The Buzz: The Browns enter Week 8 in search of their first win. Cleveland, led by first-year head coach Hue Jackson, has been bitten by the injury bug in 2016, playing six different quarterbacks and losing starting rookie receiver Corey Coleman. Sunday's matchup will mark only the third game the Browns have played at FirstEnergy Stadium this season.
Offense:
The Staples: RB Isaiah Crowell ranks No. 9 in the league in rushing yards this season with 495 and is tied for third amongst starting RBs, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Crowell has been effective without a high volume of touches — the most carries he's had this season is 18. The third-year player has four rushing touchdowns this season, tying his total from 2015.
Former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor is having a breakout year — as a receiver. He leads the team in receptions (35), yards (431) and receiving touchdowns (4). With the injuries under center for the Browns, Pryor played QB and WR against the Dolphins Week 3. He lined up 14 times at quarterback, rushing for 21 yards and a touchdown as well as completing three of his five passes. As receiver, he hauled in eight catches for 144 yards and even lined up as safety on a Hail Mary to end the first half.
QB Carousel:Entering the season, Robert Griffin III was named the starting QB for the Browns. In Cleveland's Week 1 matchup against the Eagles, Griffin went down with a shoulder injury that placed him on IR. A week later, Josh McCown suffered a shoulder injury and would be replaced by rookie Cody Kessler. Kessler was taken out of the game against the Patriots Week 5 due to a minor injury, allowing Charlie Whitehurst to fill in as a reliever. This past week against the Bengals, Kessler was back in his starting role and suffered a concussion, allowing rookie counterpart Kevin Hogan to complete the game. Hogan, who was activated from the practice squad earlier that week, may become the fourth quarterback to start for the Browns in eight games if he starts against the Jets on Sunday.
Defense
The Anchors:Two-time Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden is the leader of the Browns secondary as he tops the team in both INT (2) and PD (5). Last season Haden only played five games due to a concussion, but in 2014, he was extremely productive, recording 20 PDs, 3 INT and a trip to the Pro Bowl.
Third-year ILB Christian Kirksey may not be a renowned name in the NFL, but he is a jack of all trades for the Brown defense. Mostly a special teams player last year, Kirksey leads the team with 58 total tackles, four shy of his total from last season. The Iowa product is also tied for the team lead in TFL (4) and QB hits (5) to go along with his 1.5 sacks and one INT.
Hit The Ground Running: Rookie OLB Emmanuel Ogbah has been a spark for the Browns defense. The Oklahoma State product leads the team with 3.0 sacks and is tied with Kirksey for the team's best in TFL (4) and QB hits (5). Ogbah has also recorded two PDs and 23 combined tackles.
