Chiefs vs. Browns: 10 Keys to the Game for Cleveland

The Cleveland Browns look to extend their winning streak to three and continue to make a case for Pat Shurmur to stick around for another year at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs are coming off unprecedented circumstances with actions of Javon Belcher that ended two lives last week. The Chiefs earned their own win last week in which Brady Quinn was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

The game serves as a reunion of sorts with several former Browns players and coaches on the Kansas City roster. On the field Brady Quinn, Peyton Hillis and Shaun Smith make their return to the Dawg Pound. On the sidelines, the Browns' former head coach Romeo Crennel will bring with him two former Browns offensive coordinators, Brian Daboll and Maurice Carthon.

The game will ultimately be decided on the field by the players. The Browns come in with the emotion of winning back-to-back games and the Chiefs come into Cleveland with heavy hearts due to the events of last week still on their minds.

Let's take a look at the keys to the game for Cleveland.

Follow @ClevelandHuddle

No Interceptions

Although the Browns have won back-to-back games for the first time since last year, Brandon Weeden hasn't been able to avoid throwing interceptions in those victories.

The rookie quarterback has been able to make up for those interceptions by delivering touchdown passes with pinpoint accuracy.

Weeden has shown that he is resilient by not letting his mistakes affect the rest of the game. Some of the interceptions have come from inside pressure from the defensive line, which didn't allow for Weeden to fully step into throws.

The Chiefs will attempt to do the same thing based on the film study of the other teams' pocket pressure success.

After seeing inside pressure the last two weeks the Browns will need to make an adjustment with offensive line protection and the location of the pocket.

Play Keep-Away

The Chiefs defense is giving up 6.1 yards per carry in the running game. The Browns should have a good day on the ground with Trent Richardson and Montario Hardesty.

Richardson is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season.

If the Browns can use the running game to keep Jamaal Charles off the field and keep their defense fresh, they should walk out of the stadium with a victory on Sunday.

Flash Gordon

The Browns have a legit playmaker in Josh Gordon who leads the team's receivers with five touchdown catches. He is an explosive play waiting to happen with his 19 yards a catch and his long catch for the season of 71 yards.

The defense he will see on Sunday allows an average of 8.3 yards per pass. It might be time for the Browns to get Gordon on one of the those 50-yard-plus touchdown passes again.

It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs defense is improved based on the win last week or if they will go back to their giving ways.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

In a response to questions about the drama with former teammate and now Kansas City Chief Peyton Hillis, Joe Thomas decided to spill the beans on what happened last year.

The five-time Pro Bowl left tackle said to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, "the situation with him here was toxic" and "it was better for both sides" that Hillis left the team.

Hillis has only played a small role at running back for the Chiefs because Jamaal Charles is the primary ball-carrier.

They don't match up on Sunday but it will be interesting if Thomas gets some extra pass rush because of his comments.

Will the comments give the Browns defense more to worry about with a more than motivated Peyton Hillis with revenge on his mind?

It will be decided on the field on Sunday.

The Browns Have Found the Tight End

Since the bye week Brandon Weeden has discovered how to use the tight end in the passing game.

Weeden, who played in a form of the spread offense in college, didn't have a tight end to throw to in the passing game at Oklahoma State.

He was drafted by a team that has a surplus at the tight end position.

As teams have played a lot of deep Cover 2 zone defense to take away the deep ball to Josh Gordon, Weeden has found the tight ends are open and getting yards after the catch on short or intermediate throws.

In the two previous games before last Sunday the tight ends have found the end zone. Ben Watson and Jordan Cameron have shared the touchdown workload.

The tight ends were key to the 90-yard-plus drive to win the game last week in Oakland.

The tight ends will be key in this game as well.

Stop Jamaal Charles

The Browns defense has been better in the running game the past three weeks, but they don't have a history of playing well against the run. The defense is currently giving up 4.1 yards per carry average and they get one of the NFL's best runners on Sunday in Jamaal Charles.

Charles makes his biggest plays in the open field, which is a weakness for the Browns defense because they don't have elite speed at the linebacker position.

The Browns do have youth with fresher legs, but none of the linebackers have Patrick Willis speed to keep up with Charles one-on-one.

The biggest challenge for the Browns defense will be to not over-pursue the play. Charles will press the hole on the front side to suck the defense in and then cut out the back door in a split second.

The back side run support from the secondary will be key in this game to stopping the back door cuts by Jamaal Charles.

Pressure the Passer

Since Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin have been back in the Browns' defensive line rotation they have gotten consistent pressure on the quarterback. The pressure doesn't always show up the same way but it has been front and center in the success of the Browns defense.

The pressure has shown up in sacks against Dallas, turnovers against the Steelers and a key interception against the Raiders.

The Browns defense can't let Brady Quinn have a clean game like he did last week against the Panthers when he had no turnovers and two touchdowns.

If Quinn has success, it could be a long day for the Browns, as it would allow the Chiefs to use the running game to play keep-away from the Browns offense.

Turn Up the Turnover Machine

One of the big reasons the Chiefs have only won two games is because they turn the ball over. The Chiefs have had games where they won the time of possession battle, gained more yards and lost because of turnovers.

The Chiefs did not turn the ball over last week, led in time of possession, and won the game.

The Browns need to turn that equation around in order to get the victory this Sunday. In the two-game win streak the Browns have gotten key turnovers when they needed them.

They will need turnovers on Sunday to turn the Chiefs back into their losing ways.

Get Ready for the Jump Ball

It was hard to find a picture of Joe Haden from last week's Oakland Raiders game because Carson Palmer only threw his way five times.

In this game Haden will get a little more action because of the height advantage of the Chiefs receivers. Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin are both at least 6'2" and the Browns don't have a corner over 6'.

The jump ball will be flying on Sunday and it will come down to body position, timing and technique in order to limit the success of those passes.

Brady Quinn will most likely follow the blueprint of finding Sheldon Brown and throwing the football his way. It might not be the best idea as the crafty veteran was able to steal a pass from Carson Palmer based on a tendency he saw on film.

If Brady Quinn falls into a bad habit he has shown on film he may get his pocket picked as well.

Seeing Red on Special Teams

Josh Cribbs has one of the best kickoff return averages in the league at 28.1 yards per return. He has a long of 74 yards, but no touchdowns.

In 2009 when Josh faced the Chiefs, he had two touchdown returns, one for 100 yards and then another for 103 yards.

In Oakland last week Josh was frustrated as the Raiders were able to prevent him from having success on returns. Josh has been frustrated overall with the lack of explosive return plays and with his role on offense.

If Josh can have a flashback game it definitely will be a key to victory for the Cleveland Browns.