The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Browns must contain Cousins
Pass rush will be key to beating Vikings' offense
The Browns have a strategy to defeat the Vikings on Oct. 3 they could not possibly have had while preparing to face rookie quarterback Justin Fields last week in his NFL debut.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. He is 52-53-2 as a starter. He is notorious for one thing.
“He has the most batted passes in three years,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said after practice Oct. 1. “We know that he’s trying to get it out quick, so we’ve been told, and we’re working on getting our hands up, jumping and batting down passes so we can get him on second-and-long and third-and-long.”
The Browns sacked Fields nine times. Garrett had 4.5 of them. Not only that. They held the Bears to 1-of-11 on third down. Doing anything close to that on third down in U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings beat Seattle last week for their first win of the season, would be a huge step toward improving to 3-1 and keeping pace with the Bengals to stay in first place in the AFC North.
The Vikings have converted on third down 42.5 percent (17 of 40) of the time. They are more balanced than the Bears because running back Dalvin Cook is rarely taken down on first contact. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods said the Vikings have the best run offense the Browns have faced this season — not counting facing Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in practice.
“You can see they’re very good at what they do,” Woods said. “They have a variety of runs and different ways to try to attack you. We’re going to have to be very good up front and be disciplined in our gaps.
“You see Dalvin Cook — he has to be one of the best backs in the league. We are definitely going to have our hands full with him.”
The Browns’ offense has its own challenges. One is avoiding pre-snap penalties.
That’s obviously a goal in every game, but head coach Kevin Stefanski said the Vikings’ home is the loudest stadium in the league because it is glassenclosed. He knows firsthand
Browns-Vikings scouting report
BROWNS: The Browns trail the all-time series with the Vikings, 11-4. … The 86 points scored by the Browns is their most after three games since 2002 when they scored 90. … Center J.C. Tretter has made every offensive snap since signing with the Browns in 2017. … Austin Hooper caught 12passes in two games against the Vikings while playing for the Falcons. VIKINGS: Vikings cornerback how loud it can get because he coached there before being hired by the Browns. Patrick Peterson picked off Baker Mayfield two years ago when Peterson played for the Cardinals. … The Vikings lost their first two games by a total of four points. … Opponents have scored six points in the fourth quarter. … The Vikings have turned the ball over only once, on a fumble by Dalvin Cook.
Jeff Schudel’s prediction: Browns 27, Vikings 24
He has seen other teams become discombobulated when fans in purple start screaming on third down.
To that end, speakers alongside the practice fields in Berea were vibrating with simulated crowd noise in the workouts Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
“We try to turn it all the way up to what we’re capable of with those speakers,” Stefanski said after practice Oct. 1. “That’s part of life on the road in the NFL. We saw it at Arrowhead (against the Chiefs). You have to really be on point in your operation offensively, and this place is going to require the same.”
The Browns’ only loss this season was on the road in the season opener in Kansas City.