Thanks, Browns. For Making Football Matter Again

If the plan for the Cleveland Browns continues to progress, 2018 will be the known as the year football became relevant in northeast Ohio again.

This afternoon, the Browns have a chance to finish over .500 at 8-7-1, and as a bonus, they can knock the Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs.

After a pair of seasons in which they won a single game combined, Cleveland has become normal. They can be classed with the rest of the league, and not a joke of a franchise.

And over the past three seasons, the organization (and yes, we mean both general managers) has put together a solid core of very good young players.

It appears after all these years the Browns have their quarterback in rookie Baker Mayfield. They have a pass rushing force, Myles Garrett, for perhaps the first time since the 1950’s.

They have a shutdown cornerback in Denzel Ward, if he can avoid getting concussions which kept him out much of the second half of the year. We have heard people talk about Ward not making as much of an impact since the first few games of the season, and that’s because opponents stopped throwing his way.

Nick Chubb should reach the 1,000 yard plateau today, despite not really playing much in the first half of the season. Joe Schobert is the leader of the defense from middle linebacker, and when Gregg Williams is asked about Mayfield’s leadership, he always brings up Schobert as well.

And Jabril Peppers and Larry Ogunjobi are showing they will be mainstays of the defense.

Yes, the Browns still have some holes, they need to add depth, and they could use help at linebacker and in the secondary, and also need to add to the offensive line.

Instead of looking for a quarterback, the main focus of this off-season will be to find the head coach that will hopefully guide the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and the man who can take the franchise to its first Super Bowl.

In the past week, we have heard growing whispers that owner Jimmy Haslam will be involved in the process, and we pray this is not the case.

Let GM John Dorsey lead the search, make the decision, and have the owner sign off. That should be the extent of Haslam’s involvement.

Our concern is that ownership wants to bring in the “hot” name, a flashy hire, instead of getting the best man for the job.

In our opinion, there aren’t a lot of difference makers as a head coach in the NFL, and two of them, Andy Reid and John Harbaugh, were not the hot coordinators in the league when hired.

But they were leaders, and turned out to be the best men for the job for their respective teams.

And that’s what Dorsey should be looking for, and we believe he will pick the correct candidate. Hopefully, the ownership goes along with his choice.

With a bunch of draft picks this spring and a ton of salary cap space at his disposal, Dorsey’s charge this off-season is taking the Cleveland Browns from a contender to an AFC power, a team that is consistently in the playoff mix.

No matter what happens today, 2018 will be looked at fondly down the road by football fans here.

It was the year football mattered again.

Browns Get Playoff Atmosphere This Sunday

When the Tennessee Titans won Saturday afternoon, the slim chance for the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs went up in smoke.

However, the Browns will get to experience a playoff atmosphere in their season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.

As everyone knows by now, if the Browns beat Baltimore for the second time this season they will likely knock the Ravens out of the post-season, provided the Steelers beat the Bengals.

This experience should be invaluable for next season, when the Browns should be in the playoff hunt for real. And it will be on the road, making it more difficult for the young Browns, as it will be a very hostile atmosphere.

That’s why John Dorsey, Gregg Williams, and the rest of the organization should do everything it can to win the last game of the year.

And we don’t doubt for a second that is exactly what they will do.

The Browns’ front office and players aren’t about rebuilding anymore, they know how good they can be, and the culture has been changed. No more playing for draft picks, no more settling for getting close.

Oh, by the way, a victory over the Ravens would give Cleveland a winning record, 8-7-1, for the first time since 2007.

A victory would also establish the Browns as a force in the AFC North in 2019. With a bunch of draft picks and a ton of cap space, there is no reason to believe Dorsey won’t be able to add more good players to provide the depth the team needs to contend.

For the first time in a long time, there will be expectations around the Cleveland Browns. No doubt many national experts will be picking them to make the playoffs.

How will they respond? Will they have the same chip on their shoulder they did coming off an 0-16 season? Our guess is with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, they will.

We have seen people being critical of the streak of five wins in seven games because the schedule hasn’t exactly been imposing. For a franchise that won just a single game in the past two years, it’s a ridiculous claim.

It shows progress that Cleveland has gotten to the point where they can beat the teams on par with them record wise. Would those people prefer the Browns lose to the Bengals, Broncos, and Panthers?

The Browns have been losing for so long, people have forgotten what it is like to win. That’s why they are still calling for players to sit out the final game of the season to avoid injury, or to have a higher position in next spring’s draft.

Perhaps when the Browns have several playoff appearances under their belt, it might be time to sit players down, or it would be okay if the seeding for the playoffs were set in stone, the rest would do certain players good.

More so, Williams wants to win because it creates a better case for him to keep the head coaching gig. Would Dorsey let Williams go after he finished the season 6-2? It would be very difficult.

As Charles Barkley once said, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.

Anyway, Sunday’s game it one to look forward to. The Browns can ruin the Ravens’ resurgence behind first round pick Lamar Jackson, and they can put the Steelers in the playoffs.

The fate of the AFC North centers on that game, and CBS’ number one announcing team will be on hand to cover it.

It’s the biggest game the Browns have played in years even though they can’t reach the playoffs.

It should be fun for sure.

Playoff Hopes Slim, But These Browns Have A Lot To Play For.

After defeating the Denver Broncos last Saturday night, nothing went the way the Cleveland Browns wanted them on Sunday.

Most notably, the Steelers defeated the Patriots, meaning the Browns already slim chance to make the playoffs are down to a very convoluted results, which would need Indianapolis and Houston to tie on the last weekend of the season.

That said, there are still plenty of things for the Browns to play for during these last two games, the home finale this week vs. Cincinnati, and at Baltimore the weekend before New Year’s Day.

First is a chance to finish over .500 for the first time since 2007, and only the second time since they returned to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999. The even crazier stat is since 1989, 29 years ago, the Browns have been over the break even mark just three times (1994, 2002, and 2007).

That’s unbelievable.

They also have a chance to win four divisional games in one season. That hasn’t happened since Bill Belichick was in charge here, and that was 1994. Back then, the Houston Oilers were still in existence and were in the AFC Central with the Browns, Steelers, and Bengals.

So, success has been a seldom occurrence for this football team, which we think everyone has realized this season.

It’s been so rare, some fans don’t know how to handle it. We have heard a few people saying since the last two games don’t really make a difference for the Browns, Baker Mayfield and some other key players should sit them out to avoid injuries.

First, athletes (and include leaders and coaches) don’t think that way.

Second, the only reasons to do that is to rest players for a possible playoff game or to sit a veteran player out in order to look at younger guys. In Cleveland’s case, Mayfield and the others are the young players.

Sitting them out is a loser mentality, living in your own fear. Besides, would you want to be the person to tell Mayfield he isn’t playing the last two contests?

Nick Chubb, who didn’t play much in the first quarter of the season, needs to average 70 yards per game in the last two weeks to reach the 1,000 yard plateau. Now, a 1,000 yard season doesn’t have the cache it used to have, but it still would be a great accomplishment for the rookie.

With three more sacks this season, Myles Garrett would rank in the top ten all time for the franchise in career sacks, tying Kennard Lang and Jamir Miller. Reminder, he’s playing in just his second year.

We said this when he was drafted, but we’ve been watching Browns’ football for more than 50 years and they have never had a pass rusher like Garrett.

And then you have the coaching situation. There is no doubt that Gregg Williams has a better case to keep the job if the Browns go 6-2 in the last eight games rather than 5-3 or 4-4.

Also, Freddie Kitchens’ reputation would be more enhanced the more Cleveland racks up victories. If he isn’t the offensive coordinator here next season, we will have that job somewhere in 2019.

While the playoff hopes are minuscule, there is still a lot to play for if you are part of this Browns’ organization. That’s why they will treat these last two games like they have any of the contests since Gregg Williams took over.

Browns In A Meaningful December

It is December, and the Cleveland Browns are still in a playoff race.

That seemed impossible after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped the Browns record to 2-5-1, and raised the Steelers mark to 4-2-1. When Pittsburgh won the next three to jump to 7-2-1, it made the prospect even more remote.

But Jimmy Haslam and GM John Dorsey let Hue Jackson go after that game, and since, the Browns are 3-2, while the Steelers have dropped three straight, and have games the next two weeks with New England and New Orleans.

It’s still a tremendous long shot, but for the first time since 2014, the Browns are playing meaningful football in December.

Whether or not it will continue beyond this weekend will depend on what the Browns do this weekend against Denver, a very difficult place to play.

The Broncos are just 3-3 at home this season, but their losses are to the Chiefs (11-2), the Rams (11-2), and the Texans (9-4). A win there by Cleveland would be very impressive indeed.

It would also set the team up very nicely for a week 17 game with meaning. There is no doubt the Browns will be favored at home the weekend before Christmas against Cincinnati.

And wins in the next two contests would put Gregg Williams’ team at 7-7-1 heading into the season finale, on the road against Baltimore.

For a team that came into the season with one win in the last two years, that’s very exciting.

Again, it’s a long shot. The Browns could very well lose in Colorado this weekend, and drop the season finale and end up at 6-9-1, which again would be a tremendous accomplishment given the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The reason for the hope is not just Baker Mayfield, although he is the chief one. But Cleveland has exciting players all over the field.

It’s fun to watch Nick Chubb run the ball, to see Myles Garrett go after the quarterback, and to see the toughness of Jarvis Landry and Demarious Randall.

Sundays are fun again. And that’s a breath of fresh air.

But back to Mayfield. After the Panthers marched right down the field on the game’s opening drive, there were no worries at all. That’s what having a quarterback does for you.

When the Browns have poor down and distance situation now, we don’t dread it, instead we wonder if Mayfield can make a play to keep the drive going.

We have a QB who can throw the long pass, can beat the blitz by hitting the hot receivers, and can put the touch on the ball to get it over a linebacker and into the hands of his teammates.

When was the last time we had a signal caller that gave fans that kind of confidence?

This isn’t to say we are elevating Mayfield to top ten quarterback in the league status, he’s started just ten games in the NFL. We’ve seen other young quarterbacks (Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston for example) come into the league and have people proclaiming them as the league’s next best things.

However, we have to say, that there aren’t many young QBs we would take over Mayfield. Perhaps just Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz.

Again, we may think differently next year. But, the future of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns look very bright. Maybe even pre-expansion team bright.

Browns Youth Shows Up Vs. Texans

Any chance, however how remote, the Cleveland Browns had of making the playoffs went away after Sunday’s 29-13 loss to the Houston Texans.

The Browns dropped to 4-7-1 on the season as the Texans won their ninth straight contest. Cleveland took a step up in class after beating Atlanta and Cincinnati, and failed the test. Houston looked like a team that could have some success in the playoffs against Gregg Williams’ squad.

The Browns have played a number of the top teams in the NFL this season: New Orleans, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Chargers, and Houston. The Texans rank right up there with Kansas City and the Chargers as the toughest foes for the Browns.

We are sure there will be those complaining about Baker Mayfield’s performance in the game, but to us, it was just a reminder that last year’s Heisman Trophy winner is a rookie. He hasn’t played like it for, really, most of the season, but he still has played only 10 NFL games.

It was a learning experience, and our guess is Mayfield will learn from it, and be better this Sunday at home against the Panthers.

Think about how few games many of the best players on the roster have played in the league. Besides Mayfield, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, David Njoku, and Larry Ogunjobi have all played less than two complete seasons in the league.

And we would bet at least two of those players will be Pro Bowl selections this season.

As for Garrett, we can’t believe some fans are disappointed in last year’s first overall selection in the draft.

He’s second in the NFL in sacks this season, for cryin’ out loud!

We think there are some fans who think Garrett should sack the opposing quarterback on every certain passing down. It just doesn’t work that way.

Garrett commands double teams and opposing offensive coordinators make sure they know where is at on every down. Believe us, they are aware of him.

Since sacks started being tracked as a statistic in the NFL in 1982, the Browns all time leader is Clay Matthews with 62, followed by Michael Dean Perry with 51-1/2.

If Garrett gets four more before the end of this season, he would join the top ten all time for the Browns, tying Kennard Lang and Jamir Miller.

In two years!

Barring injury, he is going to be one of the cornerstones for this franchise as they move into playoff contention.

With four games left in the season, and none of them against the class of this year’s NFL, the Browns have a very good chance to finish the season 6-9-1 or even 7-8-1.

This week’s opponent, Carolina, is reeling with four straight losses and is 1-4 on the road.

Traveling to Denver is always tough, even if the Broncos are 6-6. They have won three in a row.

Then come divisional games against Cincinnati at home, and the non-passing Ravens in the season finale. Andy Dalton is done for the year, getting hurt last week against the Browns, and although Baltimore is a playoff team right now, it will be interesting to see how the league adjusts to the Lamar Jackson experiment.

Six or seven wins coming off a winless season would be phenomenal improvement, and so would not finishing last, which is also very possible.

On the other hand, it’s tough to gauge how this young football team will handle, what for many, is their first 16 game schedule.

For the first time in a while, the last four games should be interesting to watch, at least from a developmental standpoint.

Texans Are Browns’ Toughest Foe Remaining.

We have always thought playing the NFL schedule game before the season starts is idiotic because so much happens during an NFL season, particularly injuries.

After the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Gregg Williams’ head coaching debut, the Browns rebounded to knock off Atlanta at home and followed up by breaking their 25 game losing streak on the road, beating the Bengals 35-20 on Sunday.

Now at 4-6-1, it appears the toughest remaining opponent on the schedule comes up next weekend when the Browns take on Houston, currently leading the AFC South at 7-3.

Another win and the Browns will be in playoff contention, believe it or not.

This is not to say Cleveland will be favored in any of those remaining games, heck, only two of them will be at home, a December 9th visit from Carolina and the Bengals come in for a game two days before Christmas.

However, no one would be shocked if Gregg Williams’ team won any of the five contests left on the slate, which also includes road games at Denver (5-6) and Baltimore (6-5).

This is a different team than the one that lost to Pittsburgh on October 28th.

Changing the play calling has helped Baker Mayfield be a more efficient quarterback, completing almost 74% of his passes over the last three weeks, with nine touchdown throws and just one interception.

Gone are the constant downfield throws which Hue Jackson used last year with DeShone Kizer and Todd Haley continued over the first eight games this season. Mayfield is throwing a lot of short, quick routes, getting the ball out of his hand quickly, and using his accuracy.

That doesn’t mean he’s become a dink and dunk guy though. When need be, he can fire the ball downfield, like the pass over the middle to TE David Njoku on Sunday.

Speaking of Njoku, we don’t hear (or see) the dropped passes that had some in the media suggesting he is a bust anymore.

Nick Chubb continues to impress as well, still averaging over five yards per carry. Chubb finally passed the traded Carlos Hyde in carries against the Bengals, and he’s been the featured back for the past five games. That’s how the old regime forced the ball into Hyde’s hands.

Hyde is a reliable back for sure, but Chubb is too and he can break the big run as well, which makes him the more dynamic runner.

Another observation we have on the Browns is on defense. Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, both high first round draft picks get a lot of attention, and rightly so, but watching Sunday’s game, man, is Joe Schobert a heck of a football player.

It seems whenever the defense makes a good play, he is in the center of it. He plays and run and the pass both very well, and as Williams pointed out earlier this season, he is responsible for making sure everyone is lined up in the right place too.

The pick was criticized when it was made, people blaming analytics for the choice because Schobert doesn’t look like Dick Butkus. But in today’s NFL, he’s a perfect middle linebacker.

He made the Pro Bowl a year ago, and we would not be surprised if he made it again. He’s that good.

No Doubt Changes Have Helped The Browns

It’s nice to have professional football back in Cleveland again.

We say that slightly tongue in cheek, but that’s what it feels like after the Browns 28-16 win over Atlanta on Sunday.

There was no rallying behind a rookie in his first NFL game (like win #1 this season), nor was there a last second deflected made field goal in overtime (like win #2 in 2018).

This was simply the Browns looking like the better team pretty much from the first quarter of the game on, getting Gregg Williams his first win with the Browns, and raised the team’s record to 3-6-1.

That’s three times as many wins as the team accumulated over the past two seasons. Chew on that for a second. Three times.

Before that game, we heard some in the media wondering where the Browns could come up with another win or two on the schedule, meaning they thought a 3-12-1 season was the most likely outcome for the season.

After Sunday’s victory, is there any reason Cleveland couldn’t go into Cincinnati and get a win after next week’s bye week?

Also, thankfully, there won’t be any jokes about the brown and orange losing during the bye week either.

There is no question this is a different football team from two weeks ago. Just look at the number of times the team has been penalized.

In the last two games, the Browns have been penalized 11 times. The two games prior to the coaching change? Try 22 yellow flags.

For whatever reason, these guys aren’t shooting themselves in the foot anymore.

They are protecting the quarterback better too. Baker Mayfield has been sacked just twice in the last two games, none on Sunday.

In the prior two games, he was tackled seven times for loss. New offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens seems to be calling for quicker throws, and if you remember last year (we know you are trying to forget it), Hue Jackson seemed to call for longer throws down the field, which took more time for DeShone Kizer to throw.

As yes, we are well aware that Todd Haley was calling the plays this season, not Jackson.

It also helps that there was a change at left tackle last week. Greg Robinson has been solid where rookie Desmond Harrison was struggling. This is not to write off Harrison, who pretty much everyone agree has a boatload of potential. But there is no question he was having a tougher time as the season went on.

Then, we have Duke Johnson. He caught 20 passes in the Browns’ first eight games, and ran the ball 22 times. In the last two contests, he’s caught 13 passes and had four carries.

His touches have gone from 5.4 in the first half of the season to 8.5 per game in the last two weeks, and probably would have had more on Sunday had the game been in doubt. And he scored three touchdowns, the only three he has tallied in 2018.

New coaches and coaching staffs are more receptive to change. The best coaches recognize that while they still have a job and make alterations because they understand players’ performances can ebb and flow.

Hue Jackson wanted to run the Cleveland Browns a certain way, and really didn’t feel the need to change even though he won one game in two years.

Who knows how many games the Browns will win the rest of this season? It does seem a new attitude has hit the locker room though.

And that cannot hurt.

Jackson’s Dismissal Was Inevitable

Whether or not the news came yesterday, or next week, following the Chiefs game, it was inevitable. Hue Jackson was going to lose his job by the end of the 2018 season.

Really, it was only the ridiculous organizational set up the Browns have, where multiple people report directly to owner Jimmy Haslam, that allowed Jackson to have started this season at all, because we doubt GM John Dorsey would have kept Jackson on as head coach after going 1-31 in his two seasons here.

After winning two of the first five games this season, two consecutive losses had the “dysfunction” returning to Berea. There were reports nationally that offensive coordinator Todd Haley could be fired after Sunday’s game. That’s the kind of news that permeated the media a year ago.

Sashi Brown was gone, Dorsey was here now. The only common denominators to the feeling the organization was in chaos were Jackson and Haslam, and the owner wasn’t going anywhere.

That leaves Jackson, whose best attribute as head coach seemed to be blaming other people for the losing.

We have heard reports that Brown wasn’t the person making the decision to start DeShone Kizer last season at quarterback, we would have been fine going with veteran Brock Osweiler.

And as for real football players, as Dorsey said early in his tenure, don’t forget not all of the players who have played well for the Browns this season arrived before the 2018 season.

Myles Garrett, Joe Schobert, Christian Kirksey, Jamie Collins and others were on the roster, yet the Browns couldn’t win a single game.

The Buffalo Bills are rebuilding this season, going into the year with rookie Josh Allen and second year man Nathan Peterman at quarterback, and when Allen was injured, they signed former Brown, Derek Anderson.

They’ve already won two games this season.

Our point is it is hard to lose every game, and even more difficult to win one contest in two seasons.

Hue Jackson accomplished it.

In reality, the reason he was brought back for a third year was Haslam not wanting to be perceived as an owner who goes through coaches like he changes underwear. He may be the only person on the planet who would have brought Jackson back for a third season.

When the Browns drafted Baker Mayfield, we are sure they told him things would be different now with Dorsey in charge, but halfway through the year, it was back to the same old Browns routine.

It was surprising that offensive coordinator Todd Haley was let go as well, meaning the offense is now in the hands of running backs coach Freddie Kitchens, and we would guess Al Saunders will be helping him out.

And even more surprising is the appointment of Gregg Williams as the head coach, and maybe that’s why Haley was let go. Picking one of the coordinators over the other may have made it uncomfortable.

Going forward, the Haslams need to change the structure of the organization and commit to Dorsey by giving him the power to hire and fire coaches. That’s how most, if not all, NFL teams work.

This kind of stupidity should not happen again. Here’s hoping the changes make a positive impact on the Browns for the rest of this season and beyond.

Browns Need To Play Two Halves.

Someday, perhaps even this year, the Cleveland Browns will play a total game and then, and only then, will they start to win football games.

Of course, this season Browns’ games have lasted five quarters more often than not, as Cleveland lost another overtime game, this one 26-23 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hue Jackson’s squad has no dropped to 2-4-1 on the season, and 3-35-1 since Jackson took the helm before the 2016 season.

In the first half, the offense was non-existent and the defense was porous, and the Browns went to the locker room trailing 16-2.

We thought if major adjustments weren’t made by the coaching staff, it would be a clear sign that changes on the staff needed to be made.

But after halftime, the defense played much better, holding the Bucs to just a single score, and the offense played with much more zest, and Cleveland rallied twice from 14 point deficits to force overtime.

That said, the offense made key mistakes late, errors which could be attributed to a young football team.

In overtime, Jameis Winston was picked off by Jamie Collins on the Tampa Bay 45 yard line. Getting one first down, would have given Greg Joseph an opportunity for a game winning field goal.

On 3rd and 3 at the 38, Baker Mayfield took a sack, so the Browns had to punt. That cannot happen.

Then, after forcing a punt, Jabril Peppers, who had a great 32 yard return to set up the game tying scored pass to Jarvis Landry, fumbled after a 14 yard return, giving the Bucs the ball at the Cleveland 48, setting up Tampa for the game winning 59 yard field goal.

Other observations from this game–

The Browns’ offensive line needs to improve quickly. In our opinion, tackles Desmond Harrison and Chris Hubbard had big problems. Remember, Tampa was missing Pro Bowl DT Gerald McCoy in this game. Mayfield was sacked five more times today, although some appeared to have been caused by receivers not being able to get open.

Which brings us to the wide receiver position. Landry caught 10 passes for 97 yards, but the other wide outs struggled to get open, catching just five passes. We have asked this before, but why not use more two tight end sets with David Njoku and Seth DeValve, both of whom are solid receivers.

The defense gives up yards, but continues to force turnovers and sacks. Four turnovers and five sacks today. Myles Garrett had two sacks, and Emmanuel Ogbah was a force too.

We don’t like when regimes seem to move on from players because they didn’t draft them, which appears to be the case with Carl Nassib, who had two sacks today. He couldn’t help more than Anthony Zettel?

Denzel Ward is pretty good, eh?

Nick Chubb did a good job in his starting debut, with 80 yards on 18 carries, but we are worried Duke Johnson is nothing more than a change of pace back. Wouldn’t the Browns be better off just switching the Chubb and Hyde roles?

Another week, another overly officiated game. Twenty two penalties were called, which disrupts the flow of the game.

Among this week’s bad calls were picking up a flag after a Mayfield run because he hadn’t started his slide (he did), a roughing the passer after Emmanuel Ogbah tried to block a pass because his hand hit Winston in the helmet (weak), and another missed false start, which Winston thankfully took a 12 yard sack.

The league continues to put its head in the sands on this problem.

Next week, it’s on to Pittsburgh. Let’s hope the Browns come ready to play four quarters in this one.

Hopefully, A Learning Experience For Browns

For those fans who thought Baker Mayfield had by passed the growing pains that go along with being an NFL rookie quarterback, you were proven wrong today.

The fact is, Mayfield is a rookie, and there were going to be days like today, especially when defensive coordinators were able to review some tape on the first overall pick in the draft.

The question now is will Mayfield be able to make the adjustments needed to come out and do well next week against Tampa? We believe he will learn from today and be better going forward.

But it was ugly to watch today, as Cleveland was dismantled by the Chargers, 38-14 at First Energy Stadium.

It was more disturbing to see what veteran QB Philip Rivers did to the Cleveland defense, which has played well in four out of the five games to date.

Make that four out of six.

The Chargers made big play after big play all afternoon, both in the running game and in the passing game. It seemed the Browns were clueless about stopping them.

LA averaged almost eight yards per play! Gregg Williams’ defense allowed over 200 yards on the ground, getting almost seven yards per carry.

Without the ability to stop the run, it was difficult for the Browns to muster the pass rush we have seen all year long.

In the air, Rivers connected on two long touchdown passes to WR Tyrell Williams (45 and 29 yards), the first of which Cleveland outmanned the receivers with three defenders, and he caught the ball anyway.

It was a dominating effort. Rivers was pulled in the middle of the fourth quarter, threw only 20 passes for the game, and was sacked just once (combination of Larry Ogunjobi and Joe Schobert).

Again, how the defensive unit comes back from this performance (or lack of it) next week is what should be taken from this game.

Now back to Mayfield, who completed just 22 of 46 passes for 238 yards and two interceptions, as Cleveland lost the turnover battle for the second time this season.

The lack of quality wide receivers didn’t help either as there were a few dropped passes, but that really didn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

With Rashard Higgins out of there, the Chargers basically took Jarvis Landry out of the game, as he caught just two balls for nine yards.

Veteran Rod Streater, (yes, we know he was picked up off waivers, but he’s still a veteran) got hurt early, and Cleveland dressed just four wide receivers. That left them with only three.

Rookie Damion Ratley and TE David Njoku became Mayfield’s main targets.

And while the rookie held the ball too long at times, his offensive line didn’t have a great day either. It appeared tackles Desmond Harrison and Chris Hubbard struggled all day against a Chargers’ defense missing Joey Bosa.

One bright spot was the special teams performance of Jabril Peppers, who returned three kickoffs for a 23.7 yard average and also had a 33 yard punt return.

Another was the use of Duke Johnson, which we hope Todd Haley remembers going forward. Johnson had a 23 yard run and has a 33 yard reception as well. He needs to touch to ball more often.

Also, it wouldn’t be an NFL game without a horrific call, or in this case a missed call, by the people who are supposed to be officiating the game. On the Chargers last touchdown of the first half, LT Russell Okung came out of his stance at least a second before the ball was snapped, and wasn’t penalized for a false start.

The Browns looked a little like a team who started thinking they were better than they are after the overtime win over Baltimore last week.

Hopefully, the coaching staff will use today’s game to remind them that they still are one of the bottom feeders in the NFL, and they have to play much better to win games.

The best case scenario is to use this as a learning tool. The game itself was total domination.