Cleveland Browns At New Orleans Saints Preview and Prediction

Fresh off a bye week the Browns look to start the second half of their season strong, with a win over Derek Carr and the Saints

Nov 3, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns return from their bye week and head south to visit the New Orleans Saints to open up the second half of their season.

At 2-7, the playoffs are a long shot, but that won't stop the Browns from attempting to dig themselves out of an early deficit and see if they can make things interesting down the stretch. The trip to New Orleans represents a reunion of sorts for starting quarterback Jameis Winston to one of his former teams. Winston spent four years with the Saints, and has raved this week about learning under future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees and now Broncos head coach Sean Payton.

Meanwhile, the Browns defense is hoping to bounce back after a couple of secondary miscommunication issues in that Week 9 loss to the Chargers. The week away allowed Cleveland to do some deeper scouting on what's working and what's not and players this week have vowed to correct many of their early season problems.

#Browns star Myles Garrett is feeling much better of late after dealing with multiple injuries back in September. But he acknowledged that there may be some lingering effects of the injuries to address this offseason: https://t.co/gNzY1CNBja

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) November 15, 2024

Stopping running back Alvin Kamara who leads his team in rushing and receiving will be priority No. 1 through maybe three for the Browns. New Orleans has a banged up receiving corps, which leaves Kamara as the biggest threat on the offensive side of the ball.

Conversely, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has talked this week about getting their own run game going. That phase of Cleveland's offense currently ranks 28th in yards per game, and it's been a slog to say the least. However, the Saints enter Sunday with the sixth worst run defense in the NFL, which means this week could be a chance to get right running the football.

Will the Browns get their third win on Sunday? Here's our team's perspective.

Anthony Moeglin: Browns 27, Saints 13

All right let’s have some fun. The Browns are coming off a bye week with the right mindset, a mindset to win. Cleveland’s season is in the tank but they have the opportunity in the next couple of weeks to play spoiler to a lot of contending teams including the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens and Chiefs. 

I think they get the second half of their season started on the right foot and in Jameis Winston’s return to NOLA the Browns punch the Saints and beat them 27-13.

The #Browns enter their Week 11 with #Saints receiving mostly positive injury news but will be without rookie Mike Hall Jr. https://t.co/T7nMjhFAUg

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) November 15, 2024

Cole McDaniel: Browns 30, Saints 14

The Saints found a bit of new energy last week after head coach Dennis Allen was fired. That will likely fizzle out soon as New Orleans is missing some of their best players. Marshon Lattimore was traded to Washington and Chris Olave is on injured reserve due to his second concussion of the season.

A journey with Jameis Winston at quarterback is like a rollercoaster. There will be some high, highs and some low, lows. After playing well against the Baltimore Ravens and struggling versus the Los Angeles Chargers, heading back to New Orleans feels like a good time to bounce back. The bye week should have only helped to get in sync with his receivers.

The Saints will likely struggle to put up points versus the Browns defense and if Winston torches the Lattimore-less Saints secondary, then Cleveland should get a convincing victory.

Dylan Feltovich: Browns 21, Saints 17

Coming off a bye week, the Browns will be well-rested for quarterback Jameis Winston's return to his former team on Sunday.

The last time fans saw Cleveland in action was against the Los Angeles Chargers in a game where the Browns offense looked horrific. Winston threw three interceptions, while the team was unable to generate any type of rushing attack. This week, however, there's a chance that the offense can get back on track.

New Orleans defense currently ranks 29th in passing yards allowed per game this season, which could allow for a big game from Winston.

Spencer German: Browns 27, Saints 24

The Browns are 3-1 after the bye week under Kevin Stefanski and I like that trend to continue. The Saints, despite their surprising win over the Falcons last week, are not a very good team. In fact, New Orleans is probably the worst remaining opponent on Cleveland's schedule.

That's not to say the Browns are one either. They have their fair share of flaws. Following the week off though, I like their chances. Knowing which version of Winston Cleveland will get week-to-week is impossible to predict, but in a return trip to one of his former stops I like Winston to put together one of his better performances.