The Cleveland Browns are ramping up to face off with the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9 ahead of a much needed Week 10 bye. The Chargers, who are 4-3 in the AFC West and third overall in their division, are coming off a rout of the New Orleans Saints to the tune of a 26-8 final score. Los Angeles has seen some great stuff forming between their new head coach Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert, and between Herbert and its rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.
But, if there's an area that the Chargers can be found shaky in, it's their pass game outside of that connection between Herbert and the rookie receiver. The Browns' secondary, prior to its Week 8 game against the Baltimore Ravens, could likely cause problems for the Chargers as they look to get downfield through the air. But, with Denzel Ward having suffered a concussion in that win and with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah having been dealt a neck injury in the game as well, a big question mark now hovers over this team's ability to run out a healthy defense against the Chargers in a must win.
The first reports out for Week 9 practice from Browns beat reporters show no surprises regarding Owusu-Koramoah or Ward - the All-Pro level linebacker will be out for Week 9, while Ward is day to day with a concussion. Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, other Browns not expected to practice on Wednesday include Joe Bitonio and Jordan Hicks.
A late add to the list of players not practicing on Wednesday was Za'Darius Smith, one of the architects of the defense that won the Browns their game in Week 8. Smith was reportedly out with an illness, but of course, any rumblings of him out after being seemingly healthy all season will bring out speculation regarding a trade. However, the team is likely not set to send Smith anywhere barring another loss in Week 9.
That leaves Cleveland without two linebackers key to its defense against the pass, and once again with more questions than answers after an encouraging win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 led by an elite pass rush defense and by cornerbacks deflecting plenty of passes from Lamar Jackson.
Browns offense needs to save the day in Week 9
Despite these key losses on defense for Cleveland, the offense will finally - hopefully - be able to step up in their place. While Myles Garrett is healthy and the rest of the defensive line is still formidable, it seems like the Chargers will be trying to attack the Browns weakness in its secondary during their Week 9 contest. So, Jameis Winston and the rest of the Browns' offense will need to step up in the defense's place for once to secure a much needed win.
Winston, who just won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, seems primed for another big game. The Chargers allow 193.4 passing yards per game, so Winston will face his first big challenge of his season against that defense. The Ravens were a bit of a cake walk - they allow the most passing yards per game in the league with 291.4 allowed per game. This is a big "prove it" game for Winston and a receiving corp that showed up and showed out in Week 8.