**
**
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) return home to take on the Cleveland Browns (3-11) at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday at 12 p.m. It is Cleveland's final road game of the season.
The Browns enter Sunday having lost eight of their last nine games, the only win during the stretch coming against the San Francisco 49ers (4-10) two weeks ago.
With the playoffs out of reach, Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine explained that he's utilizing these last few games to determine his team's identity.
"We're using this to find out who we are and what guys are going to fight to the end," he said. "For the most part, that's how we've been. The effort against San Francisco, I felt, was our best of the season and that's coming with four games left and we'd just been eliminated from the playoffs. I've been around situations where guys have packed it in and that has not been the case."
Here's a look at the Browns coaching staff:
Browns Coaching Staff
Position
Name
Head Coach
Mike Pettine
Offensive Coordinator
John DeFilippo
Defensive Coordinator
Jim O'Neil
Special Teams Coordinator
Chris Tabor
Three different quarterbacks have started for the Browns this season, but as of Week 14, Johnny Manziel has handled duties behind center.
In his second season for Cleveland, Manziel has completed 116 of 191 passes for 1,364 yards receiving, 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. His 85.9 passer rating (5 starts) is much improved from his 42.0 rating from last season (2 starts), and though his team's results have been disappointing, he is looking at every week as another opportunity.
"It's definitely been a different experience for me, but the thing about this league is that you really have to have a one-week mentality," he said. "Have the ability to block everything else, block out the overall, everything, and just take it week by week and string some good things together. It's a long season. It's definitely a grind, but being able to look at it in that perspective makes it a little bit easier."
The Browns tend to pass the ball more than run (Cleveland has a No. 14-ranked passing offense to a No. 29-ranked rushing offense), and when they do, Manziel usually targets veteran tight end Gary Barnidge or wide receiver Travis Benjamin. Barnidge, at 6 feet 5 and 240 pounds, leads the Browns in receptions (68), yards receiving (930) and touchdowns (9). With one more touchdown, Barnidge will break Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome's franchise record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end in one season. Benjamin has 61 receptions for 893 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns.
Second-year running back Isaiah Crowell leads the Browns in the rushing game. He has 145 rush attempts for 565 yards (3.7 yards per attempt) and 3 touchdowns this season. Duke Johnson, who serves as the backup, is currently dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice on Wednesday.
Cleveland's Pro Bowlers come along the offensive line in center Alex Mack and left tackle Joe Thomas. Pro Football Focus rates Thomas as its No. 1 tackle in the league.
Familiar Face: WR Dwayne Bowe, who spent the first eight years of his career with the Chiefs, returns to Arrowhead Stadium Sunday. Pettine said that Bowe has been a veteran leader for some of his young talent this season.
"He sees himself as mentoring the young players, especially the ones in the wide receiver room – and we do have some young guys," he said. "Here's a guy that's had a lot of production in the league for a long time."
Here's a look at the unofficial offensive depth chart for the Browns:
Cleveland Browns Offensive Depth Chart (Unofficial)
POS
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
THIRD
WR
Taylor Gabriel
Marlon Moore
Rannell Hall
Rannell Hall
LT
Joe Thomas
Darrian Millers
LG
Austin Pasztor
Cameron Erving
C
Alex Mack
RG
Cameron Erving
Kaleb Johnson
John Greco (IR)
RT
Mitchell Schwartz
TE
Gary Barnidge
WR
Travis Benjamin
Terrell Pryor
Dwayne Bowe
Andrew Hawkins
QB
Johnny Manziel
Austin Davis
RB
Isaiah Crowell
Duke Johnson, Jr.
Daryl Richardson
Raheem Mostert, Glenn Winston
FB
Jim Dray
E.J. Bibbs
Here's a look at the Browns numbers and ranks so far this season on offense:
Offense
Chiefs
Browns
Net Yards Per Game
335.9 (24th)
334.3 (25th)
Yards Per Play
5.60 (9th)
5.21 (27th)
Points Per Game
26.1 (8th)
18.1 (29th)
Possession Average
30:46 (11th)
30:06 (18th)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game
122.8 (8th)
86.5 (T-29th)
Net Passing Yards Per Game
213.1 (28th)
247.8 (14th)
Had Intercepted/Yards
4/44
9/145
Sacks Allowed/Yards
44/-226 (29th)
46/-311 (30th)
Fumbles/Lost
15/8
25/16
Third down Pct.
37.9% (19th)
43.4% (8th)
Red Zone TD Pct.
55.1% (T-16th)
42.5% (%-31st)
Giveaways
12 (2nd)
25 (T-25th)
At 387.9 yards allowed per game, the Browns have the No. 26-ranked defense in the NFL. Their 27.6 points allowed per game in the second worst mark in the league.
With cornerback Joe Haden out for the season due to multiple concussions, linebacker Karlos Dansby has taken the lead as the team's most important defender. Dansby leads the Browns with 99 combined tackles (56 solo) and 3 interceptions on the season. Defensive end Desmond Bryant leads the Browns in sacks with 6.0.
At 134.9 yards allowed per game, the Browns are the second-to-worst team in the NFL at stopping the run. The trio of Cleveland's first-round pick (No. 12), Danny Shelton, and defensive ends Randy Starks and Desmond Bryant will be tasked with the challenge of stopping the duo of Charcandrick West and a returning Spencer Ware (at the running back position) on Sunday.
The Browns rank 22nd in the league at defending the pass.
Here's a look at the unofficial defensive depth chart for the Browns:
Cleveland Browns Defensive Depth Chart (Unofficial)
POS
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
RDE
Randy Starks
John Hughes III
NT
Danny Shelton
Jamie Meder
LDE
Desmond Bryant
Xavier Cooper
OLB
Paul Kruger
Barkevious Mingo
MLB
Karlos Dansby
Tank Carder
WLB
Craig Robertson
Christian Kirksey
OLB
Nate Orchard
Armonty Bryant
RCB
Tramon Williams
K'Waun Williams
Justin Gilbert
LCB
Charles Gaines
Pierre Desir
Johnson Bademosi
FS
Tashaun Gipson
Jordan Poyer
Don Jones
SS
Donte Whitner
Ibraheim Campbell
Here's a look at the Browns numbers and ranks so far this season on defense:
Defense
Chiefs
Browns
Net Yards Per Game
335.4 (8th)
387.9 (26th)
Yards Per Play
5.14 (6th)
6.08 (30th)
Points Per Game
18.4 (3rd)
27.6 (31st)
Net Rushing Yards Per Game
92.2 (7th)
134.9 (31st)
Net Passing Yards Per Game
243.2 (17th)
252.9 (22nd)
Intercepted by/Yards
20/431.0
8/114.0
Sacks For/Yards
41/-253.0 (3rd)
28/-154.0 (22nd)
Opponent Fumbles/Lost
17/7
16/9
Third down Pct.
33.5% (6th)
41.0% (22nd)
Red Zone TD Pct.
62.2% (24th)
55.4% (14th)
Takeaways
27 (4th)
17 (T-20th)
Finally, here's a side-by-side comparison of the individual statistical leaders for both teams:
Chiefs
Browns
Passing Yards
A. Smith
3,205
J. Manziel
1,364
* *
* *
* *
A. Davis
307
* *
* *
* *
Rushing Yards
C. West
538
I. Crowell
565
A. Smith
383
D. Johnson, Jr.
342
S. Ware
312
J. Manziel
122
Receiving Yards
J. Maclin
985
G. Barnidge
930
T. Kelce
822
T. Benjamin
893
A. Wilson
393
D. Johnson, Jr.
485
Points Scored
C. Santos
121
T. Coons
87
J. Maclin
36
G. Barnidge
54
Three Tied
30
T. Benjamin
36
Interceptions
M. Peters
7
K. Dansby
3
Six Tied
2
* *
T. Gipson
2
Sacks
J. Houston
7.5
D. Bryant
6
T. Hali
6.5
A. Bryant
5.5
A. Bailey
4.5
C. Kirksey
3.5
J. Howard
4.5
P. Kruger
2.5
Defensive Tackles
D. Johnson
100
K. Dansby
99
R. Parker
65
D. Whitner
74
Two Tied
58
T. Williams
66
