Sometimes sportswriters need to be creative to find Week 1 storylines. This is not one of those occasions. When the Cleveland Browns visit the Carolina Panthers Sunday, it’ll be all about one person: Baker Mayfield. Read on for a breakdown of the Browns vs. Panthers matchups, the key injuries, and game predictions from our NFL staff.
Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers preview
There has been no greater NFL drama over the last seven months than the Browns’ polarizing decision to give up on Mayfield — the former No. 1 pick — and trade for Deshaun Watson, who was accused by more than two dozen massage therapists of sexual misconduct.
Watson won’t play Sunday. He’s beginning his 11-game NFL-imposed suspension. Jacoby Brissett — he of the 14-23 career record and 83.0 lifetime passer rating — will be under center until Watson returns. Can he manage the game well enough to keep an otherwise talented Browns roster (which added Amari Cooper in the offseason) in contention until Watson returns? That’s to be determined.
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As for the guy Watson and Brissett replace, you know Mayfield has Sunday’s game circled in blood. He surely believes the Browns made a mistake by bailing on him — even after his injury-plagued and ugly 2021 season. Mayfield may or may not have told NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund that he was going to “f— them up” in Week 1 (who are we kidding, he almost assuredly did), which only added fuel to the fire.
Not to be overlooked: The Panthers have some players. This offseason, they added OT Ikem Ekwonu, G Austin Corbett, S Xavier Woods, DT Matt Ioannidis, and WR Laviska Shenault.
How to watch
- Date/Time
Sunday, Sept. 11, 1 p.m. ET - Channel
CBS (regional) - Live Stream
CBS All-Access, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV
Matchups
This is among the rarest matchups in today’s NFL. The Browns and Panthers have played just six times since Carolina entered the league in 1995. The Panthers lead the all-time series 4-2, but one of those two losses came in Cleveland in 2018 (26-20).
The Browns’ last game was a 21-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 of the 2021 season. (Mayfield missed the game with an injured shoulder.) The Panthers got waxed by the Buccaneers 41-17 in their 2021 season finale.
Cleveland Browns 2021 stats/rankings
- Scoring: 20.5 (20th)
- Yards: 340.6 (sixth)
- Yards per play: 5.5 (17th)
- Passing: 195.3 (27th)
- Rushing: 145.4 (fourth)
- Defensive scoring: 21.8 (13th)
- Yards allowed: 311.5 (fifth)
- Yards per play allowed: 5.0 (second)
- Pass defense: 202.3 (fifth)
- Rush defense: 109.2 (12th)
Carolina Panthers 2021 stats/rankings
- Scoring: 18.2 (27th)
- Yards: 306.4 (26th)
- Yards per play: 5.0 (25th)
- Passing: 208.3 (20th)
- Rushing: 98.1 (27th)
- Defensive scoring: 29.6 (32nd)
- Yards allowed: 397.6 (32nd)
- Yards per play allowed: 5.9 (28th)
- Pass defense: 259.4 (30th)
- Rush defense: 138.3 (29th)
Injuries to know
Cleveland Browns:
CB Greedy Williams (hamstring, out)
WR Mike Woods (hamstring, out)
OT Jack Conklin (knee, questionable)
OT Chris Hubbard (elbow, questionable)
G Dawson Deaton (injured reserve)
WR Jakeem Grant (injured reserve)
C Nick Harris (injured reserve)
OT Elijah Nkansah (injured reserve)
DE Chris Odom (injured reserve)
DE Stephen Weatherly (injured reserve)
WR Isaiah Weston (injured reserve)
QB Deshaun Watson (suspended)
Carolina Panthers:
LB Brandon Smith (thigh, questionable)
QB Matt Corral (injured reserve)
QB Sam Darnold (injured reserve)
K Zane Gonzalez (injured reserve)
LB Julian Stanford (injured reserve)
Prediction
Betting line (courtesy of Caesars):
Pick ’em; Panthers -110, Browns -110; O/U 42.
Adam Beasley’s Prediction
1-0 straight-up, 1-0 against the spread in 2022
Panthers 27, Browns 21
Dalton Miller’s Prediction
1-0 straight-up, 1-0 against the spread in 2022
Browns 21, Panthers 17
Dallas Robinson’s Prediction
1-0 straight-up, 0-1 against the spread in 2022
Panthers 17, Browns 14