Patriots-Browns Week 5 Predictions
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is back. That's great news for the New England Patriots, but really bad news for the Cleveland Browns.
Things are not going well in the Dawg Pound, with their beloved Browns off to a rocky 0-4 start. And now they get a pissed off and highly motivated Tom Brady returning from his four-game DeflateGate suspension, ready to take out his frustrations on their struggling defense.
Things could get ugly Sunday afternoon, and fast. Here's how the CBS Boston sports team sees Sunday's game playing out:
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
Brady's back!
Patriots 34, Browns 7
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
I know this is the much-hyped return of Tom Brady, and is should be. However, I'm also looking forward to watching everyone else raise their level of play around him.
Add in that Bill Belichick coached in Cleveland and the team was flat last week, and this sets up as a good week for the Pats.
Patriots 45, Browns 17
Levan Reid, WBZ-TV Sports
This one is an easy one. Welcome back Tom Brady and welcome the Pats back to the win column.
Rob Gronkowski will get back on track and Julian Edelman will see more passes head his way as well. The Pats will still run the ball effectively, but Tom's passing presence is obvious. He should throw for over 300 yards in his return.
The defense should also stop the Browns' strong running game, and they should intercept Cody Kessler a couple of times.
Afterwards in the locker room, coach Bill Belichick will give Brady the game ball, and Tom and all the players should sign it and send it to Roger Goodell.
Patriots 35, Browns 7
Mike "Sarge" Riley, 98.5 The Sports Hub/WBZ NewsRadio 1030
Act 2, Scene 1 of the "Brady Revenge Tour" begins in Cleveland. It's very rare for the Pats to lose two in a row, and not very rare for the Browns to lose.
Patriots 23, Browns 17
Adam Kaufman, 98.5 The Sports Hub/WBZ NewsRadio 1030
I wasn't confident the Patriots would beat the Bills last week; I was downright cocky. This week, all the more so with Tom Brady back. Sure, there could be some rust and he might have a tamer day than most anticipate, but I'm still buying into the absurd this weekend where Brady's return from DeflateGate results in like 600 passing yards and 7 touchdowns. Or something like that.
The Browns are winless and no matter how "good" an 0-4 team they are or how close they've played their opponents, we're still talking about Bill Belichick and Brady here. This should be over by halftime. Plenty of time to get a couple things done around the house before the Red Sox start at 4 p.m.
Patriots 35, Browns 13
Rob "Hardy" Poole, 98.5 The Sports Hub
As you probably know, the Cleveland Browns were named after the Chuck Berry song, "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man." But Tom Brady has blue eyes. What does it all mean? The Browns are about to get "blew" out, 200-12. No, make that 212-12. TB12. God, those eyes are blue.
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