Two sliding and injury-riddled 3-3 teams meet Thursday night as the Denver Broncos visit the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m. ET at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland to open the Week 7 of the NFL Championship.
The Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos are both a mess six weeks into the season. Both squads are on losing streaks — two games for Cleveland, three for Denver — and have major questions at quarterback. Baker Mayfield is out with a painful shoulder injury and Case Keenum will start. Teddy Bridgewater just tied a career-high in interceptions. There’s nowhere for either team to hide this week and very little time to get it fixed. At least the Broncos have good options at running back. The Browns, with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt out with calf injuries, do not.
The Browns are dealing with multiple key injuries heading into this Week 7 matchup: Baker Mayfield has been ruled out due to his non-throwing shoulder injury. Case Keenum will start in his place and I’m only docking the Browns 2-3 points due to the QB change. However, the Browns will also be without both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
The offensive line is also banged up as Jedrick Wills, JC Tretter and Jack Conklin are all questionable. The Browns have arguably the best offensive line and running back duo in the NFL. With both RBs out and the offensive line playing at less than full strength, that advantage has been wiped out.
It’s easy to think that the Broncos should be the favorites based on the fact that Mayfield is out. But Case Keenum is a reliable quarterback for a game or two, and Bridgewater is not even confirmed to play with his own injuries.
Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton is the leading pass-catcher for Denver. Sutton has hauled in 33 receptions for 471 yards and three touchdowns. The SMU product has been dominant for the past two weeks against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, catching 15 passes for 214 yards and two scores.
While Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (foot) is questionable, but expected to play through a foot injury, stud tight end Noah Fant, also dealing with an injured foot, is good to go.
For the Browns, their injury concerns are much more dire. Arguably their top three offensive assets, quarterback Baker Mayfield (shoulder), and running backs Nick Chubb (calf) andKareem Hunt(calf) were all ruled out ahead of the game with their respective injuries.
Prediction : Over 40.5