Ben Tate Will Be X-Factor for Cleveland Browns in Week 11
By Connor Fulton
@ConnorFultonRS
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns can attribute their Week 10 romp over the Cincinnati Bengals to a flourishing, three-pronged group of running backs who produced 170 yards and all three TDs in the 24-3 win. Look for the Browns to continue relying on Terrance West, Isaiah Crowell and Ben Tate against the Houston Texans this Sunday. In particular, look for the former Texan Tate to be the most important player on the field for the Browns in an AFC matchup that has far-reaching playoff picture ramifications.
When the Browns suffered that hiccup to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7, and then squeaked by the lowly Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the next two games, there were concerns about the running game. After all, the unit produced only 153 yards in that stretch. But last Thursday night, the Cleveland rushing attack re-booted and fueled the team to victory.
Even though he got only 10 carries compared to Crowell’s 12 and West’s 26 against the Bengals, Tate will get the majority of the workload. Mike Pettine is fully aware of how disgruntled Tate is with his current role; the Coach of the Year candidate will realize the added emotion Tate will be carrying into the game because of his history in a Texans uniform.
Tate will be fed over 20 carries, eclipsing the 100-yard mark before the start of the fourth quarter. You can bet the Auburn product is determined to out-perform his former mentor, Arian Foster.
The Browns need Tate to regain the form he had in the first few games of October, when the bruising back rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in wins over the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. Forcing the Texans to respect the run will slow down the ferocious J.J. Watt, giving Brian Hoyer time to hit his receivers. This Browns offense is very, very good when they are running the ball well and Hoyer is able to utilize the play-action.
Connor Fulton is an NFL writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google.
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