Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns: Storylines to watch vs. Washington

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:27 p.m. ET

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Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns are looking for their first win of of the 2016 NFL season. Here are some storylines to follow in the game against Washington.

The Cleveland Browns travel to Washington this week to take on the 1-2 Redskins. Last week the Hue Jackson-led Browns had opportunities to win late in the game but couldn’t execute down the stretch. This week presents another winnable road game for the Browns if they can execute in crunch time.

Washington is coming off their first win last week against the New York Giants. Washington is led by their quarterback Kirk Cousins, a streaky passer, and if the defense can get pressure on him, they will be able to force Cousins into some erratic throws. If the defense can keep Cousins guessing like they did with Miami’s Ryan Tannehill at times last week, the secondary will have opportunities to create turnovers.

Despite the recent news that wide receiver Josh Gordon is not returning to the team, Jackson remains confident in the guys he has in the locker room,

“I think the guys have worked hard that way as far as being accountable to each other, doing the right thing. Obviously, we had a slip up this past week. That is unfortunate and that is not something that we want to have happen,” Jackson said on Friday. “We have dealt with that as an organization and as a team. We will move forward. Hopefully, that is a lesson learned for everybody else on how we conduct our business.

“Our guys have done a good job. That is all I can say thus far. We don’t want any problems at the end of the day, but I think in this building, in these meeting rooms and on that practice field, these guys have done a good job in giving me everything they have.”

The keys for the Browns to pull off the road victory on Sunday will be to continue using playmaker Terrelle Pryor as the focal point of the offense. Also, the development and progress from quarterback Cody Kessler will remain as a huge storyline entering the game. Last week Kessler kept the ship afloat in his first start and minimized turnovers. This week the goal for Kessler is to continue to manage the offense and position the team for points and a chance to win late in the game once again.

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The biggest key for the Browns will be how Jackson and the offense utilizes Pryor. A week ago Pryor was the backbone of the offense, recording 200 total yards as a passer, rusher and receiver. The Browns usage of Pryor surprised the Dolphins and Cleveland was able to have success with the formations throughout the entire game.

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The Redskins have had a week to plan for the Browns quarterback packages using Pryor and will expect him to also throw off of read options. The key for coach Jackson will be to keep Washington guessing and change-up the play designs and formations using Pryor. As soon as the Pryor packages get too predictable that is when defenses will be able to shut down Pryor’s utilization. Pryor acknowledged the fact that the Washington defense will be centered around shutting him down this week,

Kessler played a solid game last week and showed potential to build off his first NFL start. The Browns will need to rely on him more this week with the central focus around Pryor. The most impressive thing about Kessler was that after a shaky start he remained poised and eliminated mistakes. Kessler made smart decisions with the ball and most importantly was accurate and on time to his receivers.

The following stat shows how accurate Kessler was in his debut. His accuracy was praised by Jackson as his best skill following the draft and it showed against the Dolphins.

Number one QB in off-target percentage in Week 3? #Browns Cody Kessler – only 3.3% of his passes were overthrown or underthrown #NFL

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) September 26, 2016

If Kessler can build off last week by continuing to protect the football and delivering accurately to his receivers, the offense will be productive. This will also take away some of the focus on Pryor and give him more opportunities to make plays, rather that is as a quarterback on certain plays, or as a receiver.

“(Head) Coach (Hue) Jackson always has a great gameplan. Our job is to execute the plays the way we did in practice all week,” Kessler said this week. “Terrelle was such a dynamic player that he can do a lot of things. He definitely did a great job last week with a lot on his plate and went out there and executed really well. He really helped me out, too. I was in there and then finding him on some routes.

“Coach Jackson does a great job game planning everything and really gives us confidence in each play and why we are running it, and we go out and execute.”

If Jackson and the offensive staff can continue to find ways to incorporate Pryor it will add a much-needed boost each week to the offense. It also gives Kessler some help as he learns on the fly entering his second career start.

: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Last week when the Browns defense got pressure on Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill it forced him into a pair of interceptions and bad decisions. When the defense didn’t get pressure, Tannehill was able to operate from a clean pocket and execute against the Browns secondary.

The key for the defense is to pressure and rattle Cousins, forcing him into bad decisions. Last week the defense only recorded one sack. The defense will need to bolster the pass rush in order to get Cousins off-balance and uncomfortable. The pass rushing group is short handed without rookie Carl Nassib, but young pass rushers Emmanuel Ogbah and Tyrone Holmes must step up and get to the quarterback.

“You just have to continue to do your job. Being a young team, I know they are definitely feeling that,” Danny Shelton said this week. “I don’t want to say it is stress, but at the same time, we are trying to work together and continue to communicate so we can grow as a young team.”

Another challenge for the defense will be to stop the running game. Last week the defense gave up 115 total rushing yards to Miami. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton knows the front seven must improve stopping the run this week.

“It presents a challenge really on all three levels to stop the run, to try to make them one-dimensional and then handle really one of the top passing games in the league right now,” Horton said this week.

Horton believes eliminating the run game will give the Browns defense a chance to make plays and rattle Cousins. If the Redskins run game is working early, it will open up play-action passes for Cousins and his receivers. The Redskins have a solid group of receivers that can exploit a secondary led by veteran speedster DeSean Jackson.

“Their offensive team as we look at them is very talented all over the place, from their receivers from (Redskins WR) DeSean Jackson up the field, you look at (Redskins WR) Pierre Garcon underneath being whether you call him a possession receiver or not but a savvy veteran. (Redskins WR Jamison) Crowder, he is a punt returner, he is a slot receiver,” Horton said when asked about Washington’s playmakers. “He took a low, screen pass 45-55 yards last week. They are talented. Their offensive line is very talented. (Redskins TE Jordan) Reed is probably the hottest tight end going right now in the league. Then Kirk Cousins, obviously, I think his performance last year warranted a huge contract.”

The defense will have its hands full containing this offense but the youth of the defense is ready for the challenge.

“Oh yeah, he is great at that. I love Coach Horton,” cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun said this week. “He does a good job of putting us in good positions to make plays and positions to help other people make plays. That starts throughout the week with all the things that we do in practice.”

If the defense can shut down the run, it will make Washington pass happy and force the inconsistent Cousins to beat you. Secondly, if the pass rush can get to Cousins and pressure his throws, it will again create plays to be made in the secondary for the Browns defense.

If the defense can shutdown the run and pressure Cousins, expect the Browns to have chances to pull of the victory on the road Sunday.

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