Cleveland Browns: 4 players key to Week 7 victory
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns key No. 2 – Case Keenum
In a breaking news announcement on Wednesday morning, Baker Mayfield is out on Thursday night and Case Keenum will start in his place.
Mayfield had been playing through an injury for four-plus weeks, and a tough landing last week has made the pain too much to play through. It’s still unclear if Keenum is the one-week answer, or if he will need to be ready to play for the upcoming future.
Nothing is going to change with Keenum taking over. He’s a veteran guy with a ton of experience who has been in the system for two years in Cleveland and has an even longer history with Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota.
Keenum certainly lacks some arm talent compared to Mayfield, but he can move around in the pocket and will be more than sufficient at reading a defense and taking the throws they give him.
The run game and play-action will still be extremely important for the Browns. They can’t allow the Broncos to tee off on the battered offensive line, and Keenum will need to complete a few easy throws early in the game.
The Broncos are a good team, but nothing like the Chargers or Cardinals. Keenum needs to be a game manager here. Don’t turn the ball over, make the easy throws, and lean on your defense who should be up to the challenge.