2018 NFL Playoff Watch: Week 15 preview on 6 key games
By Ian Wharton
Browns at Broncos
The late game on Saturday features two teams that have sparked a resurgence in the second half of the season. The Cleveland Browns continue to look like a different team without Hue Jackson weighing them down, and they’ve taken full advantage of a weak schedule en route to a 5-7-1 record. They’ll be in Denver to face a Broncos team that appeared close to a mutiny on Vance Joseph just a few months ago but is now in the playoff hunt.
Neither team has strong odds to make the playoffs. The Broncos enter the game with a five percent chance to make it, while the Browns are under one percent, per FiveThirtyEight‘s playoff simulator. A win makes each team’s odds jump to only seven or two percent, respectively, and neither controls their own destiny.
Cleveland needs too much help to worry about for now, but the Broncos’ trajectory can quickly tick upwards if their AFC competitors drop their Week 15 games. Their 20-14 loss against the lowly 49ers is certainly hurting their outlook, though.
Denver’s sudden emergence has coincided with their increased utilization of Case Keenum on rollouts and getting the ball to stud running back Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay’s work this season has been especially notable as the Broncos have been without multiple starting linemen in their lineup. Lindsay’s quick acceleration and evasiveness weaving through defenders will be something to watch against Cleveland’s undisciplined front.
This will be a big test for the Browns’ offense, and the Broncos need to mirror the effort and strategy they used to slow Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs. The Texans stifled Baker Mayfield by rushing four and clouding passing lanes with pattern match combinations. Denver can reproduce those confusing pre- and post-snap adjustments to slow Mayfield.
Prediction: Broncos 23-17