Browns Reacts Week 8 – Should Cleveland go out and get Jacoby Brissett?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cleveland Browns fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
We finally saw the Cleveland Browns get a two-game winning streak, so the “W” pattern of fan confidence from week-to-week should end for at least a week. With that said, how will the confidence meter be impacts? Will it tick up, tick down, or stay level? A win usually makes it go up, but Browns fans saw their defense get shredded for the first time this season, and also saw continued inconsistency at the quarterback position.
We are asking two other questions this week. The first question asks who should receive the bulk of carries while RB Jerome Ford is out: Kareem Hunt or Pierre Strong? Hunt might be the popular answer, but the team may want to keep him in his standard role, which would mean swapping a guy like Strong into the starting lineup.
The other question asks, “Should the Browns try to trade for QB Jacoby Brissett?” DBN’s Thomas Moore recently talked about the team’s failed quarterback situation and brought up the possibility of Brissett, but we’re putting it to a poll with the trade deadline looming.
Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season.
There were plenty of good things for the Cleveland Browns Sunday, chief among them being the fact that they ended the game with more points than the Colts. Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt combined for 105 rushing yards and three scores on 21 carries. Edge-rusher Myles Garrett was a terror once again, logging nine tackles and two sacks. However, the Browns have a big problem: The team can’t keep its $230 million quarterback on the field. After missing time with a shoulder injury, Deshaun Watson was forced from Sunday’s win after taking a shot in the first quarter. He reportedly passed concussion tests, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game that he wasn’t willing to risk putting him back out there.
“I just did not want to put [Watson] back out there,” he told reporters. “I wanted to protect our franchise quarterback. That was my decision.” As if that wasn’t bad enough, Watson conceded he may have reaggravated the shoulder injury. “Whenever I step on the field, I don’t want to have any pain holding me back and be handicapped,” he said. “We had a great week of preparation and we felt that it was the best opportunity for me to come back this week. I just wasn’t able to finish the game.”
The Browns have been able to win the past two weeks despite shaky play under center from P.J. Walker. But it’s fair to wonder how long that can continue, especially with trips to Seattle and Baltimore coming up in the next few weeks. “Cleveland should be thrilled having escaped Indianapolis with a victory, considering their returning starting quarterback left the game before the first quarter ended due to injury and the defense played its worst game of the season,” Sobleski said. While quarterback will continue to be a major issue for the Browns, the defense’s performance must be scrutinized. Yes, Myles Garrett is an absolute game-wrecker and basically won this contest single-handedly. At the same time, a Colts offense led by Gardner Minshew (and without right tackle Braden Smith) generated a whopping 456 yards against a defense that was supposed to be historically good. The question moving forward is whether Indianapolis has created the blueprint for other Browns opponents to follow.”
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