Despite the Cleveland Browns' disappointing Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, all is not lost on the season. At 5-3, head coach Todd Monken and his crew are in an enviable position going forward. A win against the New Orleans Saints could kickstart another run with winnable games against the Houston Texans and, after the bye week, the Las Vegas Raiders on deck.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, the Browns are going to have to handle New Orleans.
The Saints hail from the NFC South, a distinction that has yielded good results for Cleveland this season. The Browns are 2-0 against teams from the division, with wins against the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, though that won't have any impact on Sunday.
The Browns can't afford to take the Saints lightly, starting with quarterback Tyler Shough
Shough has shown signs of promise after being a second-round pick in 2025. He took over the starting role for a 1-7 New Orleans team last season, leading the Saints on a 5-4 run over the final nine games to build considerable hype for this season. In fact, some argued that the Browns — in a hypothetical re-draft — should've chosen between New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart and Shough with their original selection at No. 2 overall.
Alas, the Saints have stumbled to a 2-5 record out of the gates, though it's hard to put all or most of that on the quarterback. Shough is 14th in the league with 245.9 passing yards per game and tied for 10th with 13 passing TDs (despite playing just seven games). While he is far from a running quarterback, he picks his spots and has amassed 111 yards on the ground this season.
On the other hand, Shough has had some problems taking care of the ball. His nine turnovers are the fifth-most in the league. Consequently, the Saints are 2-0 when they win the turnover battle this year, and 0-5 when they don't.
If there's a winning formula for the Browns, forcing Shough into more mistakes should be at the top of the list.
Saints have four more players who could make life difficult for the Browns
Wide receiver Chris Olave
Olave is Shough's No. 1 target in the passing game, and for good reason. He's reeled in 49 of 71 targets for a whopping 636 yards this season. At 90.9 yards per game, he's the No. 5 receiver in all of football.
What's more, all the attention has led to a mini-breakout for Devaughn Vele (33 receptions, 348 yards, three touchdowns), the Saints' No. 2 wideout. It's also possible New Orleans will have some extra firepower this week (as we'll get into below).
Nonetheless, Olave hasn't seen coverage from a player like Denzel Ward this season. Ward is Pro Football Focus' top-ranked cornerback so far, and he will almost certainly draw the Olave assignment. If we're assessing the biggest threats to the Browns on the Saints' offense, the former Buckeye tops the list.
Wide receiver Jordyn Tyson
If Tyson's name rings a bell, it's perhaps because in the pre-draft process, he was consistently connected to the Browns. In fact, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry admitted that the franchise was smitten with Tyson, New York Giants offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, and the Browns' ultimate selection, Spencer Fano. He opted to trade down, knowing one of his three targets would be there at No. 9.
While it's admittedly early, the Browns seem to have made the right move. Fano has been as advertised this season, while Tyson has yet to suit up as he suffered a hamstring injury that held him out of the Saints' first seven games. Injury concerns shrouded Tyson's draft story, though he may be making his NFL debut against the Browns.
Tyson practiced for the first time this week and logged three limited sessions, with New Orleans ultimately deeming him questionable for the contest. One can assume that Saints head coach Kellen Moore would like nothing more than to get his career started with a bang if he indeed debuts on Sunday. The Browns will need to prevent that from happening.
EDGE rusher Chase Young
For those of you who root for both the Browns and the hometown Ohio State Buckeyes, Young needs no introduction. In any case, "Predator" has quietly been having a monster season. Through seven games, he has 7.0 sacks, which is tied for the third-most in the league. He's been an analytics darling, too, as PFF places him 10th among EDGE defenders (and second in pass-rushing grade).
Browns offensive tackle Spencer Fano is coming off his worst game and was noticeably upset afterward. He's going to need to turn the page quickly as it doesn't get any easier this week. Young's running mate, Carl Granderson, has 5.5 sacks himself and has made it known that the Saints are fully aware of Shedeur Sanders' questionable pregame comments.
For Sanders to have a chance in his first start of the season, a rebound is going to be needed from the offensive line. The QB shouldn't have made their lives any harder.
Cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.
Emerson Jr. was a Browns third-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2022. He had a quiet rookie year before bursting onto the scene with four interceptions and 14 passes defended in his second season. His third season saw him regress — along with the rest of the 2024 roster — and he was robbed of a chance to bounce back when he tore his Achilles in training camp.
He moved on this offseason and has blossomed despite the Saints' team struggles on defense. So far this season, Emerson Jr. has been targeted 18 times. He's allowed 10 receptions for 137 yards and no TDs, while bringing down two interceptions, according to PFF. That computes to a sterling 40.5 passer rating allowed.
Emerson Jr.'s availability is in flux as he has been listed as questionable on the Saints' Friday injury report. He was a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday before missing the last session. If he winds up suiting up, it's fair to assume he'd love to grab an interception against his old team. In an ideal world, the Browns won't oblige.
Honorable mentions: the old-man-still-got-it running back Alvin Kamara, tight end Juwan Johnson, and linebacker Kaden Elliss.
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