The latest Cleveland Browns news and notes from around the NFL in the Sunday Dawg Chow.
The Cleveland Browns have had a strange relationship with the Miami Dolphins over the years.
Despite both teams being members of the newly formed American Football Conference, today’s game will only be the 20th meeting in the regular season. The only AFC team that Cleveland has played less than the Dolphins is the Houston Texans, a team that did not even exist until 2002.
Even with so few meetings, there have been some memorable games between the two teams:
- In 1979, the Browns came back late when quarterback Brian Sipe hit tight end Ozzie Newsome with a 34-yard touchdown pass with a little more than a minute left to force overtime. Sipe then hit wide receiver Reggie Rucker with a 39-yard touchdown pass for the win.
- A Monday night game in 1986 where the Browns rolled up 558 yards of offense behind quarterback Bernie Kosar’s 401 passing yards in a 26-16 victory.
- The teams were back at it on Monday night two years later and quarterback Don Strock came off the bench in the fourth quarter to throw a pair of touchdown passes to wide receiver Reggie Langhorne, the second of which tied the game at 31. The defense could not hold up to one last drive by Miami quarterback Dan Marino and the Dolphins sealed the win with a touchdown run by Lorenzo Hampton with 34 seconds left on the clock.
- There was something about Monday nights as the Browns and Dolphins met in Week 2 of the 1992 season. The Browns were down 20-3 with 12 minutes left in the game but Kosar first hit wide receiver Michael Jackson for a touchdown, linebacker David Brandon returned a fumble for a touchdown, and then Kosar hit tight end Mark Bavaro for a touchdown to put the Browns ahead, 23-20. Marino worked over the defense again, however, and drove the Dolphins to a game-winning touchdown with just seven seconds remaining in the game.
The Browns put together a four-game winning streak against the Dolphins from 2005 to 2011, but the Dolphins have bounced back by winning three of the last four meetings. (For the sake of everyone’s sanity, we won’t talk about the two playoff meetings.)
Today’s game may not have the same fireworks given Cleveland’s struggles on offense combined with a weather report that calls for rain and windy conditions, but anything is possible when these two teams meet.
Dawgs By Nature:
- Browns may be catching an injury break vs. Dolphins (Thomas Moore) – The Cleveland Browns, who have not had much of anything go right this season, may be catching a break for Sunday’s home finale against the Miami Dolphins. That is because the Dolphins changed the injury status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from questionable to doubtful on Saturday afternoon.
- Deshaun Watson’s contract restructures: What if Browns didn’t do them? (Jared Mueller) – The Cleveland Browns salary cap space is an important piece of the puzzle as the amount Deshaun Watson is paid stays the same.
- NFL Picks Week 17, and media picks for Dolphins vs. Browns – Will DTR turn it up? (Chris Pokorny) – The DBN staff predicts the Week 17 games, plus the national media make their predictions for Dolphins vs. Browns.
- Browns Roster: Chances of each defensive player returning in 2025 (Damon Wolfe) – While the Cleveland Browns defense hasn’t been the same dynamic unit that led the league last year, it has played above average all season. The unit has also displayed some younger talent that appear to be part of the long-term solution.
- Dolphins vs. Browns: Week 17 TV map (Chris Pokorny) – The Week 17 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins will air on CBS at 4:05 PM ET on Sunday.
- Browns fans may see traffic delays on Sunday (Thomas Moore) – Fans heading to the Cleveland Browns game on Sunday may be in for a rough trip thanks to a sinkhole that has closed a portion of East 9th Street north of State Route 2 in downtown Cleveland.
- Beyond big names, Miami has impact talent on roster (Curtiss Brown) – Similar to the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins had playoff aspirations (some would say Super Bowl aspirations as well) to start the season. But the season got off to a rocky start when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed half of the season due to another concussion.
- Browns home finale: Taking down Dolphins could be simple but not easy (Curtiss Brown) – Sunday’s game between the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins Browns come down to Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy.
Cleveland Browns:
- Browns distant past reminds fans how they deserve much better today (Terry Pluto) – This email arrived from Steve Daniel Friday: “60 years ago today, the Browns beat Johnny Unitas and the Colts 27-0.”
- Bailey Zappe, Jameis Winston know what it’s like to have Myles Garrett chase them down (Beacon Journal) – Bailey Zappe had exactly one NFL start under his belt when the then-New England Patriot found himself having to stare down a quarterback’s worst fear — Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
- Can Jerome Ford continue to create explosive plays? (clevelandbrowns.com) – Since taking over as the lead running back after Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 15, Jerome Ford has shown his ability to make explosive plays.
NFL:
- ‘Want them to win’: Lions not shy about rooting interest in Packers-Vikings matchup (Detroit News) – The Detroit Lions are used to rooting against NFC North rivals. But this weekend, they’ll also have to root for one of them. If the Green Bay Packers can defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the Lions will have the chance to clinch the division and the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win at the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”
- Colts downgrade Anthony Richardson; Joe Flacco starts vs. Giants (ESPN) – The Indianapolis Colts have ruled out quarterback Anthony Richardson ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. Richardson will miss his third game of the season due to injury after being out for two games because of his oblique. Veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco will start in Richardson’s place.
- Joe Burrow needs more from Bengals ownership (Washington Post) – Despite a career year from the star quarterback, the roster isn’t good enough and Mike Brown will need to spend big to keep the championship window open for the Cincinnati Bengals.