Browns preparing for matchup against explosive Saints offense
The Browns are preparing for their first game since their Week 10 bye, as they travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week 11.
The Saints are fresh off a division win over the Falcons, winning 20-17 to improve to 3-7, snapping a seven-game losing streak. QB Derek Carr threw for 269 and two touchdowns and held a 126.9 passer rating in the win.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski is familiar with Carr, as the Browns lost to Carr and the Raiders 16-14 in Week 15 of the 2021 season.
"Derek Carr is a really, really explosive quarterback," Stefanski said on Wednesday. "He can make all those throws. We've gone against him before and he's a talented player."
This season, Carr and the Saints jumped to a 2-0 record through the first two weeks, averaging a then league-high 45.5 points per game. Since Week 2, the Saints have faltered offensively, averaging just 17 points per game. However, injuries to Carr and several key playmakers can explain some of their falloff, according to Stefanski.
Carr missed three games with an oblique injury and WR Rashid Shaheed was placed on the injured reserve list after the Saints' Week 7 loss to the Broncos. WR Chris Olave, a former first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve after leaving the Saints' Week 9 loss to the Panthers.
"They're excellent on offense," Stefanski said. "They are a major challenge for us. Our players understand how big of a challenge this is."
Powering the Saints offense, which averages the 16th-most yards per game with 334.8, is RB Alvin Kamara. Kamara has totaled over 1,100 all-purpose yards in each of his eight seasons in the NFL, already racking up 1,136 yards through the first 10 games of the 2024 season.
Kamara had 109 total yards in the Saints' Week 10 win over the Falcons and has scored seven total touchdowns this season, tied for the 10th-most in the NFL. Kamara plays with an explosiveness, as he has 17 carries for 10 or more yards, the 13th-most in the league.
"You have Kamara, who they're trying to get the ball to on every down, much deserved. I've gone against him plenty of times and he hasn't lost a step, he hasn't lost his quickness and their ability to get him explosive plays," LB Jordan Hicks said on Wednesday.
In addition to Kamara's explosiveness, the Saints feature one of the most unique offensive weapons in football in Taysom Hill. While listed as a tight end, Hill entered the NFL as a quarterback. His athleticism enables him to line up in the backfield as a fullback or running back, or at the line of scrimmage as a receiver or tight end – all while serving as a threat to pass the ball.
This season, Hill has 10 receptions for 100 yards and 27 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns. His lone completion of the season went for three yards. Against the Falcons, he had six total touches for 50 total yards.
"[Hill's] similar to a guy like [FB Kyle] Juszczyk in San Fran, where he can line up anywhere," Hicks said. "It can present as 10 personnel, 11 personnel, 12 personnel. He can line up as a quarterback, as a fullback as a running back. It creates a challenge of how you match up personnel groups. And obviously he's talented when the ball is in his hands. He's a strong runner."
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