Browns Digest

Weeks 7, 8, And 9 Will Set The Table For The 2024 Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns schedule shaped out to be very solid, but one stretch will be critical for the team's success in 2024.

Anthony Moeglin

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There is a stretch in every NFL schedule that separates a team from the pack either in a good way or in a bad way. For the 2024 Cleveland Browns, it will be the three weeks leading up to their Bye Week; weeks seven, eight and nine.

Prior to Week Seven, the Browns will have played the entire NFC East along with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the lowly Las Vegas Raiders. In a perfect world, you enter Week Seven with a 4-2 or 5-1 record, but there is a scenario where Cleveland is 3-3 when the Cincinnati Bengals come to town.

While historically Cleveland has owned Joe Burrow, he is still an elite quarterback and the Bengals will be a tough team to beat. There is no rest for the weary because right after that, the Baltimore Ravens head to Cleveland Browns Stadium only to be followed by the Los Angeles Chargers.

While all three are home games, this stretch is going to be the make-or-break point for the 2024 Cleveland Browns and they will have the chance to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

The Browns have had no trouble handling Joe Burrow, while the two other quarterbacks in that stretch have had their way with Cleveland.

Lamar Jackson is 7-4 in his career against Cleveland with a 69.2 completion percentage, 1,813 yards, 14 touchdowns to just six interceptions. On the ground, he has been equally an issue, rushing for 638 yards and six touchdowns. Last season in Week Four, he both threw and rushed for two touchdowns in their 28-3 victory over Cleveland. That was the first time he accomplished the feat in his career.

Out in Los Angeles, Justin Herbert boasts a perfect 2-0 record against Cleveland and has been special in both games. He has a passer rating of 109.6, 626 yards and five touchdowns when going against the Browns' defense. The most recent was a crazy victory in Cleveland thanks to a missed field goal by the Browns as time expired.

Cleveland's stretch before the Bye Week is going to tell a lot about what this team is going to be in 2024. It will pave the way for the final two months of the season and will give a good idea of how serious the team will be come January.

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Anthony Moeglin
ANTHONY MOEGLIN

Anthony Moeglin is a northeast Ohio native, who most notably quarterbacked John Carroll University to the NCAA DIII National Semifinals in 2016 after beating the No. 1 team in the country twice in a 4-week stretch. He contributes written and video/podcast content for Browns Digest, as well as serving as the lead football analyst for BuckeyesNow on the FanNation network.

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