The Cleveland Browns head down to Atlanta Sunday, and they’ll have to watch out for these three Falcons
The Cleveland Browns are traveling down to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday, a team coming off a road win against the Seattle Seahawks. They have a young and talented squad that could give the Browns fits if they take this game lightly. Atlanta has been in some very close games that could have gone differently for them, and they now get a home game to try and make a mark in the early stages of the season.
Cleveland has had a busy news week with the news of their star defensive end Myles Garrett being involved in a serious car accident. There’s still some uncertainty on if he’ll play Sunday.
Either way, the Browns will have to prepare for some Falcons players that could cause problems for them. Let’s take a look at a few of these guys and see why they could be a headache for Cleveland.
3 Atlanta Falcons to watch vs. Browns in Week 4
No. 3: Drake London, WR
The highly-touted rookie out of USC was considered by some to be on the Browns’ radar at some point during the NFL Draft. Instead, he was drafted by the Falcons, and he has stepped in quickly to establish himself as one of their top receivers.
Coming into this matchup, he’s already caught 16 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. In Atlanta’s close loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2, he was targeted 12 times and caught eight passes. Last week he caught the game-winning score in their 27-23 victory over the Seahawks.
London stands in at 6-foot-5 and that size has given quarterback Marcus Mariota a nice target to see over shorter defenders.
The Browns secondary has some height but not like London, so it’ll be a matchup that the Falcons will likely try to take advantage of on Sunday. He’s likely to be a primary target in this game, especially because he’s coming off a good game last week and he’ll be in front of the home crowd in this one.
No. 2: Kyle Pitts, TE
Kyle Pitts, a second-year tight end, is off to a decent start this season and could have a big game against a Cleveland defense that has had a history of giving up big plays to opponent’s tight ends in the past.
Pitts had a good showing in Week 3 against Seattle as he caught five passes for 87 yards — although he didn’t do as well off the field.
He hasn’t scored a touchdown yet this season, but things could change this week. Pitts is an imposing athlete standing at 6-foot-6 and will draw a lot of defensive attention. Having both Pitts and London is an advantage for the Falcons and could be a matchup nightmare for the Browns.
Kyle Pitts has ARRIVED! https://t.co/KW9syPTQ0X
— PFF ATL Falcons (@PFF_Falcons) September 25, 2022
As a rookie in 2021, Pitts caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards but only one touchdown after being one of the centerpieces of the team’s offense. While he’s not off to those types of big numbers this season that could change soon and if that happens on Sunday then Cleveland could be in trouble.
One gets the sense that Pitts is close to having a breakout game any week now. He’s had a few near misses on big plays already this year. The Browns’ secondary has been burned several times already this season and Atlanta will likely roll the dice a few times with Pitts.
No. 1: Cordarrelle Patterson, RB
Cordarrelle Patterson is a 10-year NFL veteran who has made a name for himself by the versatility he gives the teams he has played on. This year the Falcons have been using him as a running back and he’s been having a fantastic year so far.
He’s third in the league in rushing with 302 yards. Brown’s running back Nick Chubb is currently leading the league with 341 yards for some perspective on how well the converted wideout is doing.
Patterson was outstanding in last week’s game where he went for 141 yards on only 17 rushes that included one touchdown. He’s been used in a variety of ways over his career including as a wide receiver. Last year he had 548 yards catching the ball and 618 yards on the ground and combined for 11 touchdowns
He’s the Falcons’ No. 1 option in this offense and could potentially have another big day against the Cleveland defense. However, Joe Woods’ group is ranked No.7 against the run giving up 83.7 yards per game so they should be able to control Patterson better than Seattle did a week ago. The Seahawks are ranked No. 30 against the run with a whopping 157 yards given up average.
The Browns will be challenged on multiple fronts Sunday but if they can limit the play of Patterson, Pitts, and London to some degree and not give up too many big plays then they should be in line for the victory.
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