Brandon Weeden, the future face of the franchise? (Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE)

Now that things have settled down a bit after the draft, let’s get back to looking ahead at the Broncos 2012 schedule. We will continue to take a game-by-game look at the season that the team has in front of them. 

The Broncos close out their season at home for the final two games. Week 16 has them hosting the Cleveland Browns. The Browns will be coming off of a game against the Redskins.

Last year, the Browns went 4-12 and they lost nine of their last ten games.

The last time the Broncos and the Browns met was in 2009 when the Broncos won 27-6. That was back in the day when Brady Quinn was starting quarterback.

The Browns were 30th on offense in 2011 averaging 13.3 points per game. They were 28th in rushing and 24th in passing. Their defense was much better as they ranked 5th in points allowed (19.2 per game). They were 30th in rush defense and 2nd in pass defense.

The big re-signing for the Browns came when team leading tackler D’Qwell Jackson re-signed in February. Peyton Hills packed his bags and took off for Kansas City during free agency.

Many people consider the Browns’ draft to be a very solid one with two major impact players drafted in the first round. Trent Richardson will help them out of their 28th ranked rushing offense. QB Brandon Weeden will take over right away even though the team has Colt McCoy.

It will still be a while before the Browns are able to compete in the AFC North, but this is a grass roots re-building process here.

Early Prediction: Broncos – 34 Browns – 14.

Browns Leaders in 2011:

Colt McCoy – 265-for-463 (57.2%), 2,733 passing yards, 14 TDs, 11 INTs 

Peyton Hillis – 587 yards (58.7 yards per game), 3 TDs

Greg Little – 61 receptions, 709 yards, 2 TDs

D’Qwell Jackson – 158 tackles

Mike Adams – 3 INTs

Jabaal Sheard – 8.5 sacks

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