Browns vs. Bills – Week 14
The Browns head to Buffalo today as they continue their march toward a .500 record in the rain of snow of western New York.
The Opposition
Buffalo: 2-10
Offensive rank: 27th overall/23rd passing/17th rushing
Defensive rank: 25th overall/9th passing/32nd rushing
Strength of schedule: 1st (barely edging out the Browns)
All-time record: Cleveland leads 15-5-2, including playoffs and AAFC games. The Browns are 6-2-1 in Buffalo, winning four of the last five.
The line: Browns opened as a one-point underdog, but the game is now a Pick ’em
What to Watch For
Today’s expected bad weather should favor the Browns, as their offense is better equipped to play in poor conditions.
The Browns should turn the offense over to Peyton Hillis, Lawrence Vickers and the offensive line to control the ball and keep the ball out of Jake Delhomme’s hands as much as possible. Especially as we’re not really sure how Delhomme will react to playing in cold weather.
Hillis is only 38 yards away from a 1,000-yard season and he should have no problem hitting the mark today against the NFL’s 32nd-ranked defense. The Bills are giving up 170.9 yards a game, a full 25 yards a game more than the 31st-ranked Denver defense, and have given up 14 rushing touchdowns on the season (compared to four for the Browns defense).
The bad weather and a ball-control offense will help the Browns defense against Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Since taking over as the starter, Fitzpatrick has thrown 20 touchdowns, is completing 58 percent of his passes and has an 84.5 quarterback rating.
The Bills have been competitive against the league’s toughest schedule – suffering three overtime losses, a five-point loss to Miami and a three-point loss to Chicago. After an 0-8 start, the Bills are 2-2 in their past four games and would be 3-1 if Stevie Johnson hadn’t dropped a sure touchdown pass against the Steelers two weeks ago.
The Best Browns vs. Bills Game I’ve Ever Seen
An easy one this week: the Browns 34-30 win in the 1989 playoffs that wasn’t over until Clay Matthews intercepted Jim Kelly at the 1-yard line with three seconds left. You can watch Matthews’ interception here, NBC’s game intro is here, Eric Metcalf’s kick-off return for a TD and a Bernie Kosar-led touchdown drive.
The Plain Dealer‘s story is here. No surprise that the article portrays the game as one the Bills lost rather than the Browns won. Some things never change.
The Prediction
After starting the season 1-5, the Browns are continuing their slow march back to .500 as they are now 4-2 over the past six games. Today’s game against Buffalo presents a great opportunity to continue the journey.
As is the case every week, the Browns can win today if they don’t turn the ball over and don’t hurt themselves with silly penalties or mistakes. At this point of the season, the coaches and players know what they need to do, it’s just a question of if they can do it.
This week the answer should be yes, as the Browns control the ball and win a relatively comfortable game.
Record picking the Browns (using the point spread) this year: 2-9-1
Red Right 88 