Cleveland Browns: Week 4 features most intriguing game in ’16
The Cleveland Browns will head to Washington in Week 4 of the 2016 NFL season which should feature Robert Griffin III’s return to the team that let him go.
It may only be June, but it is never too early to begin looking at the 2016 schedule.
The Cleveland Browns open up against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but the game that stands out is in Week 4 when the Browns head east to take on the Washington Redskins.
The obvious reason this game stands out is because it will likely feature Robert Griffin III’s return to the team that gave up so much to draft him No. 2 overall in 2012, only to let him leave town this offseason.
The intrigue of this game rests on the assumption that Griffin will be named the team’s starting quarterback, but that seems like a decision that should be announced early on in the preseason.
Given he is the starter, Griffin will be given the chance to lead his new team against a team that gave up on him in 2015.
He was a hero in his rookie season in 2012, only to hold a clipboard last season, watching Kirk Cousins lead the Redskins to the playoffs.
While this game will be about Griffin’s redemption and proving his skill to the team that let him walk, the game is important for another reason as well.
Week 4 is a crucial point in the season for any NFL team. The difference between 2-2 and 0-4 is massive, and the Browns have been in that 1-3 to 0-4 range all too often since 1999.
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After the opener in Philadelphia, the Browns host the Baltimore Ravens before heading south to take on the Miami Dolphins. The game against the Redskins will come at a time when the Browns may be trying to salvage any semblance of a successful season, and the added motivation for Griffin should be a major help for the offense and the team as a whole.
The Browns are not expected to be a great team in 2016, but the players and fans alike will be in for a long season if the Browns leave Washington with three or four losses on the season.
It will come down to more than just the play of Griffin, but the focus leading into that Week 4 game will be on him. The only problem for the Browns is that the Redskins are a 2015 playoff team who may be seeing the matchup as an easy win in 2016.
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It is too early to speculate the outcome of the game, as the first three weeks of the season should help shed light on how the team will fare in 2016, but Griffin is surely looking forward to getting a chance to beat Jay Gruden and the Redskins in the town he called home for four years.