Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (11/19/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• Browns vs Steelers: 3 keys for Cleveland to keep up their winning ways (Curtiss Brown) - A huge AFC North matchup could come down to some simple things.
• Saturday Browns news on OL, practice squad (Jared Mueller) - The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers will face off in an important Week 11 matchup. Both teams will be missing starters in the secondary but the loss of QB Deshaun Watson is the biggest change.
• Browns schedule Week 11: Scouting the Pittsburgh Steelers (Matt Wilson) - The Cleveland Browns are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend in what should be a thrilling battle of AFC North rivals. The Browns look to even out the 2023 series record after Pittsburgh was able to squeak out a win at home in week two. Though the Steelers have been fairly successful so far in 2023, they have quite a few weaknesses that they’ve shown throughout the first half of the season.
• NFL hands down fines from Browns-Ravens game (Thomas Moore) - The Cleveland Browns played bully ball last week in defeating the Baltimore Ravens. Not only do the Ravens have to ponder blowing several double-digit leads in losing to the Browns, three of their players, and one member of the Browns, were hit with fines on Saturday.
• Browns, Steelers Final Injury Report: 5 ruled out including 3 starting safeties (Jared Mueller) - Minkah Fitzpatrick, Juan Thornhill and Keanu Neal lead an interesting injury report.
• Browns try out 11 players, including QB Joe Flacco (Barry Shuck) - Each week, Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry brings in a bevy of athletes at various positions for tryouts. This is mainly done to stay abreast of what talent is out there, what kind of shape these players are in, what their values are, and if they have the possibility of helping this year’s roster compete. Friday was no different. Except on this weekend, a well-known quarterback was brought in: Joe Flacco.

Cleveland Browns:

• Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Browns banking on week’s preparation to bolster rookie’s chances (Beacon Journal) - Kevin Stefanski knows his Browns team will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. However, the coach said the game may very well be won based upon what has already occurred in the days leading up to game day.
• Taking a hard look at Browns, Deshaun Watson, the trade, the future (Terry Pluto) - One veteran NFL executive told me that the Browns deal for Deshaun Watson was “one of the biggest high risk/high reward moves I’ve ever seen.” That’s not revisionist history. I wrote it when the deal was announced. Nearly two seasons later, not much has changed.
• Five Cleveland Browns takeaways after Deshaun Watson’s injury, including a Super Bowl dream (The Athletic $$) - News that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will undergo season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder broke Wednesday while I was researching historical context for C.J. Stroud’s breakout rookie season with the Houston Texans. The timing was appropriate. The quarterback trajectories of these franchises, linked by the historic trade sending Watson from the Texans to the Browns before the 2022 season, have diverged in consequential ways.
• How the Browns can beat the Steelers in Week 11 (clevelandbrowns.com) - North rival in back-to-back weeks as the Steelers will come to Cleveland on Sunday. This is the second meeting this season between the rival teams, as the Steelers beat the Browns in Week 2 26-22 in Pittsburgh. So, let’s take a look at three of the biggest keys to Sunday’s game.

NFL:

• Joe Burrow is lost for the season. The Bengals’ playoff dreams are, too (The Ringer) - Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is out for the season. Cincinnati lost to its AFC North rival. And the team’s playoff odds dropped to just 27 percent. Is this the end of the road for the 2023 Bengals?
• Bears’ Justin Fields returns in time to evaluate (ESPN) - At 3-7, many of the goals the Chicago Bears had entering the season are gone, but one key objective remains: determine if Justin Fields is their quarterback of the future. But is there enough time left in the season to make that evaluation?
• How Baker Mayfield became one of the NFL’s best passers under pressure (Tampa Bay Times) - The Bucs quarterback is among the league’s highest-rated when defenders are in his face.