Top 3 Cleveland Browns offensive storylines against the Kansas City Chiefs

2. Will the Cleveland Browns run game be more involved, especially early in the game?

This topic still gets me upset when I’ve gone back and reviewed the box score and stats from last year’s playoff game and watched, especially that first half again on video.

In that Browns opening game series, Cleveland ran the ball five times, including a couple runs by Nick Chubb, a run by wide receiver Jarvis Landry and a quarterback run by Mayfield. The opening series stalled but they got a field goal out of it.

The Browns only had the ball two more series in that first half but only ran the ball once.

Cleveland’s other running back Kareem Hunt didn’t touch the ball until the second half. I have a lot of trust in Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, but I think it was one of those moments, as an inexperienced head coach that reared its ugly head. Going away from the run game was a mistake.

Yes, the Browns were down 16-3 most of that second quarter, but they weren’t getting blown out. I believe that falter by the coach had a lot to do with the final outcome.

I believe Stefanski and the Browns offense will still try and go for a home run ball a time or two in the game, but I also think he’ll concentrate on using his running backs more early and more often to control the game.

Look for Hunt to be much more involved in this game than the last one. I could see him grabbing a couple of screen passes early to test the Chiefs’ defense. That type of play worked a lot for the Browns last season and I’d expect to see it again in this game.

Chubb is an elite running back and his workhorse mentality should be showcased much more in this game as well. He only had 13 carries in the playoff game. Those carries have to be more like 18 carries or more. And Chubb had a few miscues too a year ago, with dropped passes. I believe that has not been forgotten by Chubb and I think we’ll see a great game by him.