CLEVELAND — After a two-game losing streak going into the bye week break, including a 32-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on October 13, a game in which the Cleveland Browns lost a double-digit lead, they look to get back into the win column, but that is easier said than done.
On Sunday, the Browns travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts for an inter-division game against the undefeated New England Patriots, who are led by a pair of future Pro Football Hall of Fame members, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
“We definitely have a big challenge ahead of us this week going against what many consider to be probably the best quarterback to play the game and one of the best coaches to ever coach this game,” Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said.
“We have a big challenge ahead.”
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Now in his 20th NFL season, Brady continues to be the standard bearer by which all other quarterbacks are judged.
Over 276 regular-season games, Brady has completed 6,184 of his 9,648 attempts (64.1 percent) for 72,506 yards and 528 touchdowns against 175 interceptions. Additionally, Brady has rushed for 1,006 yards with 22 rushing scores.
Brady has led the Patriots to 244 victories in those 276 starts and his six Super Bowl titles are one of the dozens of records he holds.
“The guy is ‘Mr. Consistent’ in everything that he does,” Wilks said. “You just look at the number of wins that they have had over the years and his performance each and every week. He is just consistent.
“Extremely smart, very talented, accurate with the ball. He has been in that system for so long. He makes everybody in that system so much better. He knows how to get rid of the ball. He is not going to take a sack. He can get the offense in the right situation based on what he has seen defensively. Very smart, highly intelligent and very efficient with the ball.”
With Belichick, the Patriots have made nine Super Bowl appearances, with six victories, and claimed 16 AFC East Division championships, including 10 straight coming into 2019.
Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have the NFL’s best home record, and it is not even close.
Including the postseason, the Patriots have posted a 137-24 record at Gillette Stadium, good enough for an .851 winning percentage. The Seattle Seahawks are the next closest team to the Patriots, and they have a 107-44 record in home games.
“He is very smart,” Wilks said of Belichick. “He is going to make sure his team is prepared as they are each and every week. The one thing that New England is not going to do is they are not going to beat themselves.
“That is one of the things that we have to learn how to do here is not try to beat ourselves and put ourselves in positions to win football games. It starts with really eliminating penalties on both sides of the ball. Most importantly, on the defensive side, we have to do a great job of being smart and putting ourselves in position to make plays.”