The Browns run game swung from a season-high 183 rushing yards against Tennessee to a season-low 34 in Pittsburgh one week later. Sunday’s trip to New Orleans is a chance to end the whiplash: the Saints allow 139.4 rushing yards a game, 29th in the NFL.

In Pittsburgh, running back Quinshon Judkins managed 25 yards on 11 carries, and Cleveland’s longest run went just seven yards. Head coach Todd Monken pointed to the scoreboard. “We got behind,” he said. The Steelers also sacked the Browns eight times, matching Cleveland’s season high.

The opening is inside

Nic Jennings of the Saints site Canal Street Chronicles called the interior of the New Orleans front its biggest defensive weakness in a matchup preview with Dawgs By Nature. He counted 11 rushing touchdowns allowed, second-most in the league, and 62 rushing first downs.

Offensive coordinator Travis Switzer expects a fight in that same spot. He singled out the Saints’ interior linebackers as a challenge for both the run game and pass protection, and said defensive end Chase Young, who has seven sacks, is “playing as well as he ever has.”

Short yardage is the real test

Switzer’s biggest disappointment in Pittsburgh was “the short yardage and low red zone area.” That is where this matchup will be decided. Cleveland ranks 24th in rushing at 97.6 yards a game and 29th in scoring at 17.4 points, so yards between the 20s will not be enough. The Browns need the third-and-1 and the goal-line carry.

They may need them with a new quarterback. Shedeur Sanders is preparing to play while Deshaun Watson is in the concussion protocol, the Associated Press reported, and Cleveland plans limited changes to the offense around him. A run game that works is the simplest help a young quarterback can get.

First quarters have hurt both teams

Neither team has started well. New Orleans has been outscored 44-6 in first quarters this season, and Cleveland’s opening-quarter point differential is the worst in the league. The Saints come off their bye still winless in three Superdome games.

If the Browns score first on Sunday, the run game Monken wants finally gets its chance.

Image: AI-generated image.