The New Orleans Saints look to rebound from a surprising opening game loss to Tampa Bay this Sunday Alex Anzalone Jersey Stitched , when they host the Cleveland Browns. The Saints offense managed to put up 40 points in the loss, but struggled to run the ball without their Pro Bowl back, Mark Ingram. The Browns managed to hold one of the better offenses in the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to just 21 points in an opening week tie. Today, let's break down how well the New Orleans offense matches up against the improved Cleveland defense, coached by old friend(?) Gregg Williams. SAINTS PASS OFFENSE vs. BROWNS PASS DEFENSE Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY SportsQuarterback Drew Brees was as sharp as he has ever been last week, completing 37 of his 45 attempts (82%) for 439 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. As expected, Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara were his primary targets. Thomas started the new season by breaking a team record that had stood since 1978, by catching 16 passes, finishing with 180 yards and a score. He did have a key third quarter fumble, but otherwise the 3rd year pro continues to cement himself as one of the best wideouts in the league. Kamara added 9 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown, lining up all over the offensive formation. Both Kamara and Thomas are matchup nightmares for opposing defenses, and will continue to be the focal point of the New Orleans offense. Ted Ginn Jr. had a solid game as well, catching five passes for 68 yards and a score, while tight end Benjamin Watson contributed four receptions for 44 yards. After a standout preseason, rookie 3rd round pick Tre'quan Smith played surprisingly little and did not record a reception against the Buccaneers. Brees was sacked just once against Tampa Bay, despite the fact that the Saints were forced to throw on nearly every down through the second half. The offensive line provided mostly solid protection to their veteran passer, despite being without the services of left guard Andrus Peat, who was ruled inactive due to injury. The Saints offensive line will be tested by a Browns defense that had three sacks and numerous against Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger last Sunday. 2017 first overall draft pick Myles Garrett is beginning to look like a force along the edge. He had two sacks and 2 forced fumbles last week, after leading his team with 7 quarterback takedowns last season in just 11 games. His bookend on the other side, Emmanuel Ogbah, will miss this game with injury, but newly acquired Anthony Zettel was a solid rusher with Detroit last season. Second year defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is a disrupter inside, and is joined by Devaroe Lawrence, who was acquired from the Saints in a trade following a very good preseason. Cleveland linebacker Joe Schobert is one of the more underrated defenders in the game, while Jamie Collins adds a veteran presence on the outside capable of both rushing the passer or dropping into coverage effectively. Jabrill Peppers, one of three 1st round picks in 2017, and Denzel Ward, the second of the Browns first round picks this season, team with safety Damarious Randall to give Cleveland a young but athletic secondary. The Browns gave up 335 yards passing to Roethlisberger last week, but intercepted him 3 times (2 by Ward) in addition to applying good pressure all afternoon. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images~ Matchup to watch: Saints OT's Terron Armstead/Ryan Ramczyk vs. Myles Garrett ~ Garrett has 9 sacks in just 12 career games, and is showing why his team invested the top overall pick in him a year ago. Armstead and Ramczyk are among the top tackle combos in the league, but their hands will be full trying to contain Garrett, along with Collins and Zettel. The Browns secondary may be overwhelmed by Thomas, which could perhaps open up chances for Ginn and Tre'quan Smith down the field Youth Trey Hendrickson Jersey , but Brees must be given the time to let the patterns develop to make plays. SAINTS RUN OFFENSE vs. BROWNS RUN DEFENSE Chuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsThe Saints lacked balance last Sunday in the loss to the Bucs, rushing the ball just 13 times for 43 yards. Part of that was a heavy emphasis on the passing game early, and New Orleans was then in catch-up mode throughout most of the second half. Still, they averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, and were limited without the services of Ingram, the team's second all-time leading rusher. Kamara led the team in rushing with just 29 yards, but did have two slashing touchdown runs and another for a 2-pt. conversion. Recently signed Mike Gillislee had only nine yards on three carries, including a game changing 2nd quarter fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and Jonathan Williams was stuffed for no gain on his only run attempt. Coach Sean Payton prefers to use the talents of Kamara all over his offensive formations, rather than as a traditional running back, but the team must find offensive balance until Ingram returns from his suspension. The Browns surrendered 135 yards on the ground and two rushing scores to the Steelers' James Conner, who was playing in place of holdout Le'Veon Bell. Despite Conner's success, he added five catches for 57 yards, Cleveland's defense was strong against the run during the 2017 season. The Browns allowed only 3.4 yards per carry last year, second best mark in the NFL, and ranked 7th in rushing yardage surrendered. Last year's second leading tackler, outside linebacker Christian Kirksey, is questionable for this contest because of injury, but Schobert racked up an incredible 142 stops on his way to a Pro Bowl berth. Peppers has impressive athletic ability, and is far better as a run defender than in pass coverage. Conner's success against the Browns defense may have Saints coaches salivating at the possibility of what the much more athletic and explosive Alvin Kamara could do in this matchup. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images~ Matchup to watch: Sean Payton vs. Gregg Williams ~Williams was of course the Saints defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl championship season of 2009, a role he held from '09-'12, until suspended for his role in the "Bountygate" scandal. His defensive philosophy has always been predicated on heavy pressure on the quarterback, often resulting in turnovers and big plays for his unit. Payton has often been rumored to have a strained relationship, at best, with his former defensive coordinator, despite both men's statements to the contrary this week. Payton's behavior when his offense last met a defense coached by Williams could more likely be a more accurate assessment of their relationship. During the 2016 season, when Williams was coordinator of the Rams, New Orleans rolled up 555 yards of total offense (360 passing, 209 rushing) during a 49-21 victory. Most notable to many was Payton's demonstrative behavior along the sidelines, including numerous taunting gestures toward the Rams bench, and a gadget play when the game was already decided; a 50-yd. touchdown pass from wide receiver Willie Snead to running back Tim Hightower. Regardless of the actual relationship between the two coaches, they are known as among the finest offensive and defensive minded coaches in the game. WHAT TO LOOK FOR Chuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsNew Orleans came out extremely aggressive against Tampa Bay, operating from the shotgun on 11 of their first 16 plays. Look for the Saints to continue to move Kamara all around their formation, but the second year back will likely be utilized as a rusher more often in this game. Payton and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael will probably have a more balanced approach to this game, but New Orleans will still lean more heavily on the talents of Brees, Thomas, and the other weapons in their passing attack until Ingram returns. The chess match between Payton and Williams will be fun to watch Trey Hendrickson Jersey Stitched , but the Saints look like they can have another big day statistically, provided they can keep their signal caller upright to find his playmakers. Enough of this.If the Eagles are going to make a respectable showing after their first Super Bowl title, it's time to do so. They have lost three of four. They turn over the ball too often and can't make big defensive stops.They are heavily injured physically and, perhaps psychologically, by a 4-6 record as they host the New York Giants (3-7) on Sunday."It's uncharted territory a little bit," coach Doug Pederson says. "I think the guys have really handled it well. They're disappointed, they're frustrated, quite frankly, as we all are. We haven't played up to the caliber that we're capable of playing."Nobody is going to feel sorry for us, and we're not going to do the same. We just have to come to work ready and practice, and prepare, and as they say, try to go 1-0 each week."Six weeks of 1-0 might be good enough to win the NFC East, in which they trail Washington by two games and Dallas by one. The Eagles have two games left with the Redskins and one with the Cowboys, to whom they have lost in Philly.New York has won two in a row to temporarily quiet the social media and tabloid complaints about Eli Manning. The veteran quarterback has shown that given time to throw 鈥?the O-line has vastly improved the past two weeks 鈥?he still can produce. And he has talented teammates in Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard."I think we're running the ball better than we did, so I feel like we're playing better football, but we got to continue doing that," Manning says. "They're a good team, they're a good defense, they got a good front four and they're a little banged-up in the secondary, but they'll have a good plan and we just got to go execute."The weekend began with the Thanksgiving Day tripleheader.At New Orleans, Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes to inexperienced receivers and the Saints (10-1) won their 10th straight game with a 31-17 victory over Atlanta (4-7) that eliminated the Falcons from contention in the NFC South.At Dallas, Amari Cooper had a 90-yard touchdown catch while finishing with 180 yards receiving and two scores and Dallas pulled even with Washington atop the NFC East at 6-5 with a 31-23 Thanksgiving victory over the Redskins.At Detroit, Chase Daniel set career highs with 230 yards passing and two touchdowns to keep Chicago (8-3) rolling with a 23-16 win over the Lions (4-7).Off this week are the Chiefs and Rams, the final byes of the season. They are probably exhausted after that 54-51 Monday night affair in which Los Angeles improved to 10-1 and Kansas City fell to 9-2.Seattle (5-5) at Carolina (6-4)The winner could place itself in strong position for a wild card. Neither the Seahawks nor Panthers figures to catch their division leaders, the Rams and Saints, respectively. A Seahawks loss clinches the NFC West for LA.Carolina has lost two straight in entirely different manners, a blowout at the hands of Pittsburgh and then a one-point defeat at Detroit when a 2-point conversion failed .Both teams will want to run; Seattle leads the league in yards on the ground despite not having a standout running back.Tennessee (5-5) at Houston (7-3), Monday nightNot only are the Texans, winners of seven in a row, in charge of the AFC South, they've become a factor for a potential playoff bye. They'll need to keep up the excellent work on both sides of the ball.J.J. Watt has made an impressive comeback from basically two wasted seasons with 10 sacks and a seemingly non-stop presence around the ball. He could be particularly destructive if the Titans need to play Blaine Gabbert for the injured starting QB, Marcus Mariota.The Titans have been maddeningly inconsistent. They dominate New England, then get blown out at Indianapolis. This is a rare difficult matchup for the rest of their schedule.Pittsburgh (7-2-1) at Denver (4-6)A sign of a contender is playing poorly 鈥?very poorly at times 鈥?and still winning. The Steelers did that last week at Jacksonville, a game that could catapult them to bigger things in a division they already control.Antonio Brown is tied for the league lead with 11 touchdown receptions and has at least one touchdown catch in eight consecutive games. With a TD reception on Sunday Youth Sheldon Rankins Jersey , Brown would tie Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (in 1963) and A.J. Green (in 2012) for the third-longest streak of games with a touchdown catch in a single season. Jerry Rice has the mark with 12 in 1987.Denver comes off a stirring comeback victory at the Chargers and linebacker Von Miller comes off another one of his dominant performances with a key interception and his 100th sack.Miami (5-5) at Indianapolis (5-5)A pair of .500 teams headed in opposite directions.The Dolphins are reeling, coming off a bye after losses in three of four, but expect to have starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill back from a shoulder injury. The Miami offense has gone nine quarters without a touchdown.Indy is one of the NFL's hottest teams with four consecutive victories. Andrew Luck has thrown a TD pass in a league-high 33 straight games, and at least three TD passes in seven straight, tying Dan Marino for the third-longest streak in NFL history. Luck can tie Peyton Manning (eight) for No. 2 against Miami.He also has not been sacked since Oct. 4, a career-best 214 attempts. That five-game string without a sack is tied for third longest since 1982.Green Bay (4-5-1) at Minnesota (5-4-1)Yet another prime-time appearance for the Vikings, who are 0-3 at night. Both teams are chasing the Bears, of course, and have wild-card aspirations, too.If Minnesota doesn't find a ground game, it's likely doomed to being home in January; it ranks 31st. Green Bay allowed 173 rushing yards to the Seahawks last week.Green Bay doesn't have that problem. Aaron Jones, who missed the early season tie between these clubs while suspended, has 342 rushing yards and four TDs in the past four games, plus 12 receptions for 100 yards and one TD. Jones leads the league with 6.4 yards per rush.But the Packers have lost seven straight regular-season road games since winning in overtime at Cleveland last Dec. 10.New England (7-3) at New York Jets (3-7)Just what the spiraling Jets need: Tom Brady and the very annoyed Patriots making a visit.New England played poorly at Tennessee before its bye, but wasn't within light years of how badly the Jets performed in their loss to Buffalo. While the Patriots are on pace for their millionth straight AFC East title (actually their 10th), the heat on Jets coach Todd Bowles has intensified. New York has lost four in a row and has beaten New England once in the past eight tries.Brady needs 147 passing yards and four touchdown passes to surpass Peyton Manning (79,279 passing yards and 579 touchdown passes) for the most in each category in NFL history, including the postseason.Jacksonville (3-7) at Buffalo (3-7)The Jaguars had a chance to turn around their disappointing season when they led Pittsburgh 16-0 last week. They folded, and now the questions intensify about the security of the coaching staff and quarterback Blake Bortles.Still, though Jacksonville has dropped six in a row, it's remaining schedule is anything but difficult. To not make some sort of turnaround would be inexcusable.One thing worth noting about the Bills: They keep coming at you, despite perhaps the least-talented offensive roster in the league. Their defense makes them competitive.Arizona (2-8) at Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)The Chargers blew a chance to be tied for the AFC West lead with some suspect play calls and play-not-to-lose mentality late against Denver. Still, they are in excellent shape for a playoff berth, particularly if Philip Rivers makes better decisions with a game on the line.Rivers has 23 touchdown passes and has thrown for at least 25 in 10 consecutive seasons. He needs two TD throws to tie former teammate Drew Brees for the second-longest streak. Peyton Manning had 13.Like LA, the Cardinals come off a late-game fold, against Oakland.Oakland (2-8) at Baltimore (5-5)With Joe Flacco sidelined against Cincinnati, first-round pick Lamar Jackson brought a running game to the QB position, something Flacco won't be doing when he returns.The Ravens rushed for 265 yards as Jackson ran 27 times for 117 yards, Gus Edwards had 115 yards on the ground and both rookies rushed for seven first downs."Oh, he had 27 carries," coach John Harbaugh said. "You know what he did? He won the game. He played his tail off. Celebrate that, and move on."The Raiders hadn't celebrated a victory since Sept. 30. They ranked 31st in run defense, so another win here seems unlikely.Cleveland (3-6-1) at Cincinnati (5-5)The Bengals have been ravaged by injuries and seem headed for yet another disappointing season. But a win Sunday would keep them in the wild-card chase.Neither team plays much defense, so while this won't be Chiefs-Rams, it could keep the scoreboard lit.San Francisco (2-8) at Tampa Bay (3-7)Not much to recommend here.Bucs receiver Mike Evans has 957 yards receiving and can join Hall of Famer Randy Moss (six consecutive seasons) and A.J. Green (five) as the only players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first five seasons. He figures to get it against the 49ers whether Jameis Winston returns to starting duty at quarterback or Ryan Fitzpatrick goes.