No one on the Browns Digest staff (or elsewhere for that matter) picked the Browns to beat the 49ers last week. After that 19-17, upset win though, no one is sleeping on Cleveland anymore, regardless who starts at quarterback. Still, the Browns would much rather have Deshaun Watson than not. Whether or not he’ll suit up for Week 7 is still in doubt, but he did return to practice on Thursday, which is a positive step.
Sunday’s matchup with Indianapolis could become the “back-up QB” bowl, as the Colts already know they’ll be starting veteran Gardner Minshew after rookie Anthony Richardson was shutdown for the season. On paper the Browns are the better team, but Indy isn’t to be taken lightly. Here are our staff’s Week 7 predictions: ANTHONY MOEGLIN: BROWNS 27, COLTS 10 A win streak for the Browns! Deshaun Watson plays and the offense will light it up through the air against two 7th-round corners. The Browns defense will prove to be too much for Gardner Minshew and the Colts offense.
ANTHONY POISAL: BROWNS 20, COLTS 19 Regardless of whether Watson plays, I expect this to be another close contest. It’s no guarantee the offense explodes in the first game when Watson returns, and it won’t be an easy challenge for the Browns offensively no matter who plays QB against the Colts, who own the league’s 10th-best defense. Still, I think they find an early lead and the defense continues its elite form to help them maintain it.
BRENDAN GULICK: BROWNS 22, COLTS 13 I am encouraged that the Browns are going to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Ultimately, I don’t believe enough in Gardner Minshew and his surrounding cast to light up the Browns defense. At 4 p.m. on Friday, I am expecting Deshaun Watson to play and I think he’ll do a solid job on Sunday. The Colts defense is playing well, especially at linebacker, so I’m not expecting a monster performance from Watson. But if the Browns can get their running game going, I think they come home with another low-scoring victory. SPENCER GERMAN: BROWNS 17, COLTS 13 The last two days have been pretty massive in terms of Watson’s status for Sunday.
My gut tells me he’s going to play, but whether he does or not is semantics in terms of this matchup. Cleveland SHOULD win this game no matter who is under center and to be fair, even if Watson does play I don’t think it will still be a one possession game. I’m just not convinced Watson will be slinging it all over Lucas Oil Stadium if he plays. He’s gonna have to get comfortable again.
Leave a Reply