Browns Need Solutions During Week Off

We have decided there is something involved with NFL telecasts that cause people to lose their collective minds. There is no other explanation for what we hear from people, both personally and on social media after the Cleveland Browns lose a football game.

Rather than blame the coaching staff and the quarterback, knee-jerk reactions for many, we prefer to look at other areas as to why a team that had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season is instead sitting at 6-6.

This isn’t to say Kevin Stefanski hasn’t made mistakes and/or Baker Mayfield is playing at an All-Pro level. That isn’t true. However, it is far from the only or even main reason this football team is in a funk.

Offensively, the play of the wide receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired, and quite frankly, the Patriots and Ravens have given the rest of the NFL the blueprint to defend the Cleveland running game.

Simply put, it is load the box and dare one of the Browns’ receivers to get open. Outside of the occasional Jarvis Landry play, they can’t do it.

Think about the first drive on Sunday night. Mayfield had a completion to the Baltimore 10, but Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped it. Could the Browns punched it into the end zone from there? Maybe, and if they did, how different is that game.

The Browns are said to have a great offensive line, and certainly the middle of that unit, C J.C. Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller are excellent players. However, the tackles are not at that same level, and we say that understanding Jack Conklin has missed a lot of the year with injuries.

To be frank, last year’s first round pick, Jedrick Wills, has had a disappointing sophomore season. He missed some time with an ankle injury earlier, but he is not providing the blind side protection Mayfield (or any quarterback needs).

And Blake Hance is a reserve on the other side.

This leaves the Browns vulnerable to outside speed rushers and is one reason Stefanski favors quick throws as part of the attack, to ease the pressure on his tackles.

We aren’t giving up on Wills, but it will be interesting to see if his spot is addressed in the draft.

We also keep coming back to the defense. Yes, yes, we know they forced four turnovers against the Ravens. Want to know what they didn’t do?

Stop the run. Again. Baltimore rushed for 148 yards, and when it counted in the fourth quarter, shoved it down the defenses throat, eating five minutes off the clock.

Isn’t that the same as Mayfield having big stats, but then failing to lead a fourth quarter comeback?

It is the sixth time in the last eight games, the defense has allowed more than 100 yards on the ground, and that’s a killer.

And the 148 yards by Baltimore is the LEAST gained running the ball in the last three weeks.

If you cannot stop the run in the NFL, you have a big problem. If you look at the teams allowing the most rushing yards, it’s a lot of losing teams, the Lions, Texans, Jets, and Giants among them.

The Chargers, Vikings, and Steelers are also in this group. LA has the best record on the group at 6-5.

Yes, it’s a passing league, but you must stop the run.

The remaining schedule isn’t easy, but a win after the bye in the rematch against Baltimore puts the Browns back on the periphery of contention. As the head coach said, it’s a week to week battle right now.

Hopefully, some solutions will be found in the week off.

Browns Need To Unite, Not Finger Point

For many years, the Cleveland Browns were a train wreck. They were perpetually at the bottom of the standings, and went through quarterback after quarterback and coach after coach trying to reverse this trend.

After the debacle on Sunday, a 45-7 beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots, it feels a little like those days in Berea, and it is up to GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski to nip it in the bud.

Myles Garrett questioned defensive coordinator Joe Woods immediately after the game about the philosophy and John Johnson III basically agreed with him.

Stefanski said he addressed the situation with Garrett, and clearly the message needs to be sent to the locker room that things like this need to stay in the locker room.

After all, the head coach is very careful in his post game press conferences not to blame anyone. We know Stefanski gets some rolling eyes when he says he has to “coach better”, but we feel he has told his players HE will take the blame when they lose and give them the credit when they win.

That’s called being a leader.

We are sure that is not the message within the locker room and in meetings following a loss. The staff points out what went wrong and makes it incumbent on the players to improve and do what they are supposed to do.

Make no mistake about that.

This doesn’t mean the coaching staff is blameless. If Woods is indeed calling for schemes that have not worked in practice, he is losing, if not lost the trust of the defensive players. Coaches simply cannot call something where the players think to themselves or actually say in the huddle, this isn’t going to work.

Once you start doing this, the coach has to rebuild the trust with his guys. Otherwise, the bond is broken.

What Stefanski and Berry must do is remind the players they are in this together win or lose, and he has their back, which he demonstrates every week. The Browns simply cannot have the sniping and grousing in the media. It serves no good purpose.

The Browns need to do everything better right now, including the coaching staff. They have talent. They need to eliminate the pre-snap penalties, the dropped passes, the blown coverages that seem to plague them weekly.

For example, there is no question Baker Mayfield’s interception was a terrible decision. However, if Donovan Peoples-Jones catches the second down pass (the previous play), a clearly catchable ball, the result is third and short, and that play call is completely different.

It has to start this Sunday though. Much has been made about the remaining schedule for the Browns, but the reality is they will probably only be a decided underdog (seven points or more) in one game, the Christmas Day tilt against Green Bay.

So, could they win five out of the final seven and finish at 10-7, which based on the AFC right now, probably gets them in? Of course they can.

But they have to start playing better, coaching better (especially defensively), and stop making mistakes.

This is why Kevin Stefanski was brought in. He is just like everyone else and needs to unite the troops.

Avoiding Turnovers Is Key For Browns Today.

What a difference a week makes for the Cleveland Browns.

Seven days ago, there was turmoil surrounding the team, at least from the media and fans. The Browns decided their relationship with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was untenable, releasing him on Friday.

They had also lost three of their last four games, the offense looking stagnant in the last three contests, and were heading into Cincinnati to take on the explosive Bengals, who were sitting at 5-3, having handily defeated the Raven just two weeks prior.

A loss in southern Ohio would have Kevin Stefanski’s crew under the .500 mark and any chance of winning the AFC North dissolving.

Of course, we now know Cleveland took care of business against the Bengals, winning 41-16 to raise their record to 5-4, and with the Ravens losing to Miami on Thursday night, a win today against the Patriots would put the brown and orange just a half game out of the division lead.

It is very likely all four teams in the North will be within a half game of each other, and with most of the division games still left to play, the Browns still have four of their six remaining, they will be more important than ever.

The Patriots are a challenge because of their coach, the fabled Bill Belichick, most certainly going to the Hall of Fame, and likely to pass Don Shula at some point to be the league’s all-time leader in coaching wins. He currently sits 43 wins behind Shula.

Their defense forces turnovers, they rank fourth in the NFL in this statistic, but otherwise, their defense is in the middle of the pack, ranking 11th vs. the pass and 14th vs. the run. They have intercepted 13 passes.

In the two games they did not force a turnover, losses to New Orleans and Tampa Bay, the Pats scored just 13 and 17 points. It’s tough for them to put points on the board without the defense’s help.

And outside of the 54 point explosion in the second Jets game, the most points New England has scored this year is 29, in a loss to Dallas.

However, if you look at their schedule, two of their five wins are against the Jets, and they also defeated Houston. Those two teams have combined for three victories this year. They have won three in row though, including a victory over the Chargers, who Browns fans are all too familiar with.

The question for Stefanski and Baker Mayfield is can the offense hum like it did a week ago without the presence of Nick Chubb. D’Ernest Johnson did a fine job a couple of weeks ago vs. Denver and is certainly capable of putting up a 100 yard game, particularly with the offensive line relatively healthy.

When the Browns have both the ground attack and passing game working, they are a handful for any defense in the NFL.

With Chubb out, it will be interesting to see what Belichick wants to take away from the Stefanski, who by the way is similar in demeanor to the former Browns’ coach. They like to make teams one dimensional.

With 11 teams over .500 in the AFC, and Cleveland and New England being two of them, this is an important game in the conference standings.

Can the momentum gained in the win against the Bengals carry over? If the Browns hold on to the football, they will emerge from Foxboro with a needed victory.

Browns, Baker, OBJ: It Just Didn’t Fit

The knee-jerk reaction to the events that occurred this week with the Cleveland Browns is to declare the age old saying “same ol’ Browns”. That’s not entirely fair.

The old Browns, the ones led by Hue Jackson, Joe Banner, etc. seemed different. The head coach and the GM usually seemed like they were on different pages and many times one sabotaged the other.

This current group, with Paul DePodesta, GM Andrew Berry, and coach Kevin Stefanski, seem to be on the same page. They come to decisions together, they don’t seem to be running to owner Jimmy Haslam to point out a mistake made by one of the others in order to gain more power within the organization.

We don’t know what brought the situation with Odell Beckham Jr. to a head, but in our viewpoint, the front office dealt with it swiftly and decisively.

Our opinion was the video put out by Beckham’s dad, released a day before the trading deadline, was a move to force the front office to trade the wide receiver. Perhaps Beckham, if frustration, went to Stefanski and requested a quarterback change, and was told there would not be one.

But when Berry couldn’t reach a deal that made sense for the Browns, Stefanski, Berry, and DePodesta decided it was time to cut ties with the wide out. The reason Beckham was told to stay away from practice on Wednesday and Thursday was the negotiations were taking place with his agent to release him or put him on waivers.

Whatever, the situation was didn’t work out in Cleveland. First, OBJ has the reputation and carries himself like an elite pass catcher, but the fact is he hasn’t been one since 2016, when he caught 101 passes for 1367 yards with the Giants.

The following season, the injuries started, ironically in a pre-season game against the Browns, when a hit by Briean Boddy-Calhoun caused a sprained ankle. Beckham and the Giants claimed it was a dirty hit, but in our view at the time, it looked perfectly legal.

OBJ missed most of the 2017 season, playing just four games, and the following year, his numbers dropped to 77 catches for 1052 yards, and was traded to the Browns following that season.

He played through a core injury in ’19, but barely had 1000 yards receiving (1035), catching 74 passes. Last year, it was the torn ACL, and this year a shoulder injury.

There is no evidence he was a bad guy in the locker room, but did he have the same priority as the other players? As former Steelers’ coach Bill Cowher said yesterday, would OBJ rather catch eight passes in a Browns’ loss than catch one pass in a Cleveland victory?

We have been on teams with players like that, and it makes one roll their eyes.

You also have to think about the fact (and it isn’t anecdotal, the numbers are real) that Baker Mayfield has better numbers with Beckham not on the field than with him on the field. Now, we don’t have empirical evidence as to why that’s true, but if Baker has a good game today, it will be brought up again.

In football, sometimes a player isn’t a good fit in a particular offense.

History gives us a similar situation, ironically involving the same teams. After the Browns traded Paul Warfield to get Mike Phipps prior to the 1970 draft, feeling they needed to replace Warfield, Cleveland traded for Giants’ WR Homer Jones, who made two Pro Bowls, and averaged over 20 yards per catch with New York.

Jones had those gaudy numbers in part, because he found open spots while Fran Tarkenton, a scrambler, ran away from pressure. With the Browns, and a regular drop back passer in Bill Nelsen, Jones caught just 10 passes for 141 yards and a single touchdown.

He was out of the league the next season.

Sometimes, it just doesn’t fit. That seems to sum up Odell Beckham Jr.’s time with the Browns.

Browns Season At Crossroads?

What figured to be a promising season for the Cleveland Browns is now at a crossroads. They certainly are not out of the playoff race at 4-4, but any margin for error has gone out the window with Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the Steelers at First Energy Stadium.

The margin for error has grown very slim though. If you figure 11-6 is the record needed to make the post-season, then Kevin Stefanski’s guys have to go 7-2 the rest of the campaign, which includes two games with both the Ravens and Bengals, and contests against the Raiders, Packers, and a return date with the Steelers.

We still believe the talent on the roster means they have a chance to win any of the games they have remaining. Yes, three of their four losses have come by five points or less, but as Bill Parcells famously said, you are what your record says you are.

Former Plain Dealer sports editor Hal Lebovitz used to talk about “zero defects”, eliminating mistakes that can keep you from winning games against better teams. This team is not adhering to that motto. They have simply made too many errors, usually not egregious ones, that have kept them from winning games.

Last Sunday, it was dropped passes. Look, not all of any quarterback’s passes are going to be perfect, sometimes the receivers have to make plays. TE Austin Hooper dropped a pass on the game’s first drive. Maybe the Browns get a touchdown if he catches it. As it was, Cleveland settled for a field goal.

Then the usually reliable Jarvis Landry dropped two passes (one easy, one not so much) and fumbled after getting a first down in Pittsburgh territory (20 yard line) in the fourth quarter.

Opposing teams are loading the box because either Baker Mayfield doesn’t want to throw deep or the team doesn’t have anyone who can get open deep. Quite frankly, we think it is more of the latter.

We doubt it will happen today, but can we agree to start the countdown on the amount of time Odell Beckham Jr. has with the Browns? It simply hasn’t worked out, and we don’t know why. We do know Beckham hasn’t really been an elite wide receiver since 2017, so maybe expectations are simply too high.

He has flashes, but doesn’t seem to be able to play at a high level on the weekly basis.

And what remains true is Mayfield is a more efficient passer without Beckham on the field. Again, we aren’t sure how that works, but it is true.

This isn’t just on the offense either. We didn’t think it was possible to think an NFL team didn’t play well defensively in a game they allowed just 15 points, but the loss this past week made us think otherwise.

The defense has forced just five turnovers on the season, which ranks second to last in the league. They also seem to allow one very long drive (time wise) per game, and it seems it occurs after the Browns score. The offense seizes a little momentum, and the defense allows it to go to waste.

They seem passive as well. Ben Roethlisberger is basically a statue right now in terms of mobility, yet, there were very few blitzes to put pressure on and perhaps force a mistake. We understand Denzel Ward is out right now, but why not dial up some extra pressure from time to time.

And when you get a penalty to put the opponent in 1st and 20, it is best to not let a receiver be wide open down the middle for a first down on the next play.

We continue to say it, this football team has talent, lots of it. But they have to stop the silly pre-snap penalties, drop passes, etc. And one more thing, in the absence of the wide outs doing anything, why not let David Njoku loose?

No One Said It Would Be Easy For Browns

Based on the misery of some of their fans, it is hard to believe the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs last season for the first time in 18 years and actually won a game for the first time since Bill Belichick coached the team in 1994.

They are envious of other teams, particularly when it comes to quarterbacks. Apparently, the guy who led the team to the post-season isn’t good enough.

We wrote this summer about the top signal callers in the game and we determined the top five QBs in the NFL were in no particular order Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson.

Sounds fair, right?

Outside of Brady, who we believe no one questions is one of the best, if not the best, there ever was, the other four guys on that list have combined for three NFL championships. Brady, of course, has won seven.

And right now, Watson isn’t playing because of legal issues and Wilson is injured.

The point is Browns think if they had one of those guys, they would win the Super Bowl. Maybe they would, but the reality is the fans of those teams have those guys and more often than not, except for the team Brady is on, they don’t.

The envy has extended to the Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow as well after last week’s drubbing by Cincinnati over Baltimore. We remember a couple years ago, 2019 in fact, when a visiting team went into Baltimore and whipped the Ravens 40-25.

The winning team’s QB was very good that day, completed 20 of 30 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown.

If you remember that quarterback being Baker Mayfield and that team being the Browns you have a good memory.

Cleveland finished 6-10 that season, while the Ravens went 14-2.

No, we don’t think the Bengals will have the same fate at the end of the season, but our point is these things happen. Yes, Cincinnati is much improved, but let’s see what happens after 17 games (or even after they take on the Browns next week) before crowning them as the new bullies on the block.

These folks apparently need to have the other three teams in the AFC North be terrible when the Browns are good to feel comfortable. That’s not reality.

The AFC North might just be the most competitive division in the NFL. Three teams made the playoffs last season, and the team that didn’t, the Bengals, has made giant strides. Yes, the other teams are very good, but so are the Browns.

Will it be easy to win the divisional games? No, but Kevin Stefanski’s team is good enough to do so. We would not be shocked if the Browns won each of the next two games to be sitting at 6-3 after nine games.

And as for the other issue people are talking about, the health of Mayfield, let us remind you that professional athletes don’t think the way other people do. They want to play. If it is at possible to be out there and compete, they will go out on the field and help their teammates win.

That’s why Mayfield said, if he’s hurting the team by playing, then he will sit down. But he thinks he can do the job, and so does the coaching staff.

If Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt think a less than 100% Baker Mayfield is a better choice than Case Keenum, that’s all we should need to know.

They want to win too.

Yes, if Mayfield takes a big hit on the shoulder again, he likely will miss more time and possibly could be lost for the season. That scenario probably doesn’t change if he sits out this week or the next two weeks. He’s going to have to have surgery after the season.

Just don’t pretend these athletes think the same way as we do. They are different cats.

Even With Injuries, We Are Still Optimistic About Browns

Apparently, Browns’ fans were optimistic about the 2021 edition of the brown and orange until they had one bad game. Some of the stuff we read and heard following last Sunday’s loss to Arizona made us chuckle.

First of all, it is not as though the Browns are playing horribly on a weekly basis. Their three losses are to the defending AFC Champion Chiefs (currently 3-3), the Chargers (4-2), and the NFL’s lone undefeated team, the 6-0 Arizona Cardinals.

They held fourth quarter leagues against the first two teams listed.

Now, we understand you are what your record says you are and Kevin Stefanski’s team is 3-3. We also understand this team is pretty beat up right now. Still, we think this is still a solid team and right now, we aren’t very worried about the immediate future.

Yes, that could change with a loss tonight to the Denver Broncos, who have beaten the Giants, Jets, and Jaguars, three teams with one win each, but have lost to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Las Vegas. So, even with the key players out for Cleveland, it’s a reasonable thing to think that the Browns can win.

They then have some extra time off to get ready for Pittsburgh on Halloween. Perhaps some of the injured players can return for the Steelers.

The defense needs to get better and quickly, like tonight. Joe Woods’ unit has allowed 84 points the last two times it has taken the field. That’s completely unacceptable, and despite fans trying to twist it, giving up 42 points in an NFL games usually puts that contest in the loss column.

We thought the reason GM Andrew Berry brought in players like Ronnie Harrison, Grant Delpit, Greg Newsome, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koamoah was to defend mobile quarterbacks, yet it seems like the defense plays those type of QBs tentatively.

And they are paying a price for that.

We felt at the beginning of the season it would take time for the defense to gel, and was fooled by the performances against the Bears and Vikings, particularly the latter. Now, with key pieces on offense missing, would be a good time for the unit to come together.

Part of that would be getting some turnovers. The Cleveland defense has come up with just four takeaways on the season, ranking 29th to date. By contrast, the unbeaten Cardinals have produced 13 turnovers. Playing complementary football is always a good thing.

One thing the Browns have going for them under this regime is organization. Last Sunday, was the first time there was a little breakdown in that, but we think no matter what, the game plan will be to try establish the running game. Even with Case Keenum calling the signals, we would guess the plan won’t change.

Our concern is Keenum’s arm strength. It isn’t the same as Baker Mayfield’s, so the offensive coaches will no doubt take that into account. Look for a more quick hitting passing game.

Stefanski doesn’t like to make excuses and we won’t either. The Browns should win the football game tonight, and if they don’t then they have a problem.

If they can get a win and then comeback and win at home against the Steelers, we are sure the doomsayers will dissipate.

The Cleveland Browns have a solid roster and have built some depth the past few years. It’s time to show that off.

Another Game, Another Debate On Baker

Normally, we hate the expression “Only In Cleveland”. Usually, we associate it to a “woe is us” mentality that only bad things happen to our sports franchises, when really the squads from northeast Ohio just aren’t as good as their opponents.

However, we will use the phrase in this regard. Only here does the football team’s defense allow 47 points in a game and there is discussion about how good the quarterback is.

The Cleveland offense put up 42 points against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday. That’s enough to win most NFL football games.

Yet, questions continue to concern Baker Mayfield. This summer we thought we did an honest evaluation of Mayfield and ranked him 11th among NFL QBs, but we didn’t included Justin Herbert because he was a rookie last year, and we would put him above the Browns’ signal caller now, so let’s say 12th.

We also said advancing further in the playoffs would likely move the former Heisman Trophy winner up in these rankings.

That said, until the reason the Browns can’t advance in the playoffs or get to the playoffs is the play at quarterback, why even start this discussion.

First of all, it is okay to say Mayfield isn’t the answer, but if that is your opinion, what can you possibly do about it?

Are you going to play Case Keenum? The draft isn’t really an answer either unless you are very fortunate and someone like Aaron Rodgers drops to you in picks 20 through 32.

And you saw what the Rams gave up to the Lions to get Matthew Stafford, right? They had to give up two first round picks plus their current starting quarterback. That’s a hefty price, but if the Rams win the Super Bowl in the next few years it will be totally worth it.

We aren’t saying Mayfield is the answer, but we also aren’t saying he’s not the answer either. We simply don’t know.

What we do know is he has quarterbacked the Browns to a playoff win, becoming the first one since Vinny Testaverde to do so. Browns’ fans are impatient, we get that. No titles since 1964, and the franchise has been a perennial doormat since re-entering the NFL in 1999.

We’ve seen fans pining over guys like Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen, and we get that. But out of that quartet, only Mahomes has been to a Super Bowl (two of them) and only Allen has been to a conference championship.

For all of Jackson’s spectacular play and an MVP award, he’s won as many playoff games as Baker Mayfield.

Again, we aren’t claiming Mayfield is one of the best QBs in the NFL. He needs to continue to get better and without question, he needs to lead a comeback victory late in the fourth quarter against a quality opponent. A signature moment.

However, he has not proved to be holding this team back either. Defeating Arizona, the league’s last undefeated team this Sunday in Cleveland could help change people’s opinion.

Probably, that won’t change until Mayfield wins an AFC Championship and sends the franchise to its first Super Bowl. No pressure there.

Toughest Foe Since KC Coming Up For Browns

Judging from some of the comments we have heard from Browns’ fans since Sunday’s win in Minnesota, hopefully the team can lose enough games to finish high in next year’s draft and they can get a new quarterback.

Look, Baker Mayfield didn’t play a good game in the 14-7 win over the Vikings. He completed less than 50% of his passes, threw for less than 200 yards, and yes, missed some wide open receivers.

But the Browns still won! If that type of performance becomes the norm, and the play of the quarterback becomes a deterrent to winning football games, then and only then, should there be conversations about the QB spot.

Our guess is Mayfield will bounce back this Sunday against the Chargers (we really want to write San Diego) and last week’s contest will be a blip on the radar. We are sure the Mayfield critics will not soon forget though.

However, it would seem to prudent for Kevin Stefanski to dial up a run heavy attack against the Chargers considering they rank 4th from the bottom against the rush in the NFL through four weeks. They are 5th vs. the passing game.

By the way, offensively, Cleveland leads the league in rushing yards.

Los Angeles, led by second year QB Justin Herbert, likes to put the ball in the air, ranking 6th in the NFL. By comparison, the Browns are 26th. So, the Browns defensive front will need to put pressure on Herbert this Sunday.

Back to the quarterback play, we are sure everyone knows on the difference in Mayfield’s efficiency when Odell Beckham Jr. plays and when he’s not on the field. In short, the Browns quarterback plays better when Beckham isn’t on the field.

The first four games haven’t done anything to dispel that notion. His passer rating the first two weeks with OBJ still rehabbing his knee injury was 97.5 and 105.0, completing 81.6% of his throws.

The last two weeks have seen his passer rating at 97.0 and 59.5, and his completion percentage fall to 53.1%.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues because it is disturbing. Of course, we’ve heard folks ask if it means Mayfield cannot play with an elite wide receiver, and their answer is, we will find out when he gets the chance.

It does seem David Njoku has disappeared from the offense the past two weeks, and we feel he can be a huge mismatch problem for opposing secondaries because matching him up with a linebacker or safety is usually a win for the Browns.

Again, it is a small sample size and hopefully Beckham and Mayfield are on the same page on Sunday and this problem is just another question that will be ignored as the wins keep piling up.

Make no mistake, this will be the biggest challenge for Stefanski’s crew since the opening weekend loss to Kansas City. And it’s on the road, the west coast no less.

The Browns, as a team, and not just Baker Mayfield, need to play better in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon. Winning while playing poorly in the sign of a good football team. So is beating another good football team, and the Chargers are that.

Browns Could Use A Road Win

We had to laugh at Kevin Stefanski’s locker room comments following the Browns domination of the Chicago Bears last Sunday. The coach told his team “whoever we play” next is the biggest game of their lives, except he used more colorful language.

What was funny is that we are sure Stefanski knows exactly who they play this week, because it is a place he spent his entire coaching life before coming to Cleveland. The Minnesota Vikings.

We are sure the head coach will remind his squad they have not won on the road yet this season, and the Vikings are undefeated at home, although they’ve played in the Land of 10,000 Lakes just once this season.

And we know Stefanski doesn’t like to look ahead, but the following game against the Los Angeles Chargers, also on the road, appears to be a big game as well. The Chargers are now 2-1, coming off a victory over the Chiefs last Sunday.

We wondered in the off-season if Cleveland could have one of those offenses that could be unstoppable if they were healthy, and currently the Browns rank 7th in total yardage in the NFL, and 7th in yards per play at 6.4.

And that’s without both starting wide receivers, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. in the lineup at the same time.

However, here’s a reminder that the Browns are still a running team, second in the league to Baltimore in gaining yards on the ground, with both Nick Chubb (3rd) and Kareem Hunt (20th) in the rushing leaders.

The Vikings have allowed the fifth most yards in the league to date, ranking better against the run (21st) than the pass (27th). So, it would figure to be another good day for the Browns’ offense, although the coach would probably remind us there is a reason why you actually play the game.

One thing is for sure, Kirk Cousins will be more difficult to defend that Justin Fields, making his first NFL start, so the Cleveland defense better be up for the challenge.

It is funny, but despite the production of the Browns’ offensive attack, the leader in receiving yards is Hunt with 104, followed by David Njoku (94), who wasn’t even targeted on Sunday.

The offense has really spread it around in the passing game, with six players having five or more receptions, led by Hunt and TE Austin Hooper with 10 each.

Hard for defenses to take away all of the weapons at Baker Mayfield’s disposal, right?

It was another week, another rookie to stand out for the brown and orange, this time LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was all over the field against Chicago, getting four tackles and a half sack. That’s three weeks in a row, a newly drafted players has made a big impact on the game.

And how can we not mention Myles Garrett, who set a club record with 4.5 sacks, impressive no matter who is the opponent.

The former first overall pick is now 7th (revised total occurred over the summer) in sacks all time for the franchise with 48.5 in just 54 games. Next up on the list is Michael Dean Perry, who has 51.5…in 109 games.

It’s not a stretch to think Garrett will get into the Browns’ top five (Paul Wiggin has 60.5 in 146 games) this season.

Barring injury, it’s really a matter of time before Garrett surpasses Bill Glass, the franchise leader with 77.5 in 94 games.

Stefanski will tell you every week is a challenge in the NFL, and certainly, the Vikings are a step up in class from the Browns’ two previous opponents. We are sure he would also tell you his team is capable of playing much better. They will need to in order to get a win this week.