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Browns' offensive line builds cohesion amidst changing lineups | In the Trenches

Cleveland will travel to Foxborough, Mass. to play the Patriots in Week 8

Oct 20, 2025 at 05:42 PM

Noah Monroe

Staff Writer Intern

10.20 in the trenches browns patriots article

The Browns will play their fourth away game when they visit the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. on Oct. 26, looking to build off Week 7's win.

Cleveland beat the Dolphins 31-6 on Oct. 19, winning its second game of the season. The Browns forced Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa to throw three interceptions and forced a fumble, getting multiple takeaways for the second time in three weeks. The takeaways led to 21 points and the Browns pulled away with the game in the second half.

"Obviously, excited coming off that win for this football team," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Bunch of things that you love to see on the field, in particular, obviously, going plus-4 in the turnover margin was a very big deal. Just how hard that football team played yesterday on all phases from minute one to minute 60. Guys are flying around. So, we're in here now watching the tape with the guys to make those necessary corrections and then we'll move on very quickly to New England."

Here are the main pieces of news heading into Week 8 before the Browns take on their fifth AFC team of the season.

Injury Updates

In the second quarter against the Dolphins, DT Adin Huntington was evaluated for a concussion and later ruled out for the remainder of the game. Following the win, Stefanski announced Huntington was in the concussion protocol.

On Oct. 20, Stefanski gave an update on two Browns players that were out against Miami, TE David Njoku and DT Mike Hall Jr. He said Njoku would be day-to-day heading into Week 8, and they will monitor Hall during the week to gauge his status. Hall hasn't played in a game since Week 18 last season.

Creating a path in the trenches

Through seven weeks of the season, the Browns have had seven different starting offensive line iterations, primarily due to injuries at the tackle position. T Dawand Jones suffered a knee injury in Week 3 and is out for the 2025 season. T Jack Conklin missed three games this season with an elbow injury and was inactive for Week 7 while in the concussion protocol.

Cleveland, however, has weathered the storm and the offensive line is meshing. While the interior three positions with guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller and C Ethan Pocic have remained the same, they have had to adjust to a rotation of tackles.

Stefanski and his offensive coaching staff have helped the offensive line grow as a group in order to help get the run game going.

"That's just part of our job as coaches to get guys ready to play," Stefanski said. "Then obviously what you do and how you install, how you meet, how you structure a game plan to maximize the ability to learn knowing that there could be some guys in different spots."

In a rainy game against the Dolphins, the Browns used the running game to move the ball, leaning on the offensive line to pave the way. T Cam Robinson made his second start for the Browns at left tackle while T Cornelius Lucas started his third game at right tackle. The game became one to build off of as the offensive line helped RB Quinshon Judkins get a trio of rushing touchdowns, including a career-long 46-yard touchdown.

"The communication's the same. Sometimes it's a little bit different with who's in there," Teller said. "But at the end of the day, I have two great tackles playing next to me who are going through rotation, but I don't notice any drop off whenever we're in there and we can play. So, I'm blessed to have two guys that play so hard next to me."

The Browns' communication in the trenches will be tested against the Patriots' run defense. New England allows 77.1 rushing yards per game, the second-best total in the NFL. This season, the Browns have been held under 77.1 rushing yards in just two games.

"I think they're five and two, talented team, like you said, with (Patriots head coach Mike) Vrabel, they're going to be wired up," Teller said. "We have our work cut out for us. I think I've said that about a million times finishing these interviews, but the Patriots have a talented front, talented defense and a good organization."

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