The Browns know they have the luxury of rest when they head to Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon to play the Bengals in the regular season finale.
Cleveland will sit a number of important players, such as Joe Flacco, Myles Garrett, and Amari Cooper, and give some young players an opportunity to shine as they have already secured the No. 5 seed in the AFC and are eliminated from contention for the AFC North.
The Browns(11-5) have the luxury of a strong finish, but there are a few plotlines to be aware of, along with my predictions for each:
1. Are the backups ready to go?
The best way to put it was when asked on Friday about Cleveland’s heavy reliance on its backups in this game by linebackers coach Jason Tarver.
He declared, “We earned it.” As a team, that’s fantastic because it means everything to earn the right to be ahead of the chains and have a game like that. It’s incredible because every play in an NFL regular season game is like a winning bar of gold; it’s impossible to replicate.
Younger defensive backs like Ronnie Hickman and D’Anthony Bell, D-linemen like Alex Wright and Siaki Ika, and receivers like Cedric Tillman and David Bell will have an opportunity to make an impact.
How I predict it will go: This line from Greg Newsome II, which was said earlier in the season, keeps coming to mind.
He remarked, “I think what sets us apart from the rest of the league is that when people say next man up, they really don’t believe in the next man up.” “No matter who is on that field, we all have faith in them.” We don’t care that he was elevated from the practice squad because we genuinely trust the players who play. I believe that to be the most important factor. We simply have faith in the brothers who are playing at that moment.
Regarding playoff positioning, the Browns have nothing to gain, but given that they have already lost, I contend the Bengals have even less to lose. Cleveland’s youth are eager to seize the opportunity, and they have the potential to pull off an upset.
2. The position of backup quarterback
Driskel, a 2016 Louisiana Tech player selected by the 49ers in the sixth round, has played in 23 games (10 starts) for the Bengals (2018), Lions (2019), Broncos (2020), and Texans (2021–22). In his career, he has run for 384 yards and three touchdowns while completing 216 of 365 passes for 2,228 yards, 14 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The majority of this season has been spent on the Cardinals practice squad, after he made one start at quarterback for the Texans last season, losing 30–24 to the Chiefs.
Driskel is 1-9 in his ten starts, and his only win came against Oakland on December 16, 2018, by a score of 30–16.
My prediction: Although Driskel weighs 235 pounds and stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, he lacks Flacco’s arm strength. Against the Bengals, I’ll be watching for him to get the ball out quickly. I can’t help but wonder if this is his chance to try out for the backup quarterback position with the Browns, since Dorian Thompson-Robinson is currently on injured reserve.
The job should be his if he performs well, but preventing turnovers will be crucial.
3. The other games worth mentioning
To be honest, the Browns’ non-playing games this weekend are the ones that really count. The AFC South winner, who has not yet been named, will play Cleveland in the wild card round.
The Colts (9-7) and Texans (9-7) play on Saturday at 8:15 p.m., with the winner securing a postseason berth. Sunday at 1 p.m., the 9-7 Jaguars head to
The Jaguars will automatically win the division if they win that game. But if they lose, it goes to the Colts-Texans winner.
My prediction for the outcome: Let’s get strange. The Jaguars are thought to be the most likely opponent. However, it seems like duct tape is holding Trevor Lawrence together at the moment, and Mike Vrabel knows how to motivate his team, especially at home.
It’s feasible that the Jaguars lose
And there is a ton of value in that Saturday game. Even though C.J. Stroud is back for the Texans, Indianapolis is at home and fresh off a victory over the Raiders.
On this one, I’m going against the grain and picking the Browns to play the Colts in the first round of the playoffs.
