It will be close

Every now and then, a football game comes along that catches your attention for all the right reasons. Sunday's late get-together on the lakefront between the Browns and Indianapolis Colts is such a game.

It figures to be a classic battle between the unstoppable force against the immovable object. The Browns' top-ranked ground game against a Colts defense that makes stingy look like a dirty word in Indianapolis. It has all the earmarkings of a something's-gotta-give kind of game.

We all know how scary the Cleveland offense, especially the ground game, has become in the last three weeks. Just as scary, though, is what the Colts have done in those three weeks as well. Both clubs have rebounded nicely -- in vastly different ways -- from an opening loss to bring 3-1 records into this one.

The Colts present numerous gaudy statistics on defense in the last three games as their calling card. They have surrendered only 29 points (they allowed 27 in the opening loss to Jacksonville); only 43 first downs (60 all season); a measly 704 total yards; an even more measly 217 yards on the ground, and seven takeaways.

There's more, Overall, they give up 236 total yards a game, have yielded only six touchdowns (one infantry style), racked up 10 sacks, and limited foes to 308 yards on the ground all season (77 a game). By comparison, the Cleveland offense last Sunday piled up 307 yards on the ground against the Cowboys. 

The Browns answer on offense with their own kind of gaudy as well in the last troika of games on the schedule. They have rung up 75 first downs, 1,242 total yards (680 on the ground; that's 227 a game), and just one turnover.

Yes, they will be without Nick Chubb for this one and probably the next three or four games. But they have the luxury of turning to Kareem Hunt, who just might be every bit as good as Chubb, but in a totally different way. And then there is D'Ernest Johnson, who introduced himself to the rest of the National Football League last Sunday in Dallas with a 95-yard effort.

On the other side of the wish-he-wasn't-hurt coin is Colts outside linebacker Darius Leonard, one of the league's terrific fecal-matter disturbers who will miss this one with groin issues. Big break. So is the absence of offensive left tackle Anthony Castonzo (ribs). Another big break.

The Colts' defense is just as miserly when the football is airborne with seven interceptions and a per-game average of just 159 yards. That's probably because the defense is so strong against the run, opponents are forced to put the ball up but still fall short.

In theory, that will not happen Sunday. And that's where the immovable and irresistible collide. You can safely bet head coach Kevin Stefanski will carry a play sheet Sunday filled with running plays that will (a) keep the chains moving in the right direction, (b) take time off the game clock, (c) keep the defense well rested and (d) relegate quarterback Baker Mayfield again to working with a less-risky passing game.

The Cleveland defense, which has coughed up points at a dizzying pace (31.5 a game), will be without defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (abdomen), cornerback Greedy Williams (still with a shoulder issue) and possibly strong safety Karl Joseph (hamstring) and defensive end Adrian Clayborn (hip). Rookie Jordan Elliott replaces Ogunjobi.

But Myles Garrett, playing at an All-Pro level this season, is healthy and ready to wreak more havoc, looking to extend his strip-sack streak to four straight games. With Castonzo out, it will be interesting to see whether defensive coordinator Joe Woods lines Garrett up opposite LeRaven Clark, his replacement.

The Colts' offense represents a bit of a break for the Cleveland defense, which has been been bombarded all season by opposing quarterbacks. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, the ex-Charger, is also a gunner, but the Colts love to mix in the ground game with rookie Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins sharing the load after Marlon Mack tore his Achilles in the season opener.

Rivers, who has thrown just four touchdown passes and three interceptions, completes 73% of his throws and loves to spread the ball around. His favorite targets are Hines out of the backfield, wideouts T. Y. Hilton and Zach Pascal and tight end Mo Alie-Cox, who has caught half of River's' scoring throws. 

This figures to be a pivotal game for both teams, each recording victories against mostly lesser teams and looking for a stalwart opponent to judge just how good they are.

For the Colts, it will answer whether they can stop a strong run game, one that leads the NFL in many offensive categories. For the Browns, it will answer whether they can continue to win battles against the best defense they have faced since the opening-game disaster in Baltimore.

It has been said many times throughout the course of football history -- and believed by many to be factual -- that most games are won in the trenches. Trench warfare is the great dictator.

It is also believed that a solid defense will stop a solid offense more often than not. It's even truer that a solid defense will turn away a solid offense almost every time in games leading up to a championship. Offense wins games; defense wins championships.

That said, Sunday will reveal a lot about both teams. Something will give. Since this is a game and not a championship, and since Leonard and Castonzo will be sideline spectators, a flip of the coin says the Browns will be 4-1 early Sunday evening for the first time since 1994 when the team that now call themselves the  Ravens were 6-1 in their first seven games. 

Hunt and Johnson won't run wild, but they will be effective behind the solid offensive line. Mayfield once again will throw fewer than 30 passes, completing his only scoring toss to tight end David Njoku, back from a sprained knee. The defense will struggle, of course, but will record two more takeaways. It will be close, though, so keep the Nitro tablets handy. Make it:

Browns 23, Colts 21