Two streaks end

The first clue arrived early Saturday morning.

The first clue to what? 

The first clue to answer the dumbest and silliest question of the week as to who will quarterback both teams when the Browns and Jacksonville Jagwires (yeah, I know) meet Sunday down by the lake.

Let's start with Cleveland. We pretty much know it will be Joe Flacco even though Dorian Thompson-Robinson cleared concussion protocol Saturday and will be the only other candidate following the waiving (finally) of P. J. Walker.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski can hem and haw all he wants as he tries to shroud the mystery of his choice, but he knows Jags head coach Doug Pederson isn't falling for this nonsense. Why start an unproven  rookie just out of concussion protocol when you've got a proven 16-year National Football League veteran who is healthy and easily the best quarterback on the roster?

Pederson has all his faculties and isn't for one minute buying any of that crap Stefanski is trying to sell. It's kind of obvious the Browns' head man must have had a hard time in psychology class as a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

So what's the clue? It deals with the conundrum over whom Pederson will start Sunday. It became a conundrum the moment Jags starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a high ankle sprain late in last Sunday's overtime loss to Cincinnati. 

High ankle sprains generally require at least a few weeks to heal, thus generating this little conundrum. And Saturday, Jacksonville added quarterback Nathan Rourke to the active roster from the practice squad, ostensibly to back up journeyman C. J. Beathard, who took over when Lawrence went down. 

The move indicates one of their now three quarterbacks on the active roster won't play Sunday. That could also be Beathard, who suffered a shoulder injury in the Bengals loss. 

So why did the Jags make this move if Lawrence is ready to go? Beats me. I believe, though, he is. Ready, that is. And that's why the Browns probably will prepare more for the much more dangerous Lawrence. The only possible argument against that notion is why risk further damage to his ankle?

All these questions about two teams pretty much neck-and-neck in the race to the postseason. The call here is Flacco against Lawrence, a couple of 6-6 quarterbacks at opposite ends of their careers.

Here's shat Lawrence offers with regard to statistical importance: He has thrown for 3,004 yards this season, including 14 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions. He's been sacked 27 times.

He lost Christian Kirk, his best wide receiver, for the season in the Bengals game. But he still has speedy Calvin Ridley and tight end Evan Engram, on whom he leans heavily in short-yardage situations.

The Jags pretty much rely on Travis Etienne Jr. in the ground game, Lawrence's former college teammate has run for 771 yards and eight touchdowns infantry style and added another 346 yards and touchdown through the air. He is especially dangerous on screen passes.

On the Browns' injury front, cornerback Denzel Ward is expected back after missing the last two games with shoulder issues; wide receiver Amari Cooper, who was concussed last week in Los Angeles, has cleared protocol and should be a go for Sunday (Flacco is smiling); and corner Cameron Mitchell (hamstring) is back.

The bad news is offensive tackle Dawand Jones is out with a knee. That means James Hudson III will start at right tackle. More bad news considering how much better the rookie has been than the third-year man. Fortunately, he won't have to face defensive end Josh Allen, who owns 13.5 of the team's 26 sacks. 

That responsibility belongs to newcomer Geron Christian, who fortunately has excelled at protecting his quarterback, but needs to work on opening holes for his skilled teammates.

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Facts entering the game: The Jags own this series, winning 12 of the 18 previous meetings. They also hold a 7-2 edge in Cleveland. . . . Jacksonville is also unbeaten in five road games this season. . . . The Browns are 5-1 at home, outscoring opponents 103-61 (17.17-10.2 per). . . . On the road, they are 2-4 and outscored, 184-152 (30.7-25.3 per) by opponents. Considering those revealing stats, good thing this is a home game. 

* * * 

Flacco sustains his nice start as a Cleveland Brown especially with Cooper back from protocol. And maybe this will be the game where Stefanski mingles more ground game with his three-headed monster into the game plan and finally realizes, as Flacco has, tight end Harrison Bryant is more reliable in catching the football than David Njoku. Flacco throws two more scoring passes (Cooper and Elijah Moore), and now that they're at home, the Cleveland defense makes life miserable for whatever Jags quarterback shows up. Two streaks fall: The Browns' two-game loser and the Jags' unbeaten string on the road. If I'm wrong about Lawrence, it will be worse. Make it:

Browns 24, Jaguars 20