The last Sunday of 2024 also will mark the last Sunday of the season the Browns will play a home game.
It won’t be a completely meaningless game, at least not for the team coming to play at Cleveland. The Miami Dolphins are 7-8, but currently No. 9 in the AFC with a chance to still make the playoffs.
The Dolphins have no way to clinch a playoff berth against the Browns. They could see those hopes end if they were to lose in Cleveland.
It’s a similar situation the Browns (3-12) had available to them last Sunday in Cincinnati against the Bengals. It didn’t go well at all in a 24-6 loss.
Could things be different in a late-afternoon kick against a South Florida team playing in the Northeast Ohio cold? How about a look at three questions for the Browns to try and answer if they want a chance to end the Dolphins’ playoff hopes?
Can Dorian Thompson-Robinson, or whomever the Browns QB is, take care of the ball?
There’s some question as to who the quarterback will be for the Browns because of a calf injury Dorian Thompson-Robinson battled through throughout the Bengals game. Jameis Winston, whom Thompson-Robinson replaced as the starter in Cincinnati, is battling a shoulder injury that left him as the No. 3 emergency quarterback last Sunday.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Thompson-Robinson would start if he’s able to go. He wouldn’t say who would be the starter if the calf proved to be too much, although it wouldn’t be a shock to see Bailey Zappe if that’s the case.
Whoever it ends up being, their biggest goal has to be to take care of the football. The Browns are 31st in the league in giveaways with 30, and tied for 31st in interceptions with 20.
The loss to the Bengals was the fifth consecutive game with at least three turnovers, and sixth time in seven games. Two of those were Thompson-Robinson picks, giving Cleveland 12 in the last five games and 15 in the last seven.
Miami’s secondary, led by cornerback Jalen Ramsey, has helped the defense intercept eight passes this season. The Dolphins have only created 13 takeaways, which is tied for 26th in the league.
Can Cleveland Browns defense keep Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa uncomfortable in the pocket?
The Dolphins rank 15th in the league in passing offense with 222.1 passing yards per game. Their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, is No. 3 in the league with a 101.4 passer rating.
Miami’s passing game hinges, as most do, on a reasonably clean pocket for its quarterback. That allows Tagovailoa to spread it around to a dangerous collection of pass catchers, including wide receivers Tyreke Hill and Jaylen Waddle, tight end Jonnu Smith and running back De’Von Achane.
That’s a number of talented weapons to put pressure on the back seven of the Browns’ defense, which is 14th in the league allowing 212.5 passing yards a game. That’s why the Browns front four, led by All-Pro end Myles Garrett, has to get pressure on Tagovailoa.
The Browns only got to Tagovailoa once when they last faced him in Week 10 of the 2022 in Miami Gardens. They’re 6th in the league with 37 sacks as a team, with Garrett tied for second individually with 12.
Can Cleveland Browns QB get WR Jerry Jeudy involved in the passing game?
It took just one start without Winston at quarterback for the struggles to get wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to become obvious. He had just one catch, the fewest for Jeudy since Week 7 against the Bengals, which was the last game Winston didn’t start at quarterback.
Not only did Jeudy not have the catches against Cincinnati, but he also didn’t get the targets. He was only targeted three times, the fewest since only having three in a Week 6 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.
That, obviously, has to change for the Browns’ offense to get back some of the potency it had when Jeudy was one of the quarterback’s prime targets. That’s especially true if tight end David Njoku isn’t able to go because of a knee injury sustained in Cincinnati.
