The Browns will cap off the Thanksgiving weekend with a road game against the Broncos on Monday Night Football for their Week 13 matchup.

The Broncos, riding a two-game winning streak, are led by head coach Sean Payton, who won Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints during the 2009 season. Payton took over as the Broncos head coach ahead of the 2023 season, defeating the Browns 29-12 in Week 12 in 2023.

His familiarity with the Browns runs deeper than their previous matchup, as Payton spent time coaching both QB Jameis Winston and WR Jerry Jeudy.

Payton was Winston's head coach for two seasons with the Saints from 2020-21. Winston started seven games for the Saints in 2021, leading them to a 5-2 record before suffering a torn ACL, ending his season. Through their time together in New Orleans, Payton witnessed the leadership traits that Winston has displayed while in Cleveland.

"He's tremendous in the locker room," Payton said. "I said it already, but he's got this infectious personality, the smile on his face every day he's at work. You hear him before you see him, that type of guy. I really enjoyed coaching him and having a chance to work with him. He's the ultimate pro, and he's got natural leadership abilities, and you feel that with him."

Jeudy spent the first four seasons of his career with the Broncos, including one season with Payton in 2023. Jeudy set career-highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2022 with the Broncos, tallying 972 receiving yards, 67 receptions and six receiving touchdowns.

Payton said that the Jeudy's natural abilities pair well with Winston's skillset. The two have combined for 379 yards and a touchdown in the four games Winston has started.

"[Jeudy] is explosive, and he separates. And I know Jameis – I've coached both of them – so, Jameis' personality is infectious, and he'll tell somebody, 'Go get open and I'll find you,' and that's what a receiver wants," Payton said. "So, those guys have had a good connection, and you see it just in the limited games that Jameis has played. But, yeah, from a talent standpoint, [Jeudy] has great hips, great transition and he's got great football IQ."

A matchup to watch when the Browns and Broncos square off will be Jeudy's snaps against CB Pat Surtain II. The two both grew up in South Florida competing against each other in 7-on-7 tournaments before teaming up at Alabama from 2018-19.

Surtain said he was looking forward to taking the field and reuniting with his longtime teammate and friend.

"It's going to be a great matchup," Surtain said. "I already know the type of person he is, his competitive structure. He's going to be ready. [...] His route running ability is top-tier, so you just have to be patient, trust your technique and use your leverage."

The Ravens' Zay Flowers and the Raiders' Jakobi Meyers are the only two receivers who have totaled more than 100 receiving yards this season against the Broncos. Surtain and the rest of the Broncos secondary will look to avoid adding Jeudy to that list and limit his production on Monday.

As Jeudy's production on the Browns offense increases, the Broncos will likely key in on him in their defensive game planning. Although players and coaches across the defense are familiar with Jeudy from his four seasons in Denver, their prior knowledge of his skillset will not affect their approach to facing the Browns offense.

"Our thought process each week is to take away their best concepts and their best players. So, for us it does not change," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. "Knowing Jeudy the player here, it might help a player who is playing against him. But as far as coaching and how we game plan, it's no different than every other week. It's not like we have different weeks where the plan changes. You're always stopping what they do best, you're taking their best players away with your game plan."

On the offensive side of the ball, one player the Broncos will have to dedicate time and attention to is DE Myles Garrett, who is coming off his second three-sack game of the 2024 season. Garrett, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, did not record a sack last season against the Broncos in the Browns' loss.

Garrett, who has the third-most sacks in the NFL this season with 10, received praise for his ability to line up anywhere across the line of scrimmage and create chaos for opposing offenses.

"That's a player that can wreck the game if you're not paying close attention," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. "And they do a good job, you know, he lines up on the left, he'll be on the right, sometimes they'll have him in the middle rushing a guard. So just being aware of when this guy's in a certain position, we better know it and be prepared. We're not letting him get five sacks because he'll do it real easily if you let him."

On Monday, Garrett will look to add Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix to the long list of quarterbacks he’s taken down in his eight seasons as a pro.

Nix has been effective in avoiding sacks this season and will look to continue doing so against Garrett and the Browns defense. Nix has only been sacked 19 times this year – the 23rd-most in the NFL and the best mark among starting rookie quarterbacks.

Despite the challenge that facing a dominant edge rusher like Garrett imposes, Nix said he was focused on the Broncos and what they needed to do to come out of Monday Night Football with a win.

"Every week it feels like you're playing another one of the top guys," Nix said. "But all we can do is worry about ourselves. We've just got to focus and execute, can't let guys like that beat us and just have a career game. So, we've just got to focus on the little things, execute the play, the details and kind of go back to the basics."