Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns turned heads last week with their win over the Green Bay Packers. Now, the Browns’ defense is officially on the radar of everyone in the country: it’s not a secret any more. That even led to one of the national members of the media below to call for an upset this Sunday. It can certainly happen — Cleveland has now proven that their defense alone can win them any game, so a win would not be a “shock.” However, the Browns’ offense has basically done nothing over these past two games, which, coupled with the Lions’ high regard, still has most people taking Detroit.
Here is what the national media is saying about the Week 4 game between the Browns and Lions:
The Lions are riding high after blowing out the Ravens on Monday night. They were dominant on offense and the defense got after Lamar Jackson. On a short week playing this Browns defense won’t be easy. Cleveland is the top-ranked defense in the league. That will be in play here as the Browns keep the game close.
The Browns have faced three very good offenses, but the defense hasn’t blinked: They’ve given up the fewest yards in the NFL, they have the third-most sacks and they’re only surrendering 2.3 yards per rushing attempt, which is the best number in the league. If you can get pressure on Jared Goff, the Lions are going to struggle and we saw that a Week 1 game where the Detroit got dominated by the Packers. If I trusted the Browns’ offense (or their special teams) at all I would take Cleveland by DOUBLE DIGITS, but I don’t, so I’m going to say the Browns win for the second straight week on a last second field goal. With the Lions coming off a big win over the Ravens on Monday night, this feels like the perfect spot for a letdown.
The Lions play their best offense at home. The Browns play their best defense at home. Nothing needs to give here with Detroit rocking Cleveland with explosive pass plays and stopping the run.
The Browns are riding high with a nasty defense that showed out against the Packers. The Lions are a different story at home. Look for Dan Campbell to stay aggressive in the passing game with Jared Goff, who had five TD passes at home in Week 2. Detroit’s defense will have to slow Quinshon Judkins, who had 18 carries for 94 yards in Week 3.
Below are our Week 4 NFL staff picks:
