LONDON — Browns safety Grant Delpit knows all about Carson Wentz’s Achilles heel, and plans to take advantage of it on Sunday.
The last time the Browns faced Wentz, in Week 17 of the 2022 season, Delpit grabbed two of Wentz’s three interceptions in the Browns’ 24-10 victory.
He’s hoping for more of the same as Wentz makes his third start of the season for the Vikings on Sunday in place of 2024 No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy, who’s out with a high ankle sprain.
“I see those kind of opportunities every week, especially with a non-starter that’s just becoming the starter on a new team and stuff,” Delpit said Thursday. “And he actually has a history of turning the ball over a lot. So that’s something that we’ve got to exploit, make him uncomfortable and go get that thing.”
Delpit snapped the Browns’ seven-game no-interception streak when he picked off Jordan Love during their 13-10 victory over the Packers two weeks ago.
Denzel Ward kept it going with a pick off of Jared Goff to set up a field goal in the Browns’ 34-10 loss to the Lions. But the Browns will also be looking to separate Wentz from the ball, which he has a weakness for doing.
Wentz has fumbled 79 times in his career, including three seasons with double-digit fumbles. This season, while subbing for McCarthy, the Vikings have serious problems on the interior of their line, including at center, that the Browns hope to cash in on.
“Yeah, man, really just attacking, muddying it up for him,” Delpit said. “Just making it hard on him. We love making it hard on quarterbacks. He’s new over there too. He’s got a couple of games under his belt. Really just playing how we play and not diverting much from that.”
With the Browns’ dominant defensive line, led by future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett, off to a roaring start, they should be able to rattle Wentz into some mistakes.
“The interception that Denzel had was a direct result of what the guys did up front,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Shelby (Harris) cracked a stunt up front. Quarterback had a guy in his face, he had to elevate the ball high. Denzel did a really good job in the coverage. We did overlap and were rewarded with a turnover.
“So, it all really goes down to pass rush and even if you’re not sacking the quarterback, if you’re affecting the quarterback, making him throw before he wants to, or make him make errant throws, then it’s part of how it goes. Wentz has fumbled a lot in his career and we’ve got to be aggressive at the ball when we’re in the pocket there because there’s going to be opportunities there.”
In the same way that giveaways deflated the Browns, their takeaways have buoyed them. Now, they must keep it up with rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel at the helm.
“Turnovers certainly give you energy,” Schwartz said. “There’s nothing that really gets your energy going, your momentum going than lost yardage plays, turnovers, big third down stops, big hits. All those things are contagious and have some good carry over for us.”
During the Vikings’ 24-21 loss to the Steelers last week in Dublin, Wentz was sacked six times and threw two interceptions. He also fumbled once.
The Browns also plan to spoil his visit to London.
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