CLEVELAND — One starting quarterback is limping, the other has his arm in a sling. There are injuries up and down both rosters, and the two coaches are feeling some external pressure — one for the first time.

The Denver Broncos are banged up, reeling and desperate for a win. Ditto for the Cleveland Browns.

Two teams with a history of meeting in meaningful games — three AFC championships from 1986-89 — will square off Thursday night, a matchup in which the stakes feel a lot bigger than normal for October.

“It’s huge,” Browns safety John Johnson III said. “This is like a pivotal point in the season.”

If sure seems that way for the Broncos (3-3) and Browns (3-3), both of whom come into the game with major injury issues, notably to Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is out with a shoulder injury, and Denver’s Teddy Bridgewater, dealing with foot and quadriceps issues.

The Browns have lost two straight under coach Kevin Stefanski for the first time, and won’t have Mayfield, who made 53 straight starts and hasn’t missed a game with injury since 2013 at Texas Tech. Mayfield’s injury has affected his play and pushed Cleveland’s season to a precarious ledge.

Backup Case Keenum will make his first start since 2019. This is nothing new for the 33-year-old journeyman who came off the bench in Minnesota and spent a season with Denver, going 6-10.

“I’m built for this,” he said. “This is what I have done my whole career of not knowing if I am going to start up until game time to not knowing who is out there with me to introducing myself to players while I am calling a play type stuff. I’m excited.”

Keenum won’t have running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who are both out with calf injuries, and it’s not yet known if he’ll be protected by starting tackles Jack Conklin (knee) or Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle).

The injuries, piled on the short week, have complicated things for Stefanski, whose suspect defense along with some head-scratching play calls have triggered scrutiny in Year 2.