Four Browns who Could Make Winning Plays Against the Houston Texans

A look at four players who should have an impact for the Cleveland Browns when they travel to take on the Houston Texans in week 13.

Brandon Little | Dec 3, 2022

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Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns are now trying to stack wins heading into the last six games of the season. The playoffs aren't completely out of reach, but the Browns need to win at least 5-of-6 to have any chance. That starts in Houston when they take on the Texans.

Houston is not a good football team, that's no secret. They're 1-9-1 on the season and haven't won a game since Oct. 9. against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I'm going to take a look at the four guys that I plain out expect to play well today.

Deshaun Watson

Since Watson was suspended the talk has been about if he will come back to the game a bit rusty. Sunday will make 700 days since he last played in an NFL game, so it's been a bit of time. There is no hiding the fact that Watson is the storyline in this one.

With his return happening in Houston, it's a crazy coincidence to be happening. Watson will look to defeat the team that took him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

All eyes will be on the guy from Clemson, watching just how quickly he can look like the quarterback he was just a couple of years ago. Houston has the 29th-ranked defense in total yards and the 17th ranked against the pass. On the ground, the Texans are dead last. They give up nearly 169 yards rushing each game. It bodes well for Watson to lean on Nick Chubb, even wrinkling in his running. That will be a new element to the Browns office. Jacoby Brissett took off multiple times this season for nice runs, but it was never by design.

Myles Garrett

Coming off a nice week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he had 1.5 sacks, look for Garrett to be active again this week. Garrett will be looking to get after Kyle Allen, his former college teammate.

"I'll lay him down a little bent gentler than some others, but he's going in the graveyard too," Garrett said Friday.

He said himself that Allen is essentially going to be dropped at least once. Garrett is heading into this one with 10 sacks on the season. This feels like a game where he could potentially bring the quarterback down multiple times.

Amari Cooper

David Njoku is out for this one so it only makes sense to lean even more toward your top option. Cooper is the best wide receiver to play in Cleveland since Josh Gordon had his breakout that he was never able to maintain. Copper already has 792 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Building a connection with Watson from game one would be ideal.

Denzel Ward

Cleveland has not been turning teams over on the defensive side of the ball much this season. It's been an issue, one that even Garrett wants the team to focus on more in practice. The time to get some confidence in that department may be against the Texans, it could begin with a guy like Ward.

The Texans are going to want to run the ball but if the Browns get them in third and distance, there's going to be a chance to make some plays. Allen threw two interceptions last week against the Miami Dolphins, he has a past of turning it over. In 2019 he threw 16 interceptions to just 17 touchdowns with the Carolina Panthers.

Ward has been struggling for the Browns this season. Injuries have again been an issue and he hasn't looked like the player they gave a large contract to. He's played better as of late and getting his second interception of the season would be crucial for confidence. The secondary is healthy for the first time in awhile, now they can go to work. Brandin Cooks being out for Houston is impactful, now the Browns have to take advantage of it.

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Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter @BrandonLittleFB here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter here.

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