The New England Patriots will be seeking to extend their winning streak to five games and remain in sole possession of first place in the AFC East when they face the visiting Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
New England (5-2) enters Sunday’s contest with the No. 3 run defense in the NFL. The Patriots are allowing an average of 77.1 yards per game.
Cleveland (2-5) ranks 30th in total offense (270.7 ypg) and 28th in rushing offense (92.6 ypg), although running back Quinshon Judkins has run for 467 yards and five touchdowns on 109 carries. Judkins scored three touchdowns in Sunday’s 31-6 victory over Miami.
“Stats and metrics, numbers don’t mean anything in this league,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “You have to go out and prove it, and I know they’ll have a good plan for how they want to run it. It’s a physical group of linemen. Their tight ends are blocking well. Quinshon is running hard, physical.”
New England quarterback Drake Maye has completed 75.2% of his pass attempts this season. He’s 152-of-202 passing for 1,744 yards with 12 TDs and two interceptions. He’s also run for 200 yards and two TDs on 44 rushing attempts.
Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said Maye puts added stress on defenses with his ability to throw deep combined with his willingness to scramble.
“He’s accurate,” Stefanski said. “Big arm, very mobile, kind of checks all those boxes and he’s doing a good job of operating in that offense and then playing off schedule. He can scramble. He’s very, very fast, so he’s doing a lot of things well.”
Maye will be facing a Cleveland defense that ranks first in yards allowed per game (256.1).
“They’re playing at a high level, they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don’t give you a whole lot of time to make decisions. … Coverage is sticky and linebackers are fast.”
Unlike New England, Cleveland has struggled to move the ball through the air. The Browns are averaging 178.3 yards passing per game (30th) and rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been conservative in his three starts. Gabriel has attempted 99 passes in those three games and 66 of those throws were 9 yards or less. As a starter, he’s 11 of 23 on passes of at least 10 yards.
“You want to be smart, aggressive,” Stefanski said. “You don’t want to just be conservative for the sake of being conservative. So, it’s a balance there, and we coach our quarterbacks to be aggressive when the time calls for it and let it rip, and then also understanding that taking care of the football is a big part of our job.”
New England linebacker Elijah Ponder (knee) and safety Craig Woodson (ankle) did not practice Wednesday. Linebacker Harold Landry III (ankle), defensive tackle Christian Barmore (non-injury), wide receiver Stefon Diggs (chest), offensive tackle Morgan Moses (non-injury) and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (knee) were limited in practice.
Cleveland wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (knee) and defensive tackle Adin Huntington (concussion) did not participate in Wednesday’s practice. The following players had limited participation: guard Joel Bitonio (non-injury), cornerback Tyson Campbell (quad), defensive tackle Maliek Collins (non-injury), defensive tackle Mason Graham (knee), defensive tackle Shelby Harris (knee), safety Rayshawn Jenkins (wrist), tight end David Njoku (knee), cornerback Denzel Ward (hip) and tight end Blake Whiteheart (shoulder).
