The Cleveland Browns are 1-4 headed into Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the team still has a chance to turn things around in a pretty tumultuous AFC North. While the Baltimore Ravens look like the far and away best team in the division, the Cincinnati Bengals are also 1-4 despite being led by Joe Burrow, while the Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with too many injuries to sustain its current success.
That all said, the Browns success falls in the hands of one man: Deshaun Watson. He had several opportunities last week in the form of open receivers and clean pockets to get Cleveland rolling, but he couldn't make simple reads or decisions. The defense looked solid in the first half, but looked to lose its gas in the second half after picking up a few stops that led to no points for the Browns.
The Eagles are a good team, but have struggled defensively as its allowing 128.8 rushing yards per game and a subpar 237.0 passing yards per game. Watson has yet to crack 200 passing yards this season, but he might be able to against this Philadelphia defense.
That leads us to our three bold predictions for the Browns headed into Week 6.
1. Watson connects with Amari Cooper for a TD twice
Maybe betting on Watson to piece it together this season is a long shot, especially considering he is statistically the worst starting quarterback in the NFL right now. But, against an Eagles defense that allowed 347 passing yards to ex-Browns QB Baker Mayfield and 241 passing yards to Kirk Cousins, Watson can realistically get something going. If the team is also trying to increase Amari Cooper's trade value with the deadline creeping up, this would be the way to go.
2. The Browns will score twice off turnovers
The Eagles have eight turnovers so far this season - four interceptions and four fumbles - and the Browns have forced five with one pick and four fumbles. While it'll be tough to get fumbles off of Saquon Barkley, the defense can at least pressure Jalen Hurts into some turnovers. He hasn't been as quick with his arm as in previous seasons, and so far the teams offense has been lackluster. Look to Myles Garrett to try and rush Hurts into some bad decisions.
3. Cleveland will rush for more yards than pass
One big issue for Cleveland this season as they await the return of Nick Chubb and Nyheim Hines is finding success with its run game. Jerome Ford and D'Onta Foreman have tried their best, but they've both struggled to find consistent running holes in this O-line. As a result, Cleveland's fallen to the seventh-worst team in the league in total rushing yards.
However, this Philadelphia D-line has allowed 128 rushing yards per game this season, while the Browns have only averaged 96.6 rushing yards per game. I would look to see Ford and Foreman - if healthy - get a ton of carries to tire out the Eagles' defense and open up a running game that can take the pressure off of the passing game. I predict that the Browns will have just over 200 rushing yards.