3 massive Browns storylines to watch against New England

Sitting at 2-3, the Cleveland Browns welcome the New England Patriots to FirstEnergy Stadium for a Week 6 AFC matchup. Here are three storylines that fans need to pay attention to.

The NFL season is full of ups and downs and the Cleveland Browns are experiencing a full dose of the latter. The Browns come into their Week 6 matchup with the New England Patriots having lost three of their last four games. However, the Patriots come into Cleveland with a 2-3 record themselves and could be without their starting quarterback for the second straight week.

For the Browns, a win against New England could stop the bleeding and get them back on track. But given Cleveland’s issues on defense, and in particular, in stopping the run, Bill Belichick isn’t going to make it easy. If the Browns are going to put the Patriots away, they are going to have to prove that they can stay fundamentally sound for 60 minutes.

Belichick’s teams don’t beat themselves, but this 2022 Patriots team is beatable. It will all come down to the Browns enforcing their will and overcoming the self-inflicted issues that have plagued this young season. Here are three major storylines to monitor in this Week 6 matchup.

3 major Browns storylines for Week 6

Storyline No. 3: Can Cade York overcome his case of the yips?

The Browns entered the 2022 NFL season believing they could hang their hat on a few things: an outstanding run game, a top-10 defense, and a solid kicker. Unfortunately for the Browns and their fans, only one of those beliefs has actually proven to be true. The latter has gone from genuine concern to an outright problem.

Cade York looked the part of a legitimate NFL kicker throughout training camp. That belief was only strengthened after York’s first regular season game when the rookie split the uprights on a 58-yard game-winner in Carolina.

However, since the win against the Panthers, York has been shaky at best. First came the costly missed extra point against the Jets in Week 2. Then York followed that up by missing another extra point the following week against Pittsburgh. But it was the two missed field goals last week against the Chargers, including a potential 54-yard game-winner, that puts the rookie kicker situation into full panic mode.

Because of how they handled York’s transition into the NFL, the Browns have no other option but to let York work through his struggles. Cleveland used a fourth-round pick on York and cut the other kickers on the roster and handed him the job. Now it’s up to York to figure it out and there is a chance that it could get worse before it gets better.

With the Patriots coming to town points will be at a premium at FirstEnergy Stadium this Sunday. There is a 100 percent chance that York will be called upon and how he responds could dictate the fate of the Browns’ season. No pressure, right?