3 favorable matchups for the Vikings in Week 4 vs. the Browns

Minnesota’s pass defense vs. Cleveland’s WR group

Jarvis Landry will not be available for this matchup, leaving Odell Beckham Jr. as the only consistent threat in Cleveland’s passing game. Beckham is obviously no slouch and the Vikings have had their struggles defending the pass this season, but this will be their first matchup against a depleted receiving unit.

Cincinnati, Arizona, and Seattle all had several considerable threats for their quarterbacks, so this should be a nice change of pace for the Vikings. This should ease some of the pressure on Bashaud Breeland, but it should also be time for Cameron Dantzler to get some playing time.

Minnesota has to stop the passing game on Sunday or else they could be in for a long afternoon. Cleveland is going to want to run the ball and set up the downfield passing attack. Stopping the run usually comes first but the Vikings stand a much better chance if they limit the big plays in the passing game and let their front-seven attack in the run game.

Cleveland has a dominant offensive line and two very gifted running backs. As a team, the Browns have already racked up 524 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Minnesota might as well worry about stopping the passing game and just take their struggles on run defense.