Browns vs. Jets: Five matchups to watch in Week 10

The Cleveland Browns are back in action on Sunday, and they’re up against a team that looks much different than it did just several days ago.

Despite plenty of rumors surrounding the Browns heading into the NFL’s trade deadline — whether they’d move David Njoku, whether they’d buy some pieces, or speculation about a logistically-impossible Myles Garrett trade — Cleveland made just one move, dealing away depth edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to the Bears for a day three pick swap.

That was not the case for their next opponent, the New York Jets. The 1-7 group were the main characters of the NFL trade deadline, thanks to their blockbuster moves to deal All-Pro players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams to Indianapolis and Dallas, respectively, significantly enriching themselves in future draft capital in the process.

On top of that, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn continues to refuse to commit to a starting quarterback each week, which creates another big question as to what exactly the Browns will be facing when they travel to the Meadowlands this Sunday.

Let’s dive in to a few key matchups that a Browns team, fresh off of their bye, will need to focus on this weekend.

Myles Garrett vs. Olu Fashanu

The most recent time we saw Myles Garrett played football, he put up a monstrous performance in a loss to New England. The All-Pro pass-rusher recorded a career-high and franchise-record five sacks, and he’s sitting at ten total sacks on the season through eight games.

Instead of primarily facing a rookie left tackle like he did two weeks ago, Garrett will be facing a second-year player in Jets LT Olu Fashanu. The Penn State product is coming off of his best game of the season — a 0-pressures, 0-sacks-allowed outing against Cincinnati two weeks ago — but has also struggled at times this season, such as losses to Tampa Bay and Dallas where he allowed six and five pressures, respectively, per Pro Football Focus.

With both players coming off of their best performances of the season, the winner of this matchup will be crucial to determining the flow of Sunday’s game.

Dillon Gabriel vs. the Jets’ new-look defense

This is a bigger-picture matchup, but both figures here are approaching a crucial point in their near-term trajectories.

The Jets’ side of this is simple. New York just got rid of its’ best two players on that side of the ball, and in addition to that, benched another former All-Pro in linebacker Quincy Williams. How that unit performs over the second half of this season will determine just how much work needs to be done on that side of the ball. Proving they can at least show life against a Browns offense that has looked largely lifeless recently would be a great start if they want proof that they made the right choices this week.

On the other hand, though, this is a Jets defense that has been among the worst in the league this year with those three former All-Pros starting, and that’s why this is an equally important week for Dillon Gabriel. If Gabriel and the Browns’ passing game can’t show life against this version of New York’s defense, with a new offensive play-caller, the questions surrounding Cleveland’s quarterback and coaching situations will likely only grow louder.

Jerry Jeudy vs. Brandon Stephens

Jeudy was highlighted as a player to watch two weeks ago versus New England, following a disappointing start to the season, and the Browns’ top wide receiver proceeded to catch neither of his two targets on the day. He’s sitting at just 257 yards through eight games — just over 32 yards per game — and is on pace for less than 550 yards this season, a major step down from his breakout 1,229-yard campaign a year ago.

Jeudy will need to step up against a player in Thomas who is now likely to play a much bigger role on the Jets’ defense going forward in the aftermath of the Sauce Gardner trade. Stephens, who signed a two-year contract with the Jets in free agency this offseason, has recovered from a rocky start to the season and was playing some of his best football prior to the Jets’ bye week. Two weeks ago against Cincinnati, Stephens allowed just three catches for 14 yards on six targets against the Bengals’ receiving duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, per PFF.

Denzel Ward vs. Garrett Wilson

While the Jets sold off their best defensive pieces this week, their best offensive playmakers are very much still in place. That includes Wilson, who is on track to play for the first time in nearly a month.

The Jets’ passing game has been a mess for most of this season, but New York’s offense as a whole is coming off of a game where it put up 502 total yards and 39 points in a win over the Bengals. Justin Fields managed to pass for 244 yards and a touchdown while his top wide receivers were Tyler Johnson and Isaiah Williams, so the Jets will be looking to build on that performance with their top offensive weapon now back in the fold.

Quinshon Judkins vs. the Jets’ defensive front

The Jets’ defensive line as a whole will need to step up with Quinnen Williams now out of the picture in New York. Former first-round pick Mazi Smith went to the Jets as part of the Williams trade, and two other players the Jets acquired in trades this summer — Jowon Briggs from the Browns and Harrison Phillips from the Vikings — have played big roles on that front this season.

Judkins didn’t get much of a chance to shine in the loss to New England two weeks ago due to his early exit with a shoulder injury, so Sunday will be an opportunity for the rookie to bounce back.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns vs. Jets: Five matchups to watch in Week 10

Browns vs. Jets: Five matchups to watch in Week 10

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