Sunday Dawg Chow: Josh Allen is ‘tough to deal with’ & more

Cleveland Browns:

• Sick of how Browns are playing? Me too. Let’s look at the big picture (Terry Pluto) - Once upon a time, the Browns were a tough, smart and accountable team. That was back in 2020 when GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski arrived. They inherited a talented but disjointed roster with a questionable culture. They took a 6-10 team to 11-5 and a playoff victory over Pittsburgh in their first season.
• ‘He is tough to deal with’: Browns face challenge of slowing down Bills QB Josh Allen (Beacon Journal) - Joe Woods has seen a lot of Josh Allen. That was even before Allen entered the NFL.
• How Browns’ Cade York prepared to kick in bad - and good - weather this week (cleveland.com) - Cleveland Browns rookie kicker Cade York was excited when he first heard about the snow that was going to hit Buffalo for the Browns’ road game against the Bills on Sunday.
• How Browns are adjusting to game moving indoors and Greg Newsome’s late-week injury (The Athletic) - There have been some strange weeks in the rancid history of the new-era Cleveland Browns, but there’s never been one that saw a $230 million quarterback return to practice without yet having actual game availability or a week that had a game moved from its original location 70 or so hours ahead of kickoff time.
• ‘Desperate’ Browns defense faces supreme test in do-everything Bills QB Josh Allen (Browns Zone) - Limiting Josh Allen as a passer is a start. Stopping him on designed runs is a necessary second step. Keeping him from stepping on your soul as a scrambler is the final piece of a puzzle not many defenses have solved.

NFL:

• 10 years later, Andre Johnson reflects on historic day as one of his ‘greatest accomplishments’ (ESPN) - Former Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak remembers walking toward the locker room shortly after his team secured an emotional 43-37 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wide receiver Andre Johnson had just scored the game-winning touchdown moments prior at NRG Stadium.
• First openly transgender NFL cheerleader Justine Lindsay a ‘face of the possible’ (NFL.com) - After becoming a member of the Carolina Panthers TopCats cheerleaders in March, Justine Lindsay had heard that there was nothing like the team’s first home game of the season. That sentiment proved true.
• Ten years after the Butt Fumble, the New York Jets may finally be respectable (The Guardian) - The New York Jets haven’t appeared in the playoffs since the 2010 season. But a strong defense and talented young players have transformed the team.
• Ron Rivera disciplines Commanders players for violating NFL’s alcohol ban (The Washington Post) - Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all NFL teams Friday reminding them of the league’s policy that prohibits alcoholic beverages at team facilities and while traveling to and from games, a rule that was violated by the Washington Commanders this week.