Cleveland (1-4) at Philadelphia (2-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m., EDT, Fox
BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 8 1/2.
Against the spread: Cleveland 1-4; Philadelphia 2-2.
Series record: Browns lead 32-17-1.
Last meeting: On Nov. 22, 2020, Nick Chubb rushed for 114 yards and Baker Mayfield passed for 204 to lead the Browns to a 22-17 home win over the Eagles.
Last week: Browns lost 34-13 at Washington; Eagles had a bye.
Eagles offense: overall (8), rush (5), pass (17), scoring (18).
Eagles defense: overall (27), rush (21), pass (25), scoring (22).
Browns offense: overall (32), rush (27), pass (30), scoring (30).
Browns defense: overall (13), rush (25), pass (8), scoring (T-23).
Turnover differential: Browns minus-1; Eagles minus-6.
QB Deshaun Watson's struggles through five games have led to speculation he'll be benched if things don't turn around quickly. Watson has been indecisive, inaccurate and it hasn't helped his receivers have dropped passes and Cleveland's injury-challenged line has struggled with protection. Backup Jameis Winston is on deck and ready.
RB Saquon Barkley has been a bright spot for Philadelphia after signing for $26 million guaranteed with the Eagles in the offseason. The No. 2 overall pick in 2018, who played the past six seasons with the Giants, has rushed for 435 yards and four touchdowns, and he is second in the NFL with an average of 108.8 yards per game.
Watson vs. Philadelphia’s defensive front. Cleveland's line hasn't protected Watson, who has been sacked a league-leading 26 times. He's yet to eclipse 200 yards passing in a game this season. Philadelphia’s defense has allowed 365.8 yards per game, ranking 27th in the NFL. Against Tampa Bay, in a 33-16 loss on Sept. 29, Philadelphia trailed 24-0 midway through the second quarter. The Buccaneers used a quick passing game to mitigate the Eagles’ pass rush, something Watson and the Browns would be smart to copy.
Browns: No. 1 CB Denzel Ward (hamstring) was listed as questionable. He didn't finish last week's game and missed practice time this week. ... Starting C Ethan Pocic (knee) is out along with safeties Grant Delpit (concussion) and Ronnie Hickman (ankle). ... RT Jack Conklin (knee) was not listed as out for the first time this season and could make his 2024 debut. ... Longtime LS Charley Hughlett (ribs) was placed on injured reserve, ending his consecutive games streak at 152.
Eagles: Two of the team's top playmakers are expected to be back with WR A.J. Brown (hamstring) and WR DeVonta Smith (concussion) being cleared to return. Brown has missed the past three games while Smith missed the Tampa Bay game before the bye.
The teams have not met in the past three seasons. The most recent time Cleveland visited Philadelphia was on Sept. 11, 2016, when the Eagles won 29-10. ... The Browns' most recent win in Philadelphia came in 1994.
Cleveland's offense ranks last in the NFL with 239.4 yards per game. … The Browns are the only team in the league not to gain 300 yards in a game. ... Cleveland has converted just 18.2% of third downs, last in the league. The Browns failed to convert on 19 straight third downs in a two-game span. ... Browns coach Kevin Stefanski chose to continue calling plays this week after indicating he might turn those duties over to first-year coordinator Ken Dorsey. ... Watson passed for 339 yards and 2 TDs in his only matchup against the Eagles in 2018 with Houston. ... WR Amari Cooper lit up the Eagles for 10 catches for 217 yards and 3 TDs while with Dallas in 2018. ... DE Myles Garrett, the Browns’ career sacks leader and reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year, has a team-high four sacks, including two strip-sacks. … LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah had an interception, a sack and a forced fumble, along with five tackles, against Washington. He leads the team with 39 tackles. … K Dustin Hopkins has converted four field goals from 50 or more yards and has made 12 long-range kicks in two seasons. ... Stefanski is a Philadelphia native. ... RB Nick Chubb did more in practice this week but will not play. He's been sidelined since since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last year. ... Browns LG Joel Bitonio will make his 150th start. .... Eagles DE Brandon Graham will play in his 200th career game on Sunday. Graham is Philadelphia’s career leader in games and seasons (15) played. … Hurts has thrown for 930 yards and rushed for 163 this season. Turnovers have been an issue with Philadelphia’s $255 million franchise quarterback. He has seven turnovers this season (four interceptions, three lost fumbles) and has committed a turnover in nine straight games. … Philadelphia opened the 21-day practice window on S Sydney Brown on Monday. A third-round pick last season, Brown played in 14 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the regular-season finale against the Giants.
Philadelphia TE Dallas Goedert has been a prime target of Hurts with Philadelphia’s top two wide receivers recently sidelined, and Goedert again could be a featured target this week. Goedert leads all NFL tight ends with 75.3 yards receiving per game and is second with 24 receptions.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Cleveland Browns running back D'Onta Foreman, top, is tackled by Washington Commanders safety Darrick Forrest, bottom, during the second half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Donald Trump detoured from the battleground states Friday to visit a Colorado suburb that's been in the news over illegal immigration as he drives a message, often using false or misleading claims and dehumanizing language, that migrants are causing chaos in smaller American cities and towns.
Trump’s rally in Aurora marked the first time ahead of the November election that either presidential campaign has visited Colorado, which reliably votes Democratic statewide.
The Republican nominee has long promised to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and has made immigration core to his political persona since launching his first campaign in 2015. In recent months, Trump has pinpointed specific smaller communities that have seen large arrivals of migrants, with tensions flaring locally over resources and some longtime residents expressing distrust about sudden demographic changes.
Aurora entered the spotlight in August when a video circulated showing armed men walking through an apartment building housing Venezuelan migrants. Trump has claimed extensively that Venezuelan gangs are taking over buildings, even though authorities say that was a single block of the suburb near Denver, and the area is again safe.
Ignoring those denials from local authorities, Trump painted a picture of apartment complexes overrun by “barbaric thugs" and streets unsafe to travel, blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic rival.
“They're ruining your state,” Trump said of the Democrats in the White House.
“No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris has inflicted on this community can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States,” Trump added.
Trump often used dehumanizing language, referring to his political rivals as “scum” and to migrants as “ animals " who have “invaded and conquered” Aurora. The town is “infected by Venezuela,” he said.
“We have to clean out our country,” Trump said. And he reprised the first controversy of his career in politics, when he launched his 2016 campaign by saying migrants are rapists and bring drugs and crime.
“I took a lot of heat for saying it, but I was right," Trump said Friday, repeating the false claim that other countries are emptying their prisons and mental institutions and dumping their worst criminals in the United States.
To thunderous applause, he called for the death penalty "for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.”
Trump announced that as president he'd launch “Operation Aurora” to focus on deporting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TDA. The violent gang traces its origins more than a decade to an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals.
Trump also repeated his pledge to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to deport any noncitizen who is from a country that the U.S. is at war with.
In July, the Biden administration issued a sanction against the gang and offered $12 million in rewards for the arrest of three leaders.
Aurora resident Jodie Powell, 54, was among the attendees at Trump's Friday event. She said it's "not the case" that Venezuelan gangs have taken over the city, as Trump claims. Still, Powell said she's seen an increase in crime she associates with newcomers, citing a police chase that ended at a store where she was shopping.
“It takes a small amount of people to make a big difference in the community,” said Powell, who ranks immigration as her top concern alongside the economy. “It’s scary, it’s a scary thing.”
At the venue where Trump appeared, posters displayed mug shots of people in prison-orange with descriptions including “Illegal immigrant gang members from Venezuela.”
“Look at all these photos around me," Stephen Miller, a former top aide who is expected to take a senior role in the White House if Trump wins, told the crowd. “Are these the kids you grew up with? Are these the neighbors you were raised with? Are these the neighbors that you want in your city?” The crowd roared ”no" in reply.
Some Colorado offiicals, including the Republican mayor of Aurora, accused Trump and other Republicans of overstating problems in the city.
“Again, the reality is that the concerns about Venezuelan gang activity in our city — and our state — have been grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety,” said Mike Coffman, a former U.S. congressman.
Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also have spread falsehoods about a community in Springfield, Ohio, where they said Haitian immigrants were accused of stealing and eating pets.
While Ohio and Colorado are not competitive in the presidential race, the Republican message on immigration is intended for states that are. Vance campaigned recently in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a city of 70,000 that has resettled refugees from Africa and Asia, and touted Trump's plan to ramp up deportations. He argues smaller communities have been “overrun” by immigrants taxing local resources.
Trump has vowed to deport not only “criminals,” a promise he shares with Harris, but also Haitians living legally in Springfield and even people he has denigrated as “pro-Hamas radicals” protesting on college campuses. Trump has said he would revoke the temporary protected status that allows Haitians to stay in the U.S. because of widespread poverty and violence in their home nation.
Harris has tacked to the right on immigration, presenting herself as a candidate who can be tough on policing the border, which is perceived as one of her biggest vulnerabilities.
She wrapped up a three-day western swing with a campaign event Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she said she would create a bipartisan council of advisers to provide feedback on her policy initiatives if she makes it to the White House.
“I love good ideas wherever they come from,” said Harris, who is making a push to get Republicans with doubts about Trump to support her.
She also accused Trump of letting Iran “off the hook” while he was in office and argued she would be a greater champion for Israel’s security.
“Make no mistake, as president, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend American forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists,” Harris said in a call with Jewish supporters ahead of Yom Kippur. “And I will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Diplomacy is my preferred path to that end. But all options are on the table.”
Harris charged that Trump “did nothing” after Iran “attacked U.S. bases and American troops.”
The criticism by Harris was a knock on Trump for downplaying a January 2020 missile attack by Iran on a U.S. base in Iraq that left several American troops with concussion-like symptoms, including some who had to be evacuated for treatment. Trump earlier this month referred to the injuries as a “headache.”
The Iranian missile attack came days after Trump ordered a strike that that killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and raised tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Harris participated virtually in a White House briefing with President Biden on the recovery effort from hurricanes Milton and Helene. She sought to reassure those who endured losses from the hurricane that they would get help from the government.
Gomez reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed.
Supporters hold up signs during a campaign rally with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as an attendee looks on at a campaign event Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks backstage before he speaks at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump check their mobile devices before Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Supporters wait to enter to see Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump departs a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Supporters queue up to attend a rally with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
