Saturday Dawg Chow: Browns news (12/3/22)

A sampling from Dawgs by Nature:

• Browns vs. Texans: Scouting the Houston Texans with our Q&A with Battle Red Blog (Chris Pokorny) - This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns take on the Houston Texans. To help preview a few topics from the Buccaneers’ perspective, we reached out to Scott Barzilla from Battle Red Blog and exchanged five questions with him.
• The biggest game of the Andrew Berry/Kevin Stefanski era for the Browns (Dave Kolonich) - Can Deshaun Watson help take pressure off the job security of Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry?
• This Is Deshaun Watson’s team now (Craig Fountain) - The Cleveland Browns are headed to Houston coming off an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The victory brings the Jacoby Brisset era in Cleveland to a close. This is Deshaun Watson’s team now.
• Is the Browns return game on the rise? (Thomas Moore) - The Cleveland Browns special teams have been anything but special in recent years. But the situation might be turning around thanks to the work of running back Jerome Ford and wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in the return game.
• Browns strength of schedule much easier last 6 games than first 11 (Jared Mueller) - The Cleveland Browns are 4-7 with a very slim chance to make a push for the NFL playoffs in 2022. The Browns salvaged what little hope they had with their Week 12 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and hope that the return of QB Deshaun Watson will lead them to the promised land this year.

Cleveland Browns:

• Browns downplay rust as Deshaun Watson returns (Beacon Journal) - Deshaun Watson’s faced a lot of questions about his return from his 11-game NFL suspension. He’s provided answers to some, and avoided others. There’s one question that not even Watson could provide an answer to if he wanted. When he walks out with the Browns’ starting offense on Sunday in Houston, what kind of impact will the nearly two-year layoff have on his play?
• David Njoku ruled out for Texans game with knee injury (Browns Zone) - Tight end David Njoku will have to wait to follow up the best catch of his career. Njoku was ruled out Friday after missing practice all week with a knee injury and won’t play Sunday vs. the Texans in Houston.
• Myles Garrett continues to dominate despite facing extra double-team looks (clevelandbrowns.com) - Myles Garrett didn’t need to see any statistical data to know that he’s the most double-teamed edge rusher in the NFL.
• Browns hopeful there could be ‘big opportunities’ in the run game with Deshaun Watson at quarterback (cleveland.com) - When the Browns take the field on Sunday, it will be Cleveland’s first chance to see what this run game can look like with Deshaun Watson and one of the league’s leading rushers, Nick Chubb. It may be the first look, but for Watson, it’s been a long time coming.

NFL:

• Can the Broncos salvage their Russell Wilson bet? (The Ringer) - For years, Denver seemed a franchise quarterback away from contention. Now the Broncos are supposed to have one, and yet everything is going wrong. Are the ills of this offense fixable? If not, what other paths do the Broncos have going forward?
• Ravens’ Lamar Jackson apologizes for vulgar reply to fan tweet (ESPN) - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was contrite Friday about sending a vulgar response to a fan five days ago and believes he has learned from his mistake.
• Ex-Purdue star QB Drew Brees lightning strike was publicity stunt by gambling company (indystar.com) - Apparently nothing gets people to want to gamble on sports like faking potential serious injury to one of the greatest quarterbacks in Purdue history.
• Remember Jameson Williams? How the speedy wide receiver can help the Lions (The Athletic) - Jameson Williams’ 2021 explosion at Alabama was fast enough to miss if you blinked. The wide receiver’s talent certainly didn’t escape the Detroit Lions, though, who traded up to No. 12 to draft him in April after selecting Michigan edge Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2. And now, 11 months after he suffered a torn ACL in the College Football Playoff national championship game vs. Georgia, Williams is back on the practice field. He is expected to make his season debut in one of the Lions’ final six regular-season games.