7 Cleveland Browns whose stock is up after a Week 2 win over the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals are just what the doctor ordered for the Cleveland Browns, it turns out. While Cincy boasts Joe Burrow, the team is several pieces away from being competitive.
For the Browns, the Thursday Night Football contest was about as big of a “must-win” game can be for Week 2. Had the Browns played another clunker, the team would’ve faced just an 11 percent chance to make the playoffs at 0-2, while sports talk would’ve run rampant over Baker Mayfield, while trying to find his replacement.
Thankfully, those issues have been cast aside for another week.
The storyline pitting former Heisman winners against each other was the central theme of the night, as Mayfield outplayed Burrow.
Burrow threw an astounding 61 times in defeat, and while at times looked like a rookie, I thought for the most part, he was composed and did what he could to keep his team in the game. When the Bengals upgrade the rest of the roster to go along with the maturation of their No. 1 pick, Cincy could really have something in the future.
But for now, this is about the Browns. Wins still feel special to the Dawg Pound, as there’s been so few of them since 1999.
Here’s a bonus edition of the stock report, with seven players whose stocks rose during the win.
1. Baker Mayfield
Admit it. You were wondering what Trevor Lawrence might look like in a Browns uniform as recently as 24 hours ago.
Well, it only took one game, but everyone’s back on Baker Mayfield’s bandwagon as the quarterback played perhaps his best game since 2018.
Baker’s success is tied to the play calling from his coach, Kevin Stefanski. In this contest, Browns fans got more of what they expected from Stefanski’s leadership. Cleveland established the run, set up play action, and Mayfield was able to roll out.
Against Baltimore, the Browns ran play action with Mayfield throwing from outside the tackle box just twice. He completed just one of those throws for 16 yards.
In just the first half against Cincinnati, he was 4-of-5 for 87 yards and a touchdown in the same scenario.
At game’s end, Mayfield was 16-of-23 with two touchdowns and a pick. This is the type of game Mayfield usually wins. The running game was working, which paved the way for play action. The Browns were able to run rampant in the second half and Baker only needed to throw the ball 23 times.
It was a great step in resurrecting his career. The next test? Pulling out a come-from-behind-victory that wins a game.
2. Sheldon Richardson
The Bengals didn’t offer Joe Burrow much protection, and Sheldon Richardson’s play was a big reason why.
Richardson was shedding blocks like a man possessed, especially early in the game. He was all over the place, ending the game with six tackles, two for a loss, and one sack.
Notably, Richardson blew up Joe Mixon late in the third quarter when Cincinnati was threatening to score. Remember, this came right after a Gio Bernard TD run was overturned.
Because of Richardson, the Bengals had to end up settling for a field goal, which was a demoralizer, considering they really needed a touchdown in that situation.
Last week, Larry Ogunjobi was the man on the interior, and now it’s Richardson. The Browns front four can really be credited with dominating this game.
3. Myles Garrett
As the $100 million man, Myles Garrett should be on this list every week. That said, Garrett was drawing flak for a relatively quiet game against the Ravens in Week 1.
That was not the case against Cincinnati, as Garrett was credited with nine quarterback pressures. He also had that big strip sack of Burrow when the Bengals were backed up to their own end zone, which set up a TD run for Nick Chubb.
In total, Garrett was able to pressure Burrow on 16.4 percent of Cincy’s offensive snaps. He led the NFL in this statistical category in 2019, with a mark of 17.1 percent.
The criticism lingering from Week 1 should take the bus back to Cincinnati with Bengals, because Garrett does what elite players are supposed to do: impact the game.
With the Washington Football Team up next, Garrett will be expected to do the same in Week 3.
4. Porter Gustin
The Browns were without Olivier Vernon for this one, and shortly into the game, Adrian Clayborn left. Already thin at the position, Porter Gustin got his chance–and he passed the eye test with flying colors.
Gustin had a big time take down of Joe Burrow late in the third quarter, and he also delivered a chilling shot to the No. 1 pick on the play where Myles Garrett forced a fumble.
Gustin was an undrafted free agent in 2019. He linked up with the Saints before finding his way to Cleveland. His stock rose in a hurry during Training Camp, as it became clear that he had passed backup defensive end, Chad Thomas, on the depth chart.
Thomas was cut when the final roster was selected, while Gustin made the team.
It wasn’t a perfect game for the USC product. He was flagged for a face mask penalty, but the Browns over came.
There’s still a long ways to go in 2020, but for one night, Gustin just seemed to be one of those players who was all over place–enough so to make you wonder who exactly was the guy wearing that No. 97 jersey.
The Browns are really thin at the position now after Week 2. Hopefully, Vernon returns, but Browns fans should be looking forward to seeing more of Gustin.
5. OBJ
I don’t like putting guys like OBJ and Garrett on these stock up lists, because they’re supposed to be great. Columns like this can offer a better look at someone like Gustin, who has been flying under the radar.
That said, OBJ’s stock was trading for a penny when this game kicked off on NFL network. Trade rumors were percolating. Speculation had it that he could only garner a fourth- or fifth-round pick.
Beckham NEEDED a good game, and that’s what we got.
Beckham was targeted six times and caught four balls for a game-high 74 yards. He added a stellar touchdown grab, coming off Mayfield’s success running play-action throws.
Moving forward, these are the types of games we should come to expect from OBJ when the Browns are humming along. The Browns are best positioned to win when Mayfield is throwing 20-25 passes. It’s going to be hard for Beckham to get double-digit targets if this is the mindset.
Look back to 2018. No one receiver put up monster stats. Mayfield would hit on short-to-immediate throws, and then cash in on a long connection, once or twice per game.
If OBJ’s good with that, then great. Hold onto him because as Thursday showed, he hasn’t forgotten how to play receiver.
6. Denzel Ward
Denzel Ward was the lone bright spot in a Browns secondary that is really, really bad. He was often lined up against Cincy’s best option, A.J. Green, and all he did was frustrate the veteran all night, as Green managed just three catches for 29 yards.
With Ward as nearest defender, the Buckeye product was targeted 11 times, while allowing five receptions for 46 yards. He did allow a touchdown, and while we all want perfect games, they just don’t happen, even among the best.
Plus, there was this from NFL Next Gen Stats: Ward forced eight tight window passes on 11 targets as the nearest defender. Those eight tight window targets are the most in a game since 2017.
The secondary will be the cause of angst moving forward, though, as Burrow was able to pick apart Cleveland on short throws. The Browns are getting no pass coverage help from the linebackers and the secondary outside of Ward.
If this doesn’t change, things could get ugly as the Browns work deeper into their schedule.
7. Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb’s stock is basically like Apple at this point. It’s already sky high and shows no signs of decline.
Again, Chubb was the Browns best offensive skill player, as he ran for 124 yards on 22 carries for a Jim Brown-esque 5.6 yards per carry. Speaking of Brown, Chubb now has 12 career 100-yard rushing games, which is the second most by a Browns player through his first three seasons. Chubb only trails Brown, who had 19, according to the NFL.
There’s still plenty of time left for Chubb to get that record.
Kevin Stefanski got the memo about giving the rock to Chubb, who was far too much for the Bengals to handle. His backfield mate, Kareem Hunt had a nice game as well, running 10 times for 86 yards and a score.
The scary thing about Chubb? Having Hunt allows him to get some rest. At one point, Chubb got 30 minutes of real rest between the Bengals drive and Hunt shredding the defense in the second half.