The Detroit Lions are confident they’ll be able to impose their will on the ground when they face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Offensive coordinator John Morton said Cleveland hasn’t yet seen a rushing attack like the Lions’, which is led by David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. The duo combined for 218 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 38-30 win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.
“Well, I think this, I’m going back to us,” Morton said. “The last few weeks, our front, right now, we’re moving guys. I don’t think they’ve seen a run game like ours yet. And you know we have patience. We stick with it. I think that’s the biggest thing. Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing. We gotta do that so we can stay manageable. We have to stay manageable on third down, and third down and 2 to 6, we gotta be in that area. So first and second down is going to be crucial.”
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t want to get in a war of words with Morton when asked about the comment. Instead, he’s going to let the Browns’ play on the field do the talking.
“I mean does it really affect the game?” Schwartz said. “Maybe it makes things nice for you guys or for people to say stuff or whatever. I don’t play the game. I’m just out there trying to put a good plan together. I’m trying to put our guys in position and turn the game over to them. So anything that I think or anything that I would engage in in my mind just is distracting from what our job is. So we’ll just, we’ll keep it there. Players on the field will decide to game and not anything else.”
Browns’ Defense Among NFL’s Elite
The Browns’ defense, however, has been the NFL’s stingiest through three weeks. Despite a 1-2 record, Cleveland has allowed just 204.3 yards per game — best in the league. Against the run, they’ve surrendered only 57.3 yards per contest while facing the likes of Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Chase Brown.
“I mean we faced some good running offenses,” Schwartz said. “Green Bay was running the ball really well, so was Baltimore. Cincinnati, it’s more of a passing offense, so one of the major things we have to do is stop the run.”
He did acknowledge that the Lions’ elite two-headed attack will take some extra attention to keep in check.
“Two different running backs. You got to protect your edges, you’ve got to defend all 53 and a third, particularly with Gibbs,” Schwartz said. “And then there’s a lot of passes that are just an extension of the run game, a lot of screen game, a lot of quicks, even the checkdowns are sort of an extension of the run game. So our ability to play run defense, our ability to tackle in the open field, that’s a major part of this game plan going forward.”
Browns Looking to Get Offense on Track
If the Browns want to pull off an upset on the road Sunday, the offense must show signs of life. Cleveland is averaging just 15.3 points per game — better than only the Falcons and Texans — and has struggled to sustain drives.
The Joe Flacco-led unit has lacked consistency moving the ball, and a minus-4 turnover differential has repeatedly left the defense in difficult positions.
“It is supposed to be hard to a certain extent when you’re in this league, and I think it’s just up to you to have the mindset that you’re ready to deal with that,” Flacco said this week. “And I think if you do have that mindset, that it’s going to be hard every week, then you give yourself the best chance to go out there and meet it head on and have the most success you can.”
The Browns are a 9.5-point underdog against the Lions, per ESPN BET.
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