Five Cleveland Browns whose stocks are up after cruising past Washington in Week 3.
This win over the Washington Football team was great, but even in victory, fans of the Cleveland Browns are reminded of the team’s forgettable past.
What’s the ugly stat the Browns erased this time? They’re over .500 for the first time since 2014! You remember…Brian Hoyer went into Cincinnati and smacked the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. The Browns were actually 7-4 at one point that season before Johnny Manziel was given the reigns in Week 15. He was blown out 30-0 in his starting debut and the Browns ended up finishing the year 7-9.
Ah, the memories.
OK, I digress. The Browns and their young core of players needed this one, because they’ve never been “winners” in the NFL. They were favored to beat Washington and they handled it. Far too often, we’ve seen other Browns teams since 1999 choke in this position.
The Browns will have a tough go of things in Week 4 vs the Cowboys, but for now, Cleveland is where they were supposed to be. I don’t think anyone would’ve predicted a win against Baltimore in the opener.
Now, they’re where they are after beating two lesser teams.
The next step will be beating a team like the Cowboys, a game in which the Browns will surely be underdogs.
These five players will see their stocks on the rise heading into Dallas, after a Week 3 win against Washington.
1. Wyatt Teller
It probably took a little longer than the Cleveland Browns would’ve liked, but the organization has found it’s right tackle of the present and future in Wyatt Teller.
Former GM John Dorsey acquired Teller in a trade with the Bills last season, and all it cost was a a fifth- and sixth-round pick. Dorsey missed on Austin Corbett in the second round of the 2018 draft, but he cleaned that mess up nicely by getting a Teller.
For really the third game in a row, Teller was a people mover, especially when asked to pull. When he does this, the end result is him usually putting an opposing defender on his back.
Dorsey didn’t get to reap the fruit that Teller is providing, but his play has solicited the Browns’ line as a strength of the team. It was supposed to be, following the signing of right tackle of Jack Conklin and drafting Jedrick Wills, but having Teller play at an elite level takes it to another level.
2. Malcom Smith
Malcom Smith had a diving interception off Dwayne Haskins, which set up a touchdown. Struggling baker B.J. Goodson also added a pick
Smith makes this list because the linebacking corps was giving so little up to this point. The unit needs to better moving forward, but having Smith is better than not having him, especially when he’s out there changing the game.
Of note, Haskins was enjoying some success with medium throws, much like Joe Burrow and the Bengals did in Week 2.
On the bright side, Mack Wilson’s playing time will be ramping up as he works his way back from injury. Having the second-year veteran out there should make for a noticeable difference. By losing Wilson and Grant Delpit, the Browns got a lot slower. That should get little better when Wilson returns.
3. Nick Chubb
It took a while for Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski to get the offense going, but he stayed true to what the Browns do best, and rushing the ball paid off.
Chubb had 108 yards on 19 carries. Teammate Kareem Hunt added 46 yards on 16 carries, diving the duo a total of 158 yards on 37 carries. Much was made of Washington being littered with first-round picks up front, so to get this total is probably more impressive than the 205 total yards Chubb and Hunt hung up on Cincinnati.
Chubb’s two scoring runs came on carries of 16 and 20 yards, respectively. He’s making scoring easier for the offense, and that takes the burden off Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield was a nice-and-neat 16-of-23 for 156 yards and two scores. He avoided throwing an interception in the first half thanks to some great defense from Odell Beckham.
4. Sheldon Richardson
Sheldon Richardson continues to make impact plays for the Browns in 2020, and that didn’t change in Week 3.
He was credited with four tackles, and he also had a big takedown of Dwayne Haskins. He was also credited with deflecting another pass at the line of scrimmage–his second in as many games.
His partner up front, Larry Ogunjobi, entered the contest as one of the best run stopping interior lineman in the league. He continued to build off that reputation in the first half, when he got into the backfield and blew up running play for a five-yard loss.
Ogunjobi was credited with four total tackles, with two of those being solo takedowns.
Of note, the Browns showed different looks on the defensive line in this one, with Myles Garrett sometimes switching to the interior to try and bolster the pass rush.
Even with Olivier Vernon injuries, the Browns down front-four may be the strongest unit on the defense.
5. Myles Garrett
Whatever hope Washington had of coming from behind was thwarted by Myles Garrett with 6:36 to go in the fourth quarter.. Chris Spielman described it as the “Trifecta,” when Garrett sacked, stripped and recovered a fumble following a hit on Haskins.
Browns fans clamor for Garrett to impact games, and with that play, he virtually ended it for Washington.
It’s also the second-straight week Garrett’s forced a key turnover. In Week 2, he got to Joe Burrow with the Bengals backed up near their own end zone.
Against Washington, Garrett was credited with two sacks in the game. As previously mentioned, the Browns would rotate him to the inside occasionally, in an effort to get Garrett a jump against Washington’s interior linemen.
Garrett’s the Browns’ best defensive player and Cleveland fans were reminded of it again for the second-consecutive game.