Washington vs. Browns Odds
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The Washington Football team came back down to earth last weekend, losing to the Arizona Cardinals, 30-15.
Dwayne Haskins struggled to move the ball through air, throwing for only 6.3 yards per attempt. This is a rebuilding year for Washington with a new coach, new president and a lot of new players on the roster, so they are going to go through some growing pains in 2020.
Cleveland, on the other hand, is all in and needs to find success with Baker Mayfield at quarterback.
It's been 18 years since the Browns made the playoffs and they look poised to compete for a spot after a convincing victory against the Bengals last week. Cleveland has all of the talent on offense to compete with the NFL's best. The question now is whether they'll be able to put all of the pieces together under first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Washington Football Team
Offense
The question marks coming into the season for Washington have not been answered through their first two games. The Football Team is averaging only 4.3 yards per play and only 3.3 yards per carry. With a bunch of no-names in the backfield and a below-average offensive line, it's hard to imagine they'll be able to run the ball on Sunday.
Outside of Devlin Hodges and David Blough, Haskins had the worst passer rating in the league last season. He had only a 46% passing success rate and turned the ball over 11 times in nine games. So far in 2020, Haskins hasn't seen much improvement.
The new coaching staff is putting their faith in him, but he'll need to develop quickly or Washington could find itself looking for a new quarterback this offseason.
Defense
Washington's defensive line will no doubt improve in 2020 after the team drafted Chase Young with the second overall pick. Washington finished as one of the worst defenses in 2019, ranking 24th in defensive passing success and 27th in defensive rushing success.
So far they've put up a couple decent performances against the run, but they'll have a tough test against one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL.
Washington did add veteran Thomas Davis to the linebacking corps and Ronald Darby to the secondary over the offseason. Their secondary surprisingly ranks second in defensive passing success through the first two weeks. However, they will likely regress as the season goes along.
Cleveland Browns
Offense
After a disappointing 2019, it's now or never for Mayfield to prove that he's an above-average starter in this league.
The question marks got raised after Week 1, but Mayfield put in a fantastic performance against the Bengals last Thursday night, throwing for 9.5 yards per attempt. The Browns passing attack should also improve with a second year of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry playing together. Cleveland also added tight end Austin Hooper in the offseason, so Mayfield should be able to take the next step in 2020.
If the Browns are going to have success offensively this season, its going to come from their running attack.
Nick Chubb emerged as one of the best running backs in the league last season, running the ball for a ridiculous 5.0 yards per carry. Cleveland improved its offensive line this offseason by signing Jack Conklin from Tennessee and drafting Jedrick Wills Jr. with the 10th overall pick. Those two additions give the Browns a chance to vault Chubb to the rushing title this season.
Defense
The strength of the Cleveland defense is the defensive line.
Before his season ended early due to suspension, Myles Garrett was wreaking havoc in opposing backfields. The former first overall pick had 49 pressures in only 10 games last year. They also have starter Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson back, so their line should be able to wreak havoc on Sunday against Washington's weak offensive line.
The key for Cleveland's defense will be the development of Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki at the linebacker position. Both showed promise in 2019, but will have to improve if Cleveland's defense is going to take the next step forward.
The Browns are young at the cornerback position, but added experience at the safety with Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo. They ranked 19th in defensive passing success last year, but should have a good matchup against Haskins and Washington's passing attack on Sunday.
Washington-Browns Pick
The Browns showed what they are capable of against the Bengals last Thursday. I think we'll see a similar performance on Sunday against another weak defense.
My pick in this game will depend on the injury report, as the Browns have four starters on the defensive side of the ball who are questionable. If all of those guys play, I do think there's some value in taking the Browns -7.5, because I don't think Washington to will be able to stop their rushing attack.
If they don't play, I would stay away from this game.
LEAN: Browns -7.5
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