Cleveland Browns 5 bold predictions vs. the Steelers in Week 2

After a Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns have their sights on another AFC North foe in Week 2. This time, they will be hitting the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

When the schedule was released earlier this year, the Browns seemed to have a tough task ahead of them with three divisional games in the first four weeks of the season. They, however, saw this as an opportunity to take a lead in the division.

A win in Week 2 would surely put them in the driver's seat — and considering how the Steelers looked against the 49ers, it seems likely that will happen. With all that being said, here's a look ahead to the game with five bold predictions for the Cleveland Browns.

5. Grant Delpit records a pick-6

In Week 1, the Browns defense was on fire. They only recorded two sacks but they were pushing the pocket all day, making things difficult for Joe Burrow. Making it even tougher for him to move the ball was the way the secondary blanketed their wideouts.

Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, and Martin Emerson were all over Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase was held to just 39 yards on the day and Higgins never made a single catch.

One of the primary reasons the coverage was so tight was the team’s ability to stick with a man-to-man concept. Jim Schwartz stayed with this since the defensive line forced the ball out quickly and the safeties were playing well — allowing the corners to press.

And when the wideouts did end up on the safeties, they held their own as well — especially Grant Delpit.

The fourth-year safety was all over the field and might have played his best game as a pro. This bold prediction is that he continues to shine in coverage and even picks off a pass from Kenny Pickett, then takes it to the house for six.

4. Marquise Goodwin hauls in 50-yard touchdown pass

This past weekend, the Browns tried to get their newest deep threat involved in the passing game but they were unable to connect. Twice, Deshaun Watson aired it out for Marquise Goodwin, and each time, he had a step on his man.

Unfortunately, neither pass was on target and landed incomplete. Perhaps it was the weather or it might have been Watson not feeling 100 percent — he did reportedly get an IV at halftime. Whatever it was, there were at least a couple of big plays left on the field.

It wasn’t a total loss, since it meant the Bengals had to respect the deep ball whenever Goodwin was on the field, but it also didn’t pay off the way they hoped it would.

That doesn’t mean Kevin Stefanski will be shy about trying again. Goodwin was signed for his track speed and Cleveland will continue to dial up the bombs. And this time, the weather will hopefully be better in Pittsburgh than it was the prior week.

With that being the case, this prediction is that Watson is able to drop one into Goodwin’s hands from 50-plus yards as the two connect for a long touchdown under the bright lights on Monday Night Football.

3. Dustin Hopkins stays perfect

It might not seem like a big deal to other fanbases, but the Browns were stoked to see Dustin Hopkins come in and hit all three of his field goal attempts — as well as his lone extra point try. He didn't hit any kicks that were beyond 50 yards and there were no "high pressure" kicks either.

However, there were four kicks that sailed right down the middle on a rainy day. In recent years, that's something Cleveland just hasn't seen.

They have gone from Zane Gonzalez, to Greg Joseph, to Austin Seibert, to Codey Parkey, to Chase McLaughlin, and to Cade York with the same results. No matter who was kicking, they had their share of highs but far too many lows.

Even when players such as Joseph or York were making kicks, they seemed to be knuckleballs that left everyone breathless until they saw the refs signal that the kick was good. And for York, those makes became far too infrequent, culminating in one of the worst preseasons we've ever seen.

That's why general manager Andrew Berry sent a seventh-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Hopkins. He wanted a trusted veteran kicker and after one game, it appears he made the right call.

In this prediction, Hopkins remains perfect by nailing every kick on Monday night. Ideally, it will be several extra points he hits, but it's likely he has one or two field goal tries against Pittsburgh and drills them with ease.

2. Ogbo Okoronkwo makes it two games in a row

Cleveland made life rough for Joe Burrow but they wound up with just two sacks on the day. That was a credit to Burrow's ability to get the ball out in a hurry, but thanks to the stellar play of their secondary, it didn't matter.

As for the two sacks, the fourth-down play from Myles Garrett got all the love — and for good reason. By this time, he was toying with the Cincinnati offensive line while doing a "crossover move" before pushing the center out of the way with ease before taking down the quarterback.

The sack prior to that came much earlier in the game when newcomer Ogbonnia Okoronkwo took down Burrow on the opening drive to force a punt.

After the game, Okoronkwo was all smiles and said they enjoyed the day — which was his response when asked how the team felt about Ja'Marr Chase talking trash all week leading up to the game.

Okoronkwo added that they all trust in Jim Schwartz, which was evident on Sunday.

Look for that to continue on Monday Night Football with No. 54 getting another sack, this time on Kenny Pickett.

Out of all the offseason moves, this was one of the quietest for Cleveland but could wind up paying off in a huge way.

1. Deshaun Watson gets on track with 3 touchdowns in Browns win

It's hard to be upset about anything that happens in a 24-3 victory over a divisional rival but that doesn't mean there wasn't some room for growth for Cleveland. One major area where they need to be better going forward is in the passing game.

Deshaun Watson finished the day with 154 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-29 passing. He did add 45 yards and another touchdown on the ground, which was more than enough for the win but there was a lot of meat left on the bone.

We already discussed the two missed deep passes to Marquise Goodwin but Watson was also low on passes to Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, and Donovan Peoples-Jones on Sunday. There were the reports he was dealing with cramps and needed an IV at halftime but he would surely say he should have made those throws – and would expect himself to make them if given another chance.

He also wouldn't use the weather as an excuse, even though it also led to some errant passes from Joe Burrow.

In this final prediction, Watson is able to get things on track and doesn't miss the wide-open passes. That leads to him not only topping 250 yards against the Steelers but also three touchdowns through the air.

Look for him to get everyone involved, especially Cooper who had just 37 yards, as they improve to 2-0 on the season.