The Sports Xchange

BEREA, Ohio — Defensive coordinators for teams on the Cleveland Browns’ schedule are quickly learning about Gary Barnidge, who until this season was a backup tight end for six years — seven if you want to count 2011, when he missed all 16 games because of a broken ankle while with the Carolina Panthers.

Barnidge, in his third season with the Browns after four in Carolina, has 24 catches through five games. The coach trying to slow him this week is Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

The Browns host the Broncos at 1 p.m. Sunday in FirstEnergy Stadium.

Barnidge has been effective in the early part of the season because opponents have to respect the speed of wide receivers Travis Benjamin, Brian Hartline, Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel.

When they run deep routes to the outside it opens up the middle for Barnidge.

“I don’t know if I can say that we expected him to have the production that he’s had, but Gary’s a good football player, and we’ve known that for a long time,” head coach Mike Pettine said. “When teams want to concentrate their efforts defensively other places and they want to open up the middle of the field, Gary Barnidge is a master at doing his job. He gets open. He catches the ball. He can run after the catch.

“He understands defensive football very well, understands how teams are trying to play him and recognizing coverages. He’s a good athlete with good ball skills and he’s got a very high football acumen.”

Quarterback Josh McCown has thrown six touchdown passes. Half of them have been caught by Barnidge and two by Benjamin.

The Browns (2-3) will be tested by the Broncos (5-0).

Quarterback Peyton Manning is the face of the Broncos franchise, but the defense is the strength of the team this year. Denver rides into Cleveland with the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

McCown threw the ball 51 times in the 33-30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens last week. Barnidge will be a focus of the offense week in and week out, but it is unrealistic to expect him to catch eight passes, as he did in Baltimore.

The Browns went into the season planning to be a run-first offense. Now that McCown has shown what he can do (three straight 300-plus yard games) and the receivers have proven more than reliable, Pettine says the offense will adapt to whatever works best against that week’s defense.

“I just think the success that we’ve had throwing the football should certainly open things up,” Pettine said. “Our best runs in the last two weeks have come from opened-up formations, where we’ve had some run-pass options on them.

“I think we need to mix it up. Each week is going to call for a different plan and I think the successful offenses in this league almost have that chameleon-type ability that they’re going to change with their circumstances.”

Running backs Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell rushed for a combined 71 yards on 22 carries against the Ravens, but they also totaled 10 receptions, mostly on short passes in open space.

One went for a 22-yard catch and run for a touchdown by Crowell.

The Browns’ running game ranks 28th in the NFL with 442 yards on 118 carries.

SERIES HISTORY: 25th meeting. Broncos lead the series, 19-5. It has been so long since the Browns beat Denver that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was just starting in high school when it happened. The Browns beat the Broncos in Denver, 30-29, in 1990. Since then the Broncos have won 10 straight against the Browns.

GAME PLAN: The Browns have discovered over the years that blitzing quarterback Peyton Manning isn’t always the best formula for beating him, so instead they might rush four and drop seven into coverage to make it difficult for Manning to find an open target.

The Browns like their chances if they possess the ball last in a close game. Rather than gamble, they are willing to put the game on the foot of rookie kicker Travis Coons, who is 11-for-11 on field goal tries this season.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

–Browns CB Tramon Williams vs. Broncos WR Demarius Thomas.

Cornerback Joe Haden usually draws the opponent’s best receiver every week, but Haden is out because of a concussion so that assignment will go to Williams. Thomas caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Browns when the two teams met in 2012 in a game the Broncos won, 34-12.

–Browns RT Mitchell Schwartz vs. Broncos LB DeMarcus Ware.

Ware is battling a back injury and might not play, but when healthy is still a sack machine. He has 4.5 sacks this year — tops among Broncos defenders. When Ware went out last week, Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett shared his spot in the second half and each recorded a sack while combining for five tackles and two quarterback hits against the Raiders. Schwartz has trouble with outside linebackers that are quick around the corner but he also has to be wary of Ware using an inside move.