Heading into week six and it’s another disappointing week for the Cleveland Browns who now sit 1-4 after losing to the Washington Commanders. Next up they travel to Philadelphia to take on the well-rested Eagles.

The Eagles have not been too impressive either. They are currently 2-2 and suffered defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago before heading into their much-needed bye week. 

What is going on in Cleveland?

Despite lots of injuries for the Browns, it has not been a great season so far for them, they have struggled a lot on both sides of the ball. After getting to the playoffs last season with an 11-6 record, they seem depleted five games in. 

Since beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in week two, the Browns have lost three in a row to the Giants, Raiders, and Commanders.

The Brown’s offense is also the second-most penalised team in the NFL, averaging six offensive penalties per game. Silly mistakes resulting in flags and sacks have also caused problems with quarterback Deshaun Watson being sacked 26 times so far, the most in the NFL.

Injury News

Cleveland Browns

Another Long list of injuries for the Browns, the most in the NFL with 20. However, there is some good news as Nick Chubb is starting to return after his devastating season-ending knee injury in 2023.

In Chubb’s last full season for the Browns back in 22/23, he recorded over 1500 rushing yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He has been a massive miss for the Browns as the offense used to run through him.

Of the eleven offensive players on this list, three are running backs. These being D’Onta Foreman, Nyheim Hines, and Pierre Strong Jr.

Zak Zinter, Ethan Pocic, Jedrick Wills, James Hudson, and Jack Conklin are the offensive linemen.

Two receiving options are left on the offensive side of this list and those are David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy, both of them have knee injuries.

Receiver Amari Cooper is also listed as DNP, as he missed practice with a non-injury-related problem. He has 208 yards and two receiving touchdowns both coming against the Giants so far this season.

Defensively, the Browns listed eight players on the injury report, including defensive linemen Myles Garrett, Maurice Hurst, and Ogbo Okoronkwo, linebackers Mohamoud Diabate and Jordan Hicks, and defensive backs Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and Denzel Ward.

Philadelphia Eagles

A Lot of good news for the Eagles as they used this time to allow key offensive players to return to full fitness during the bye with A.J Brown’s hamstring problem and Devonta Smith after his concussion. The Two receivers have over 6000 yards combined at the Eagles and were both big misses for the Eagle’s offense in week four.

The Eagles are also awaiting returns of safeties Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown, rookie receivers Ainias Smith and Jonny Wilson as well as offensive tackle Lane Johnson who suffered a concussion but has confirmed he will play. 

All of these players have had full participation in training this week ready to face the Browns, unlike Nakobe Dean who is limited to participation in practice after picking up an ankle Injury.

Players to watch 

Saquon Barkley 

One of the biggest moves of the summer, as a free agent , Saquon Barkley. He came from Division rivals the New York Giants and since then, he has been fantastic. 

In his first game against the Packers, Barkley proved why the Giants should have paid him, as he scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving, totalling 132 yards. With AJ Brown injured, Saquon has been number one in this offense and all of the focus has been on him.

This season he has 435 yards from 73 attempts and scored four touchdowns. With this new O-Line, Saquon has been able to perform to the best of his abilities as seen in the first four games of the season. 

Despite not scoring a touchdown against the Bucs, He averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, rushed for two first downs and his longest rush on the day was 59 yards. He will be hoping to bounce back against a Browns defense who have been average on the ground this season.

Cooper DeJean 

It’s not often we see a defensive player as one to look out for but Cooper DeJean, the rookie Cornerback is set to play on Sunday. Drafted in round two out of Iowa, DeJean suffered an injury in preseason but now he is expected to start over Avonte Maddox on Sunday. 

The Eagle’s defence has been inconsistent this season and off the back of their bye week they are expected to make a change by starting DeJean at Nickel.

He could be as good as Maddox in terms of coverage but his open-field tackling is the difference maker as veteran Maddox has not been up to scratch so far this season. Maddox was missing tackles and making jokes with Bucs receiver Mike Evans after getting beat on multiple plays.

DeJean will get the chance to show why he should have been a first-round pick and could even make the Nickel position his own.

Head to Head 

The Browns have faced the Eagles a total of 50 times and the Browns lead the series 32-17-1. Most recently the Browns took the victory in 2020 as they defeated the Eagles 22-17, although in the last five games, the Eagles are on top leading 4-1.

Where and When?

What’s Next? 

The Eagles head to the MetLife for a fierce rivalry game versus the New York Giants whilst the Browns will be hosting the Cincinnati Bengals.