The Falcons have rebounded from their 1-4 sunken place with three straight wins, including an impressive 38-14 pummeling of the NFC East first-place Redskins last week.
Now, the Falcons (4-4) face the psychological challenge of maintaining their momentum against the dysfunctional Browns, who are 2-6-1, have a rookie quarterback, have dropped four straight games and recently fired their head coach and offensive coordinator.
The Falcons plan to insert newly signed Bruce Irvin into the pass-rush attack to get after Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
“The guy was the No. 1 pick for a reason,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “He’s really talented. But you kind of just prepare for what they’ve shown. The narrative of preparing for an older guy versus a younger guy is not a conversation that we are having. We know that he has incredible arm talent and we are going to try to get after him.”
Stopping Chubb
Browns rookie running back Nick Chubb, of Cedartown and Georgia, will make his third start.
Chubb has rushed 74 times for 403 yards and four touchdowns. He’s caught 3 of 7 targets in the passing game for 15 yards.
"He's had some nice chunk runs," Browns interim coach Gregg Williams said. "He's a smart guy. He's a tough guy. I think he's only going to get better, too."
Jarrett is familiar with Chubb. When he was a senior at Clemson, he played against Georgia when Chubb was a freshman.
“He’s a guy who’s a really strong runner,” Jarrett said. “He had a great college career and is having a great pro career so far. He’s definitely going to be a challenge.”
Keep rushing attack rolling
The Falcons will try to keep their rushing attack rolling against the Browns, who give up 138.9 yards per game, which ranks 29th of 32 in the league.
The Falcons rushed 24 times for 154 yards, the second-highest output of the season against the Redskins. The Falcons rushed 32 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns against the Panthers in Week 2 for their top output of the season. The run game had been sketchy in the six games in between.
The Falcons took over the Redskins game with a pounding ground attack to open the third quarter.
“Yeah, we talked about that at halftime,” right tackle Ryan Schraeder said. “We had to come back out strong and make sure they weren’t going to come back in the game. I felt that was a great way to do that.”
The Falcons’ offensive linemen are coached by Chris Morgan and assistant offensive line coach Kyle Flood.
“It was very rewarding, obviously, at the same time we know what we can do,” Schraeder said. “It’s expected every week and we’ve got to work toward that same goal. You can’t be satisfied.”
Falcons LT Jake Matthews vs. Browns DE Myles Garrett: Matthews and Garrett's stays at Texas A&M didn't overlap. Matthew's younger brother Mike played with Garrett, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in 2017. "I'm excited for the challenge," Matthews said. Garrett is 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds and has nine sacks and three forced fumbles. "One of the things that is really evident with him is that he's so big, but he moves so smoothly and well," Matthews said. "He can dip the edge or overpower you."
Falcons FS Damontae Kazee vs. Browns QB Baker Mayfield: Kazee is tied for the league lead with four interceptions while taking over for Ricardo Allen at free safety. He will match wits with the rookie, who has 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Kazee has had big interceptions in wins over Washington and Tampa Bay.
Browns LT Desmond Harrison/Greg Robinson vs. Falcons DE Takk McKinley: Mayfield has been sacked 20 times and was sacked five times in three games. He's adjusting to the speed of the game and holding the ball too long at times. "Each week he gets better with his response and instinctively being able to play the game at the level he desires to play," Williams said. "He's very accurate. He's very smart. He's very confident. He very, very seldom makes the same mistake twice."
QB corner: Matt Ryan on the Browns
On Cleveland's defense: "They lead the league in turnovers. I think they've done a good job in the secondary of making plays, (tipping) the ball in the air and coming up with interceptions. They've also done a nice job of forcing fumbles."
On how the Browns defense looks: "They give you a lot of different looks in their pressure packages to create confusion. They've done a nice job defensively."
On Browns defensive end Myles Garrett getting free for nine sacks thus far: "He's talented. He's just a really good player. Even with help, he's been able to be double-teamed, and chips and different things it's what great players do, they find ways to make plays."
About the Browns
» The Browns, after a promising start, have dropped four straight games.
» Former Falcons offensive coordinator Hue Jackson (2007) and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were both fired by the Browns on Oct. 29. Williams was named the interim head coach.
» It will be the 15th regular-season meeting between the teams. The Browns lead the series 11-3. The Browns have won three of the past four meetings.
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