4 Bold predictions as Cleveland Browns face 49ers in Week 6
• Myles Garrett outshines a DPOY
• The Warden gets it done
By Randy Gurzi
1. P.J. Walker throws for 250 yards with no interceptions
As of Wednesday, the Browns have yet to see Deshaun Watson back at practice. The shoulder injury that kept him out of their Week 4 loss to the Ravens has continued to linger and there are now rumors that he could miss anywhere from two-to-six weeks.
The only good news there is that this will technically be Week 3, assuming he does sit out — which feels like a safe bet at this point. That means he's halfway through the high end of the speculation.
Still, the Browns clearly missed their $230 million quarterback when they had to turn to rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. To be fair to the rookie, he had almost no warning he was going to start since the team was expecting Watson to suit up. Even so, he wasn't ready to face that defense and with an even tougher San Francisco defense coming to town, Cleveland will be turning to P.J. Walker.
A former undrafted free agent out of Temple, Walker has seven starts under his belt — all with the Carolina Panthers. He's 4-3 overall and while he has more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (5), he did start to improve his numbers in 2022 when he had 731 yards with three touchdowns and three picks.
No one will confuse him with a superstar but he's also much more experienced than DTR. That's why he can be trusted to make the safe reads and in this final prediction, he does just that. While it might not be enough to knock off the undefeated Niners, look for Walker to toss 250 yards without a pick as he gives his team a fighting chance.