It’s Halloween and there could be many spooky storylines on Monday Night Football when the Browns and Bengal battle it out
On Monday night, which is also Halloween night the Cleveland Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals in a pivotal early-season division game. The Browns are currently on a scary four-game losing streak and have a 2-5 record.
There needs to be some witch’s magic if the team has hopes of staying afloat. If they don’t win, this season good could be a wash. Let’s take a look at several big storylines that could have a factor in the final outcome.
3 big Browns storylines on Halloween night
Walking Dead: Browns players on the trading block
There have already been a lot of discussions around the water coolers this week about certain Browns being on the trading block now that the team has fallen out of contention so soon this season. Players like Kareem Hunt, Jack Conklin, Grant Delpit, and Greedy Williams have all been names popping up in circulating news stories.
To this point in the week, there have not been any trades confirmed involving the Browns. That could change any day but for now, we wait. With the Monday Night Game around the corner, there will be even more speculation before during, and after the prime-time battle. With another loss, Cleveland could sell the farm.
Hunt seems to be the most likely to be traded first because he asked for a trade already this season and he won’t be given a new contract by the team. Conklin is a seasoned veteran and there are several teams in contention who would benefit from his services. Conklin’s trade value could be hampered a bit by a recent injury but that shouldn’t stop a contender from taking the excellent lineman.
Defensive players like Grant Delpit and John Johnson III could be traded as well. Neither has done much that’s been noticed as helping the team to this point and it may be best to start parting ways with some of the players that have been more of a headache than a solution to the issues on defense.
Trick or Treat: To run or not to run with Nick Chubb
If you want another hot-button topic just mention Nick Chubb’s name. Half the Cleveland fan base wants to see Chubb given more carries and the other half believes that the Browns are running him too much because we’re in a pass-happy league these days. In the last two games, Chubb has only had 12 and 16 carries respectively. In 33 games under Stefanski’s coaching, Chubb has only carried the ball less than 12 times in five games out of 33. So, most times, Chubb is getting his carries.
However, the more glaring problem right now that fans are noticing is that Chubb is being left out in various on-field situations. Especially in short-yardage plays, it looks like he’s coming off the field. In several late-game scenarios, we often see the cameras zooming in on Chubb left standing on the sideline.
In this last game against the Baltimore Ravens, the team had moved the ball to the 40-yard line with just over two minutes to play. Instead of going to Chubb, the Browns had quarterback Jacoby Brissett go back to pass and instead get sacked twice. This ruined the opportunity at a makeable field goal to tie the game and turned into more of a miracle kick. The 60-yard attempt was ultimately blocked.
Despite the Browns being one of the best running teams in the NFL, the call by many to want to see Chubb carry the football even more is becoming a more popular opinion as this current losing streak carries on. While the league is more or less a pass-happy one, some of the best teams like the Philadelphia Eagles are still winning with the run game. The Browns aren’t winning but could again if they start giving Chubb more carries.
Hocus Pocus: Jacoby Brissett needs to limit mistakes
One major factor in the recent Browns losing streak has been the poor play by Jacoby Brissett. He’s made some big mistakes especially late in games that have directly affected the outcome. In this last loss to the Ravens, Brissett had a ball stripped in the first half which resulted in the Ravens taking the lead in the first half after having a short field to work with.
Late in the contest, Brissett was able to get the team down to the 40-yard line but then was sacked twice, taking his team out of reasonable field goal range. He was sacked again at another stage of the game ruining another opportunity. The goal of this early part of the season was to have Brissett manage games by protecting the ball and putting the team in good positions. While he looked like that was the case through the first few games, Brissett has had more miscues than expected.
In the last two games, he’s been sacked nine times and fumbled the ball four times. He’s also thrown three interceptions in the last three games, while only having thrown two through the first four games of the year. His feel in the pocket is on and off at times. A couple of his sacks have been where he didn’t sense the defender coming from his backside and he’s had a couple of fumbles because of that.
He didn’t throw an interception this past week and did a better job of making accurate throws but for the team to win moving forward he has to maintain that focus and cut down on those sacks and get rid of the ball. He’s a lifetime backup quarterback and that’s what we are seeing at this point of the season. When he was the starter with the Indianapolis Colts on and off through four seasons, he finished with an 11-19 record. He’s now 2-5 with this Browns team so he’s about par for the course.
Can he get a win against the Bengals on Monday night? He’s 0-1 against them as he went 25-39 with two touchdowns and one interception in a close 24-23 loss in 2017 when he was the starter for the Colts. He was sacked four times in that game as well. If he can avoid the sacks and not turn the ball over then the Browns will have a great shot at the win.
Browns vs. Bengals: 5 bold predictions for Halloween night
The Cleveland Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on Halloween night. Here are five bold predictions for their Monday Night Football appearance