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The dream of a playoff run all but ended in an ugly 20-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, but mathematically the Denver Broncos are still in it. To keep those increasingly long odds going another week, they will have to take down a dangerous Cleveland Browns team led by rookie Baker Mayfield.
Head Coach Vance Joseph continued his faster start message into this week as he has for several weeks now, but there is little confidence his message will translate into an actual fast start for Denver.
“It helps, absolutely,” Joseph said of playing with a lead. “It helps because for our pass rush, and our crowd, we can get a lead, rush the passer and play coverage. That forces sacks and takeaways. That’s the goal—to score points early, to have a lead and let Von and Chubb rush and our backend play coverage.”
To beat the Browns, they absolutely need a fast start to put the pressure on the rookie number one overall pick in Mayfield. If they can do that and take the Browns out of their running game, the Broncos could do just enough to come out victorious in this game.