Denver Broncos: How will Baker Mayfield perform? Plus more with Dawg Pound Daily
The Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns square off in a Thursday Night showdown. We interview Dawg Pound Daily ahead of the game.
The Denver Broncos are desperate for a win. After starting the season 3-0, they’ve gone 0-3, dropping games to the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Las Vegas Raiders.
The Browns are also 3-3, but seemingly have a much better chance of making a playoff push with the way things are going.
The Broncos just can’t seem to win against top-tier teams. The Browns have scored the second-most points in the AFC North, behind the Baltimore Ravens.
On the injury front, the Denver Broncos will be without Bradley Chubb once again, as well as wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and inside linebackers Josey Jewell, Alexander Johnson and Baron Browning.
For Cleveland, they’ll be missing a couple of key pieces on both sides of the ball, and they could have a banged up Baker Mayfield at quarterback. If Mayfield is actually inactive, the Browns will have a former Broncos quarterback in the lineup.
Here is what Greg Newland of Dawg Pound Daily had to say in regards to several of these topics.
PO: It sounds like quarterback Baker Mayfield is going to do everything he can to play against the Denver Broncos. What sort of impact do you foresee Mayfield’s non-throwing shoulder injury having for the Cleveland Browns on Thursday?
DPD: Doctors have cleared that with coaches, but if he thinks he can play, I’m still in the camp of letting him go. You may see one or two bad throws, but I’m fine riding with him. My biggest concern is our two starting tackles playing to protect him. Blake Hance has been fine, but James Hudson has struggled.
PO: Running back Nick Chubb was ruled out for Thursday’s game, while Kareem Hunt was placed on Injured Reserve. What should Broncos fans know about the next men up—Demetric Felton and D’Ernest Johnson?
DPD: D’Ernest Johnson has always shined when given the chance. While he is no Kareem Hunt or Nick Chubb, he runs hard, has good speed, and solid vision. He won’t break through arm tackles like Chubb and he won’t show freakish athleticism like Hunt, but he will give the offense enough for one game. Felton has great hands and quickness.
Expect a heavy dose of the screen game with him getting more snaps. Again, if the offensive line is healthy, I think the running game will be okay. If both tackles are out, it could be a long night for our offense.
PO: The Cleveland Browns are 3-3 heading into Thursday Night. What has been the biggest factor in the team’s victories? How about their losses?
DPD: In all three victories, the defense has been lights out. In the losses, we have seen a ton of busted coverages in the secondary. The defense should be relatively healthy so they will need to hold the Broncos under 17 points to have a chance. Baker can not turn the ball over either. Take the sack when needed or throw the ball away. Creating time led to two fumbles last week.
PO: How would you grade/evaluate Odell Beckham Jr.’s performance in 2021 in his return from a torn ACL?
DPD: I think OBJ looks healthy, he and Baker just don’t mesh. There are times I’ve felt we force the ball to him and then other times when Baker doesn’t even look his way. This is a strange one, but I’m just not sure he is a good fit in Cleveland. OBJ is a superior receiver to Landry, but Landry just works in this system. However, last week was the best the duo looked, so maybe they will continue to grow and finally turn the corner.
PO: How do you see this game playing out?
DPD: I think it’s huge that the game is in Cleveland, but man we are licking our wounds after the heartbreaker in LA against the Chargers, and then getting pounded by the Arizona Cardinals.
Cleveland really needs to win this game, so I think Stefanski will have a great plan and I think we will turn up the heat on defense.
If we have one of our two tackles back (Wills and Conklin), I think the Browns can get it done in a close victory. If we are down two tackles and two running backs, I’m not sure we can score more than 10 points. I honestly expect this to be one of the better Thursday night game. My biggest fear: Fant tears us up with Owusu-Koramoah going on IR this week.
Browns 24, Broncos 21.
Thank you to Greg Newland of Dawg Pound Daily for catching up with me prior to the Thursday Night showdown between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns.