The Browns-Dolphins Week 7 meeting is a matchup of two teams in desperate need of a win to ease the fans' minds and cool their head coaches' hot seats. Cleveland is coming off a brutal 33-9 loss in Pittsburgh, but the opening gauntlet of games that was dreaded all offseason is finally behind them. While the results aren't too far off from what was expected, the way they got to these results has made it worse.
Since Mike McDaniel took over for Miami in 2022, they have put up a record of 10-16 on the road compared to 19-9 at their home field. Part of this is due to their team being built for speed, which doesn't always translate best to other cold-weather conditions. Sunday looks like another test, as the weather conditions are expected to be extreme, although not too cold.
Browns-Dolphins Week 7 expected to have extreme weather conditions
Per Andy Slater, the game could have up to 50-60 miles per hour wind gusts during game time on Sunday. The forecast is calling for a 94 percent chance of rain with an average of 36 miles per hour wind gusts and temperatures in the mid-60s. Additionally, the National Weather Service says this game "is certainly a system worth keeping an eye on" as they believe stronger storms could come to fruition.
NEW: Dolphins-Browns game in Cleveland could have 50-60 mph wind gusts.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) October 16, 2025
The National Weather Service says this is “certainly a system worth keeping an eye on” as a stronger storm may materialize.
The current forecast: 94% chance of rain, 36 mph gusts, and 65 degrees.
This extreme weather scenario probably favors Cleveland, since the Dolphins are built on speed and have a history of airing it out downfield when Tua Tagovailoa is healthy. The Browns haven't been pushing it downfield at all since Dillon Gabriel took over, and this game could turn into a ground-and-pound with short throws. Cleveland's defense was already going to present issues for the Dolphins, but it will be even tougher if they aren't able to keep them honest with deep throws down the field.
The Miami run defense has been bad over the last two weeks, as both the Chargers and Panthers averaged at least 6.5 yards per carry, including a 200-yard game from Rico Dowdle and a 100-yard game from Kimani Vidal. If the weather gets anything close to what the forecast is calling for, the conditions should favor the Browns on both sides of the ball in a game they need to have.