Browns vs. Broncos how to watch: Pick, TV channel, live stream, what to know for ‘Thursday Night Football’

Welcome to Week 7 of the 2021 NFL season. There is a verifiable bye week apocalypse within the NFL this week, however two groups that aren’t on a bye will sq. off on “Thursday Evening Soccer” as they appear to stay within the playoff race within the AFC. 

The three-3 Cleveland Browns are coming off back-to-back losses to contending groups, whereas the 3-3 Denver Broncos have misplaced three straight since beginning the season 3-0. Each groups want to get again within the win column on Thursday evening, and could have to take action whereas working with no full complement of gamers. 

Can the Browns get again on monitor, or will the Broncos finish their very own shedding streak? We’re glad you requested. 

The best way to watch

Date: Thursday, Oct. 21 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland)
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Observe: CBS Sports App
Odds: Browns -2, O/U 41

When the Broncos have the ball

Teddy Bridgewater was restricted in practices all through the week and listed as questionable for the sport, but it surely looks like he’ll be beneath heart for the Broncos. He has been a significantly higher participant for them than Drew Lock had been over the earlier two years, and they’re going to undoubtedly wish to get him beneath heart for this sport if they will. 

Bridgewater usually does an excellent job taking good care of the ball, but it surely’s notable that he has 4 interceptions over the past two video games since leaving the group’s Week 4 loss to the Ravens attributable to harm. (He had three final week in opposition to the Raiders, although two of the three got here with Denver down a number of scores within the fourth quarter.) Not giving the ball away is Precedence No. 1 for Vic Fangio, however Bridgewater has additionally achieved a greater job than typical of pushing the ball down the sector — even with Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler sidelined for a lot of the season. 

The Broncos nonetheless have Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Noah Fant out in routes as a rule, and that ought to check a Browns protection that’s banged up in the meanwhile. Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is about to overlook this sport and a number of other extra, whereas Malcolm Smith and Mack Wilson are listed as questionable. Every of the Browns’ high three corners have been on the harm report all through this week (albeit whereas largely working towards absolutely), and Jadeveon Clowney is questionable after being restricted with ankle, knee, and chest accidents. They need to have the ability to a minimum of get most of these guys on the sector for this matchup, however a number of of them have already been out and in of video games with numerous illnesses this yr, and having to play on a brief week exacerbates the possibility of aggravation.

If the Browns can preserve their high guys on the sector, they need to have a reasonably good probability of inflicting issues for Denver’s offense, which has but to high 27 factors in any sport this season and is averaging simply 16.7 per sport throughout its present three-game shedding streak. Myles Garrett and Clowney, together with Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell, are inflicting every kind of issues for opponents up entrance, and Bridgewater has been pressured greater than 5% extra usually than the league common passer up to now this season, based on TruMedia. 

The Browns make the most of a dead-even break up backfield, with Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams rotating out and in all through the sport. Gordon has 70 carries at a median of 4.7 yards and pop and Williams has 65 at 4.6 per tote, whereas they’ve 16 and 15 targets, respectively. The Browns have achieved very properly stopping the run up to now this yr (third in Soccer Outsiders’ rush protection DVOA and sixth in Adjusted Line Yards allowed), although, so the Broncos could be sensible to check out the again finish of the protection with their receiving corps somewhat than leaning on the 2 backs to do the lion’s share of chain-moving. 

When the Browns have the ball

Does anyone know who is definitely going to be on the sector for the Browns offense on this sport? 

Baker Mayfield is out. Odell Beckham Jr. looks like he is trending towards being out. Jarvis Landry is probably not able to return. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are out. It is someplace between potential and possible that every of Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin, and JC Tretter will miss the sport. Mayfield is the one a kind of gamers who practiced on Tuesday, and he was dominated out on Wednesday anyway.

This offense goes to revolve round, I assume, backup quarterback Case Keenum, third-string operating again D’Ernest Johnson, hybrid again Demetric Felton, second-year wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, rookie receiver Anthony Schwartz, and the group’s three tight ends? (And even David Njoku has been restricted in practices this week.) I’ve zero concept what to anticipate from a bunch like that, although I suppose we are going to in all probability see them work in Kevin Stefanski’s zone-heavy run sport and play-action-heavy passing ideas. How efficient any of that shall be is anyone’s guess. 

Von Miller has already signaled his intent to kill whomever the Browns use to dam him and whereas we right here at CBSSports.com can not and don’t condone on-field homicide, it is likely to be enjoyable to look at him attempt to wreck your complete offensive sport plan by himself.

Newest Odds:

Cleveland Browns
-2

Prediction: Broncos 20, Browns 10