BL Predicts: Game 8 vs Chargers

There is optimism building amongst Brown's fans after the fantastic performance last week by Brandon Weeden against the Colts.  The Browns lost that game due to a dropped pass late in the game but Weeden was on fire all day long.   There is however a flaw in the belief that Weeden has "come of age".  The Colts were coming off an embarrassing loss to the NY Jets in which the Jets ground game ran up 252 yards rushing and were determined not to let this happen against the Browns.  Hence Indianapolis dared the Browns to pass by stacking up to stop the run.   The Colts mediocre defense did in fact stymie the Browns rushing game but this opened the door for the Browns to throw.

There is no doubt that Weeden is improving but in the school of hard knocks, let's not hand him a PhD just yet.   He still has some lessons to learn and this week he'll be facing a top ranked defense that is far superior to what he faced last week.   The Chargers defense has only surrendered 137 points this year, one of the best defenses in the AFC.

While the Browns are playing at home, that is counterbalanced by the fact that the Chargers are fresh, coming off a bye week.   

The Browns will likely struggle to run the ball the first 5-6 times they try, which will cause Pat Shurmur to completely drop the running game as he has all season long.   With the pressure on Weeden against a really good Chargers defense, look for Weeden to make a key mistake or two.   This will likely lead to loss number 7 on the year.  

BL Predicts 

Chargers   31

Browns     16

The Brown Log are 5-2 year to date in predicting the winner of Browns games.