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Justin Herbert responded enthusiastically after an average start to the 2021 season. Herbert, after throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes in the first two games of the season, threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions in the Chargers’ victories over Kansas City and Las Vegas. Herbert has his work cut out for him this weekend, however, as Myles Garrett and the rest of the Browns’ defense look to take out the reigning offensive rookie of the year.
Trent Green, a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback and current CBS Sports NFL colors analyst, will cover the action on Sunday from SoFi Stadium. Green recently offered his expertise in Sunday’s game, which includes his thoughts on Herbert against the Browns defense, Baker Mayfield potentially playing through injury and the talents of running backs Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Austin Ekeler.
We will detail Sunday’s game and offer a prognosis. But first, here’s how you can follow the action in real time.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook.
How to watch
Dated: Sunday October 10 | Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Site: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA)
TV: CBS | Flux: Paramount + (click here)
To follow: CBS Sports app
Chances: Chargers -2, O / U 47
Overview
News broke Thursday that Mayfield allegedly played through a partially torn labrum that had held up in Week 2. Presumably Mayfield’s injury contributed to his decline in accuracy in the Browns’ last two games. Mayfield completed less than 50 percent of his passes in Sunday’s 14-7 road victory over the Vikings.
Green, who has suffered several significant injuries during his playing career, understands the challenge Mayfield is currently facing.
“It’s tough,” said Green, who resumed his career after missing the entire 1999 season with a serious knee injury. “You spend a lot of extra time trying to prepare. I came back from major knee surgery and this first year has been exhausting because you are still trying to deal with everything and you are still preparing.
“It’s exhausting mentally and physically because you have to do two different things. You can’t just prepare for an opponent; you have to deal with an injury.”
The Mayfield and Browns offense will likely rely even more on the league’s top-ranked rushed offense, led by Chubb and Hunt. Chubb leads the Browns with an average of almost 91 rushing yards per game. Like Chubb, Hunt has also made three touchdowns and is also averaging nearly 88 all-purpose yards per game. Unlike previous running back duos, where there was typically a star fullback and a third fullback, Green says the Browns’ current duo are unique in that they are relatively interchangeable.
“When you watch Nick Chubb and what Kareem Hunt can do, they both can do it all,” Green said. “Now, is Hunt a little better at receiver than Chubb?” Yes. Is he a little better when it comes to pass protection? Yes. Is Chubb maybe a little better than Hunt on some points? Yes. They both have their pros and cons, but what’s really unique about them is that it doesn’t have to be just the first, second, and third.
“They can both do anything, and you just have to go in with a warm hand.… It’s a big deal to have if you’re the Browns.”
The Chargers have their own unique talent as a running back to Ekeler, who scored two touchdowns in Monday night’s win over the Raiders. Green, who has played with two of the most versatile running backs in league history, Marshall Faulk and Priest Holmes, has been asked which of his former teammates most reminds him of Ekeler.
“I would probably compare him more to Priest,” Green said. “It’s amazing how strong he is. His strength is incredible. Even though he’s small in stature, he’s a runner between tackles. He’s a great receiver in space. I would compare him more. in Priest, as Priest was of similar stature, had no problem going between tackles, was good in space in-game onscreen and off.
“Marshall was just a unique talent.… Marshall I kind of put it in his own category because he was good at both. [running and receiving]. ”
Both offensives will have their work cut out for them against two of the league’s best defenses. The Chargers’ defense has only allowed one opponent to exceed 20 points so far and is currently seventh in the NFL in scoring and fifth in assists. The unit is only 29th in the league for ground run, 23rd for third down efficiency and 25th for red zone efficiency. The Browns defense is fourth in the NFL for scoring and third for passing and rushing yards allowed. In last week’s victory over the Vikings, the Browns’ defense continued their dominant performance against rookie Justin Fields and the Bears in Week 3 with an even more impressive outing. Both defenses feature two of the NFL’s top assistants, Garrett of Cleveland and Joey Bosa of Los Angeles. Regarding Garrett, Green says the way he’s used within the Browns’ defense creates unique challenges for opposing quarterbacks.
“With Myles Garrett, what Joe Woods did with him was he played all the spots,” Green said. “He’s moved all over that line. And Jadeveon Clowney has moved side to side and sometimes they line them up next to each other. That presents a set of problems, and then you have [Malik] Jackson in the middle. You have all these pieces moving. ”
With a defense as good as Cleveland’s, whether or not Herbert can take advantage of his few chances to make a big play could ultimately determine which team will be 4-1 by the end of the day.
“If I’m Justin Herbert there will be shooting opportunities on the field,” Green said. “You could see the Vikings had a few, but not a lot; they kept pretty much everything in front of them. But all I saw from Herbert, and it’s weird to say about a young man, he doesn’t fall into that trap of trying to force him. It seems he has done a really good job – especially this season – at handling things. With a guy with such a strong arm, it is. pretty good how he’s able to control that. ”
Prediction
Latest odds:
Los Angeles Chargers -2
With Mayfield at less than 100%, the Browns will surely be looking to give Chubb and Hunt a heavy workload as they look to tap into the Chargers’ below-average running defense. If the Browns manage to avoid falling behind early while setting the tempo of the game, Cleveland is certainly able to come away from Los Angeles with their fourth straight win. That being said, Mayfield’s injury puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the squad. The defense will need to be even better on Sunday than it has been in the past two weeks. I don’t see that happening on Sunday against a talent-flooded Chargers offense.
To take: Chargers 19, Browns 16
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