Cleveland Browns: 3 keys to victory against the Houston Texans

2. Limit the turnovers

Interceptions have plagued the young career of quarterback Baker Mayfield. In 2019, Mayfield threw 21 interceptions which were second only to Jameis Winston’s historic 30. Mayfield has improved on his decision making and has thrown fewer interceptions this year. He only has seven interceptions through eight games.

Mayfield missed a decent amount of practice time during the bye week due to COVID-19. He ended up on the Browns COVID-19 list after he was in close contact with a staff member who tested positive Sunday morning. He was activated from the list Wednesday and was able to return to practice after completing the NFL’s protocol.

With Mayfield missing time in practice, there’s a chance that he goes into the game rusty. If Mayfield goes into the game on Sunday rusty, there will be a much greater chance we see the interception problem of past seasons return. If the Browns want to stay in the game these interceptions will need to be avoided as much as possible.

Cleveland would do well to protect the football as much as possible. This can be done by limiting risky plays. This goes hand in hand with the first key to victory: establishing the run game. Limiting the turnovers will allow the Browns to put the Texans away early and not allow them an avenue back into the game.

If Mayfield is able to avoid returning to his old ways of throwing picks, and the ball carriers practice good ball security we should be able to control the tempo of the game.