Cleveland Browns Week 2 predictions in historical Monday Night Football game vs. Jets
By Randy Gurzi
Writer: Mike Lukas
When you look at the Cleveland Browns’ Week 2 sitch, an easy win seems like a given.
Consider the matchup in East Rutherford these days.
The New York Jets are more banged up than a Philly Collins drum solo, with two of their biggest defensive stars, linebacker C.J. Mosley and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and their most exciting offensive playmaker, running back Le’Veon Bell, all listed as questionable for Monday night.
As are offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum, wide receivers Braxton Berrios and Demaryius Thomas, defensive end John Franklin-Myers, guards Alex Lewis and Brian Winters and defensive tackle Steve McLendon.
Oh, and let’s not forget that the Jets’ franchise quarterback, Sam Darnold, is out for at least a month with mono, so his backup will be under center.
Easy win, right?
But if you’re a Browns fan, you know that nothing EVER comes easy to this team, no matter how heavy the odds are stacked in its favor.
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Look at last week, when Cleveland’s incredible roster was expected to race away with a win against the Tennessee Titans but ended up having trouble just pulling out of its own parking space.
Excessive penalties that kept killing momentum, a rushed and sacked quarterback who kept struggling to find open receivers, an offensive line that kept very few Titans from making plays – that Week 1 Browns roster ended up leaving a lot to be desired.
So though it’s true that most playoff-bound teams would make easy work of these leaderless Jets, it’s not a given for the Browns, not yet.
Second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield may be in the driver’s seat, but it’s head coach Freddie Kitchens that’s sketching out all the maps, so if this rebuilt Browns racecar is going to win on Monday night, maybe start the trip patiently on the run-game highway onboard the Chubb & Hilliard Express.
Of course, the Jets defense will have to adjust, and that’s when Mayfield kicks in the Beckham and Landry nitro with some Njoku and Higgins treatment added to the tank and the Browns’ football machine leaves that Jersey crowd choking on its dust.
At least, that’s how it should happen.
Hate to say it, but if that’s not how this Monday Night Football race goes down, if somehow Kitchen’s Browns can’t outrace these brittle Jets and end up going 0-2 to start this season, general manager John Dorsey will be forced to make some difficult decisions.
Like re-building a better dashboard to protect Baker the driver, because he will not survive the season with the front line that showed up last week.
Or like $10,000 fines and 1,000 push-ups for every holding and illegal blocking penalty.
Or, Dorsey forbid, like hiring a new map maker to chart the course.
The Browns are a Lamborghini learning how to race (and win), and there is no better matchup to get better at that than the one on Monday night against these Jalopy Jets.
At least, that’s how it should happen.