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Cleveland Weather Forecast Could Significantly Impact Browns vs Raiders Matchup

By Jason Schandl

Browns vs Raiders weather could have a big impact on their Week 8 matchup.
Browns vs Raiders weather could have a big impact on their Week 8 matchup. / Justin Casterline/Getty Images
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Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season brings us our first real dose of extreme weather conditions, which threaten to shake up plenty of matchups. That includes the AFC showdown between the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders.

When we're talking about extreme football weather in Cleveland we're usually looking at cold and snow, but today it's heavy winds that will play a role instead.

This weather should have a significant impact on both offenses.

The Cleveland Browns already boast one of the most run-heavy offenses in the NFL (ranked No. 2 with a 49.3% run play percentage), and they will likely skew even further in that direction. Their passing game will have to adapt as well.

Baker Mayfield has an average depth of target (aDOT) of 8.7 yards on the year, which is tied for No. 7 among qualifying QBs. Pairing extreme wind and the loss of Odell Beckham means we can expect Mayfield to shy away from the deep ball this afternoon.

Derek Carr (7.3-yard aDOT, No. 24) won't have to change as much, since he's not typically looking to stretch the field anyway. His Raiders are much less run-heavy than the Browns (43.4% run play percentage, No. 15 in the NFL), but this weather should have them leaning on Josh Jacobs more than usual.

Earlier in the week, this game had an over/under set at 49.5 points. As of Sunday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook has that total down to 47.5.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.