A win is a win is a win. That’s what Browns’ fans should be saying today after Sunday’s 26-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
We believe Jim Donovan, the radio play-by-play man for the Browns said it best. It’s a good win, because it would have been a terrible loss had rookie Cade York not made a 58-yard field goal to win it and give Cleveland their first 1-0 start to a season since 2004.
It is difficult to win in the NFL, so no one should take anything for granted, but the despite Deshaun Watson’s suspension, the Browns have a better football team than Carolina, and should get a win against them.
However, going forward they will need much better play from QB Jacoby Brissett, who was pedestrian to be kind in the opener, completing 18 of 34 passes for just 147 yards and a touchdown. That’s 4.32 yards per attempt, the lowest of any starting quarterback in the league in week one.
We think he will be better this week, but it will be tough to beat any good team in the NFL with this kind of passing attack. Just something to watch.
Donovan’s comment comes from the Browns simply dominating most of the game. They controlled the ball for 38 minutes.
But two missed coverages (we presume) by the secondary put Carolina right back in the game. Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Panthers’ QB Baker Mayfield found Ian Thomas wide open for a 50-yard gain, and Carolina converted into a TD.
Then, after York’s third field goal made it 23-14 Cleveland, the defensive backfield had another mix up resulting in a 75-yard bomb to Robbie Anderson, and suddenly it was a ballgame.
These types of mistakes seems to happen too often for the Browns. Remember, the Chargers game from a year ago, when it occurred twice. both times with Cleveland leading. And most times, you have players looking at each other as if to say “I thought you were supposed to take him”.
That has to be cleaned up for sure.
The run defense, which was a concern of ours, was fine, but then again, the Panthers didn’t really try to run the ball, attempting just 19 times for 54 yards. Their best play besides the two long passes was a recovered fumble off a bad snap that Christian McCaffrey ran for 30 yards.
That actually breathed some life into the Panthers.
Other thoughts-–
Myles Garrett had two sacks, bringing his career total to 60.5 tying him for fifth on the team’s all time list with Paul Wiggin. Next up for Garrett is Walter Johnson at 66.
Is there a more underrated great player in the NFL currently than Nick Chubb? He gained 141 yards on 22 carries and seemed to do it without notice. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per attempt for HIS CAREER.
We know GM Andrew Berry tried to address the return game by signing free agent Jakeem Grant, but they need to find a punt returner and quick. Demetric Felton seemed to have problems with the first three punts to him and actually fumbled the third, but luckily the Browns recovered.
Good to see coach Kevin Stefanski use Chubb and Kareem Hunt at the same time. Along with Amari Cooper, they are the team’s biggest offensive weapons.
And kudos to Donovan Peoples-Jones who had an excellent game with six catches, most of which were in traffic.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 