The New England Patriots travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in a critical Week 6 matchup for both teams. Each squad heads into the game with a 2-3 record looking to get back to .500. New England dominated the Detroit Lions 29-0 in Week 5 and will be hoping to start a winning streak going into the middle of the regular season. However, the Browns suffered only a two-point loss to a talent-stacked LA Chargers last week.
Key Matchups
Cleveland’s starting running back Nick Chubb has had an impressive start to the regular season and will be the main concern for New England’s defense. Chubb has 593 rushing yards from 98 attempts and averaging 6.05 yards per carry, which is the sixth-best rate in the NFL. This sets up a big test for New England’s rushing defense which is ranked 21st in the NFL in opponent rushing yards allowed per game, averaging 128.8 yards allowed per matchup thus far.
On the other hand, the Patriots’ defense is ranked in the top half of the league (12th) in points allowed per game, with only 19.6 points allowed per contest. New England’s veteran linebacker Matthew Judon has a league-leading six sacks and will hope to continue his streak of at least a sack per game in Cleveland in Week 6.
The challenge for Judon and the Patriots getting to QB Jacoby Brissett lies with Cleveland’s biggest strength, their offensive line. Heading into the season as the 2nd strongest-ranked offensive line in the NFL, they have only let up one sack thus far in the season. If the Patriots want to be victorious this Sunday, they will need to find a way to get to the quarterback and pressure the Browns to turnover the ball.
Injury Report
According to Tom Withers of YahooSports, the Cleveland Browns will be without two of their star defensive players. Starting defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Denzel Ward will both be out against the Patriots, creating an opportunity for New England to have more success offensively than they may have thought going into the matchup.
Clowney had come back from missing two games due to elbow, ankle, and knee issues last week against the Chargers, but will miss the matchup with the Patriots to rest. Ward suffered a concussion at home to the LA Chargers last week, marking his third in his career.
However, defensive end Myles Garrett will be suiting up and will certainly cause problems for the Patriots’ offensive line. Garrett was ranked the second-best edge defender in the league heading into this season. Due to Clowney’s absence, the Patriots can double or even triple-block Garrett to protect either QB Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones.
Who Comes Out Victorious?
The Cleveland Browns head into the game as favorites (-140), and the New England Patriots as the underdogs (+120). If the Browns were fully healthy, it would be sensible to take the -2.5 spread (-110) in favor of Cleveland due to their ability to limit the Patriots’ defensive line and pressure the quarterback with Clowney and Garrett on the defensive ends. New England comes into this matchup with confidence after shutting out the Detroit Lions in Week 5, who had the league’s best offense in the first four weeks of the season.
Prediction: This will be the week of the underdog, in a low-scoring affair that will see the New England Patriots escape Cleveland with victory. Final score: 20-17 Patriots.
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