Defense will be the difference
Sunday is the day when the much-improved Browns defense will have — or at least should have — its biggest impact on a game this season.
It will come as quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Cleveland Browns Stadium in a matchup of two of the three teams sitting atop the AFC North with 2-1 records.
It’s crucial that the Browns win since this is a home game against a division foe. Division games count twice, you could say, and home division games count three times.
In the past, the Browns have been unable to stop Jackson. His scrambles for big runs, or to buy him more time to make big throws downfield, so many coming on third downs, have been killers. He has been too quick and elusive for them to grab. They get pressure on him but can’t bring him down.
But he’s never seen a Browns defense this good with this many difference-makers on the line. Their pass rush has teeth. They get to the quarterback and they bring quarterbacks down. And if not, then they get into his face and make him feel their presence by hitting him.
This is the best defense, and the best coordinator in Jim Schwartz, that the Browns have had in at least 29 seasons, and, when it’s all said and done, possibly since the 1950s.
For that reason, and also because they’ve dedicated their season to Nick Chubb and are laser-focused from top to bottom, I’m picking the Browns. They are the better team, and they are at home.
By Steve King
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Sept. 30, 2023
Browns elevate TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden and QB P.J. Walker to active roster, add TE David Njoku to injury report
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have elevated TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden (pronounced: zigh-AIR MITCH-uhl PAY-den) and QB P.J. Walker to the active roster from the practice squad.
In addition, TE David Njoku was added to the injury report as questionable after sustaining burn injuries to his face and arm during a household accident.
Mitchell-Paden (6-5, 257) is officially in his first NFL season out of Florida Atlantic. Mitchell-Paden initially signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad. He spent the first part of his college career at Division II Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, prior to playing at Florida Atlantic in 2021 as a graduate student. Mitchell-Paden will wear No. 83.
Walker (5-11, 215) is officially in his fourth NFL season out of Temple. Originally signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017, he spent time on the Colts’ practice squad from 2017-19 and with XFL’s Houston Roughneck’s in 2019, before joining the Panthers in 2020. During his time in Carolina, he appeared in 15 games with seven starts. Walker completed 131 of 228 passes for 1,461 yards and five touchdowns. He spent training camp this year with the Bears and has spent the entire season on the Browns’ practice squad. Walker will wear No. 10.
*A club can carry up to 55 players on its roster during a given week by elevating one or two players from its practice squad prior to the transaction deadline that precedes the game. The rule allows teams a larger pool from which to select their 47 or 48 game-day active players. Any player elevated from the practice squad for this purpose will immediately revert to his team’s practice squad the day following the game.
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