5 Bold predictions as Cleveland Browns face Indianapolis Colts in Week 7

1. Browns defense holds Colts to fewer than 10 points

Heading into Week 7, Jim Schwartz has proven himself as the best hire of the offseason — perhaps not just for the Browns, but in the entire NFL. He’s taken a defense that struggled mightily (especially against the run) and has them first in the NFL in yards surrendered. 

After the win, the talk centered around the injuries the Niners suffered. They did lose Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey during the game but to act as if the Browns weren’t dealing with injuries as well was asinine. And in all honesty, they bottled McCaffrey up for the most part outside of the opening drive.

Now heading to Indianapolis, they again face a team that has some injury concerns. The Colts are still without Anthony Richardson, which means Gardner Minshew will make his third start of the year. He’s 1-1 as the starter and has 882 yards with three touchdowns against three picks in his six total appearances. However, he has yet to face a defense as talented as Cleveland’s.

That’s why this final bold prediction is that the Browns continue to play excellent defense and force Minshew into several mistakes. The end result will be fewer than 10 points for the home team.

They’re incredibly balanced as well with the No. 1 ranked passing defense and are fourth highest at stopping the run according to Pro Football Reference. This past weekend, they were especially impressive, giving up just 17 points to the 49ers with seven of those coming thanks to an interception giving San Francisco the ball inside the 10-yard line.

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