BEREA, Ohio — It’s a showdown between two 1-5 teams on Sunday.
But could this game between the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins mean more than it seems on the surface?
There’s certainly a lot that both teams are playing for, as they search for their second wins of 2025.
For both, that second win could go a long way toward morale, and stopping the outside noise.
Here are several storylines to know ahead of this matchup.
The run game
This game could very well come down to what happens on the ground, given the forecast in Cleveland Sunday calling for rain and winds up to 30 mph.
Miami comes to Cleveland with the worst run defense in the league, giving up an average of 168.5 yards per game.
As far as the Dolphins offense, they also aren’t too keen on straying from what they do in the pass game regardless of elements, using a lot of motion and leaning heavily on the pass.
Prediction: The Browns should give Quinshon Judkins 20-plus carries in this game.
In recent weeks, teams have been stacking the box to limit his gains. Against the Steelers, Judkins only ran the ball 12 times for 36 yards.
Those numbers aren’t going to cut it this week and the Browns need to establish the run early.
Defensively, they will need to worry about De’Von Achane, who has run for 390 yards and three touchdowns on 76 carries.
The vibes
The fact that both of these teams are 1-5 makes everything a bit more unpredictable.
The Dolphins have had a ton of noise surrounding them since the beginning of the season.
Coach Mike McDaniel’s seat is hot. There’s been multiple reports of players-only meetings already, including this week when starting QB Tua Tagovailoa called out attendance for those meetings and then apologized.
The Browns, meanwhile, found themselves back in the limelight Thursday, after Joe Flacco lit it up with the Bengals against the Steelers. After being traded to the Bengals last week, Flacco led Cincy to an upset, 33-31 victory after throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns on 31-of-47 passing.
Prediction: At least outwardly, the Browns have done a much better job than the Dolphins of holding things together.
Take this quote from Joel Bitonio, the longest-tenured member of the team, on Thursday: “The winning solves a lot of problems. So anytime you’re losing games and they’re stacking up, it is frustrating, it gets to you, but that’s why you play. You play to win the game. You try and do whatever you can in your power to get those wins. When you get ‘em after those losses, they’re even sweeter.”
I predict this will work in the Browns’ favor.
Can the Browns protect Gabriel?
Against the Steelers, rookie QB Dillon Gabriel was sacked six times and hit 16 total.
Cleveland’s offense will have to do a better job of protecting him, especially knowing some of those hits contributed to accuracy issues.
In that game, Gabriel completed only 55.8% of his whopping 52 throws.
The Dolphins defense has 12 sacks through six games and has 25 total QB hits.
Prediction: It’s hard to bet on protection being much better.
The Browns continue to have questions with Jack Conklin (concussion) listed as questionable.
But at the very least for Cleveland, Gabriel showed a toughness to keep getting up after each of those hits last week.
My pick
This is a tough game to predict, but I’m betting on the Browns’ No. 3-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed, and on their offense getting the ball to Judkins against a bad run defense.
I’m also taking into account the weather, and the fact that Miami’s offense typically struggles in adverse climates.
I’m going with the Browns, 17-11.
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