and in pressures converted to sacks, so the Browns will have opportunities to get after him defensively. While he has played turnover-free football over his last four, Wilson is still prone to making the turnover-worthy play or two per game. The Browns need to end his turnover luck.
All-in-all, the Cleveland defense, even as banged up as it is, will prove to be too much for Wilson and the Broncos. While the offense may not be pretty once again, the Browns find a way to claw out their fifth win in six outings.
Browns win 23-17.
