The Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers face off on Sunday in a showdown between two teams who have been major disappointments so far this year. The Browns are the road favorites and there are a couple of keys if they want to come away with the victory. Let's look at the two major x-factors.
2. Browns secondary against Devlin Hodges
The real strength of the Browns is their secondary and that is going to be extra important. On the season the Browns are giving up only 214.5 points per game — which is 6th in the NFL.
Devlin Hodges doesn't have a ton of NFL experience and played his college ball at Samford so it's not like he was playing a lot of big-time college football games. That's not a knock on Samford, but he wasn't playing on national TV every week.
Hodges has only thrown for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception during his NFL career. Hodges is a smart player but the Browns secondary should run a lot of disguises that make life really tough on Hodges. If they can fool Hodges a few times, the Browns should be in good shape to come away with a win.
1. Baker Mayfield
The biggest X-Factor for the Browns involves Baker Mayfield, and which Mayfield is going to show up. After having a big rookie season, Mayfield has had some really nice games in his second year, and he has also had some really bad games.
Article Continues BelowOver the last four games Mayfield has thrown eight touchdowns and one interception and that is what Mayfield the Browns need to have show up. Mayfield threw an interception in each of his first seven games and if the turnover machine shows up in this game, the Browns are going to have issues winning.
Mayfield also needs to make sure he keeps his emotions in check. There has been a lot of talk about this game after what happened the last two times these teams faced off. Mayfield has been asked a lot about the game and he seems fired up.
“I think just the type of guy I am, the back against the wall mentality,’’ Mayfield said via Cleveland.com. “To be able to feed off that into our locker room, it’s not like I have to do it for these guys. Once they feel that, the team comes together. There’s nothing like playing on the road. That goes for anywhere you go. You play on the road and to try to win the game in a hostile environment is always fun.”
If Mayfield has a big game and the Browns defense confuses Hodges, the Browns are going to be in good shape.