Cleveland Browns: 3 good things and 3 awful things from Week 4

Conclusion

The Browns are 3-1 in one of the strongest divisions in football but they’ll need to be able to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens if they have any hope of making the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. Speaking of, the Browns are currently the 6th seed if the playoffs started today. While we’re only a quarter of the way through the season, that’s still something to brag about, because when was the last time you could say “the Browns are a playoff team if the season ended today?”

Kevin Stefanski is the biggest issue as a play-caller. He tries to get too cute and fancy with his trick plays and doesn’t realize that when something works, no matter how boring it is, just keep doing the thing. Stefanski got lucky with his trick plays today, but they won’t always work. The Odell Beckham gadget play in the 4th quarter was a perfect example of a coach trying to be too cute for his own good. Had Beckham gotten tackled at the point of contact, that would’ve been 20 yards and had set up the Cowboys for a big series. Had the Browns just ran the ball like a normal team, they would’ve chewed down the clock and the Cowboys would’ve never gotten another shot to drive down the field.

Yes, those plays worked this week. What about next week, when the Browns play the Indianapolis Colts? They’re the best defense the Browns may play all year, and they damn sure know how to wrap and tackle. Everyone knew the Cowboys defense was bad and they still nearly killed the game for the Browns. Stefanski has got to be more judicious with his play-calling, otherwise, this will be a three-game-win-streak of luck and not skill.

Issue No. 4: Those uniforms this week. Brown on brown? So terrible looking.