Conclusion
Myles Garrett is going to be in contention for Defensive Player of the Year, even without the bogus “pressure” stat that’s made up to overvalue pass rushers. Garrett had his best game of the season, even if it didn’t statistically seem that way. He got depth on the line, forced the Colts to run plays away from him, and he walloped Rivers four times, once for a sack. Ronnie Harrison also looked great but still got burnt a few times. Luckily for him, and not Karl Joseph, Harrison’s issues are simply needing to know his coverage better and not a lack of skill.
Baker Mayfield looked phenomenal in the first half but an injury to Wyatt Teller and no real running game ended up costing the Browns in the third quarter. The big hit that Jedrick Wills gave up may have knocked out Mayfield for the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kareem Hunt played well, just not up the middle. The Browns need to run D’Ernest Johnson as if he were Nick Chubb and leave Hunt to anything off the edge, or any type of passing play. Running up the middle has been Hunt’s biggest issue all season. He seems to hesitate too much, which is a good trait in the open field, as it allows you to see what develops. When you run up the gut, however, you have to be fast and not worry if there’s a better option.
The Browns won ugly but they won. At the end of the day, that’s all that ultimately matters.
Onward to Pittsburgh.