On Monday December 2nd the 3-8 Cleveland Browns will travel to Denver Colorado to play the 7-5 Denver Broncos on a nationally televised Monday Night Football game. Cleveland is coming off a Thursday Night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-19. The Broncos defeated the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday in Las Vegas 29-19. Denver is a 5.5-point favorite in this game. And they have won 4 out of their last 6 games. Cleveland has yet to stack wins this season and the history in Denver doesn’t bode well for the Browns.

All Browns fans remember the late 80’s AFC Championship games in Denver that Cleveland fell short of victory. The Browns did beat the Broncos in Denver in 2018. So, it is not unheard of for that to happen. Broncos head coach Sean Payton has this team playing well. Their rookie quarterback Bo Nix is outperforming expectations. He has 16 touchdowns with only 2 interceptions, he averages 212.3 passing yards a game and has a quarterback rating of 89.9. But since Jameis Winston took over at quarterback for the Browns. He has played like a top NFL quarterback. For the season Winston has 7 touchdowns,4 interceptions, he averages 295.75 yards per game and has a quarterback rating of 88.5. And this Browns team will be well rested with the long week.

On paper a Jim Schwartz defense facing a rookie quarterback looks like a mismatch. But football games are played on the field. And things happen during an NFL game that cannot be predetermined. It is expected that Sean Payton will have his team ready to play. Especially for a national television audience. This game can also be homecoming for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. He was a former Denver Broncos first round pick and the Browns traded for him last off season. Will it be a happy homecoming for Jeudy? He certainly should be motivated to make it happy.  We will have to watch and see.