The Browns held off the Eagles to win 22-17 in a game that saw the Browns lean on all facets of the team to win a slippery and sloppy game.
The Cleveland Browns are now 7-3 after winning a slippery game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite being at home, the last three games in Cleveland have been anything but easy on the Browns, and the team as a whole has had to learn to deal with adversity in each of the three games. The team has dealt with snow, gale-force winds, and a torrential downpour in near-freezing temperatures in consecutive weeks.
The Browns are 2-1 in those three games and should have been 3-0 had the defense made more stops in the Las Vegas Raiders game, which the Browns lost.
Heading into their contest with the Eagles, the Browns knew several things about the Eagles. Firstly, their defense is one of the better ones they’ll have faced so far. Something that was abundantly clear throughout the game. The second thing was that the Eagles’ offense is inconsistent and actually pretty awful with Carson Wentz behind center but the biggest issue with their offense is their o-line. This takes us to the third thing, and that was the acknowledgment that the Browns didn’t need Myles Garrett for this game. Which they didn’t. The Browns had five and a half sacks against the Eagles today with Adrian Clayborn and Vernon Olivier stepping up in with the pass rush, and Porter Gustin really making an impact in the running game.
Overall, this was the most obvious outcome possible.
The Good
Olivier Vernon’s three sacks.
You can’t deny that three sacks are great. Even if you’ve been struggling all year. For Olivier Vernon to come in, and take advantage of the Eagles’ bad offensive line was a nice change of pace. Especially when he secured the team that second-half safety.
Sione Takitaki picking off the Eagles
This was the game where the misfit toys finally got called in to save Christmas. Sione Takitaki hadn’t made a big play in his career until today, and boy, did he deliver when it absolutely mattered. Takitaki picked off Wentz early in the first half and took it to the opposite endzone for a defensive touchdown.
Nick Chubb’s big run
Nick Chubb’s day is deceptive, as he only had a handful of decent plays before his one big run. That one big run, however, was all the Browns really needed from him, as it helped set up the Kareem Hunt touchdown run in the 4th quarter. Chubb blasted off 54 yards on the Eagles, hitting a stiff arm on one of them, before running throw another two tackles. It was the statement-play of the game.
Cody Parkey and Jamie Gillan
Both Cody Parkey and Jamie Gillan stepped up big for the Browns. Parkey hit two hard field goals in terrible conditions, which helped secure the cushion the Browns needed to win. Gillan on the other hand, had several tremendous punts, one that put the Eagles against the endzone, which helped set up Vernon to get the sack and the safety three plays later.
The Weather
The weather played a big hand in helping the Browns assault the Eagles. A number of times the Eagles moved the ball at ease on the ground, only to have their offensive linemen get choppy with their feet and be unable to hold their blocks. If it wasn’t that, it was their players losing their position because their feet slipped right out from under them while running. The weather was a true 12th man.
The Bad
Olivier Vernon only shows up against bad teams
Olivier Vernon has five sacks on the year. Of those sacks, he’s gotten them all in two games; a two-sack game against the Raiders and now a three-sack game against the Eagles. The problem? The Eagles and Raiders are among the worst in the NFL in the offensive line play. Sure, the Raiders aren’t known for giving up sacks, but their line isn’t great and allows a lot of pressure. The Eagles on the other hand are among the absolute bottom three in the league. Let’s see Vernon have three sacks against Pittsburgh before we start talking about how good he’s been.
Sione Takitaki celebrating for touching a ball carrier who slipped
On the first rush of the Eagles day, Miles Sanders took a handoff and slipped right at the line of scrimmage. Sione Takitaki got credited for the tackle, as his touching of Sanders downed the Eagles ball carrier. It was a nothing play, made possible by poor field conditions. Takitaki, so starved for doing anything of relevance on a football field, celebrated as if he had just sacked Tom Brady and Russell Wilson in the Super Bowl. It was embarrassing.
The rushing game otherwise
Besides Kareem Hunt’s touchdown run and Nick Chubb’s 54-yard rush, the Browns rushing game was a joke. Taking out the one rush for 54 yards, the Browns averaged 2.12 yards-per-carry and only had 83 yards total. That 54-yard rush really helped save their stat sheet but it doesn’t change the fact that the Eagles shut down the Browns rushing game. Had it not been for Baker Mayfield being clutch on third downs, then the Browns wouldn’t have won this game. The rushing attack needed Mayfield’s playmaking abilities today.
Mack Wilson
Mack Wilson blew coverage more than once and didn’t have any truly impressive tackles throughout the game. He and Malcolm Smith both made boneheaded play after boneheaded play out there. The Browns linebackers are a joke.
The Weather
A true 12th man who’s also kind of a jerk. The weather giveth and it taketh away. Even though the Eagles were stonewalled by the lake effect weather, the Browns too had to deal with the nastiness the weather produced today, making three straight weeks in a row where the Browns had to deal with the worst possible weather conditions at home. It’s like home-field advantage is a foreign concept in Cleveland.
Conclusion
Overall the game was sloppy. One play saw Khadarel Hodge switch routes mid-throw and missed an easy touchdown catch from Baker Mayfield. Another play seemingly saw Nick Chubb run the wrong way, which forced Mayfield into improvising the play from there. Jedrick Wills had a baffling game, getting beat from time to time, losing his helmet twice, and generally showing a lack of awareness on a first-half fumble. Yet, the Browns found ways to overcome all of that. That’s what this team is about, finding ways to win. The team now sits at 7-3 because everyone is contributing.
While talk of MVP ring out in Seattle, look at what happens to the Seahawks when Russell Wilson doesn’t play well; they have no shot of winning. If Mayfield doesn’t play well, there are other avenues. If the running backs don’t produce, like they failed to do so today, Mayfield can move the ball and keep plays alive. While Mayfield didn’t have an impressive game, he did play well. The Eagles pass defense is among the best in the league and Mayfield took them head-on, in a very admirable performance where he battled bad field conditions, some bad route running by his receivers, a few drops, and the weather. Sure his completion percentage was down, but sometimes that happens.
While the defense has a whole heap of problems themselves, they did perform to the level that they were expected to. We wrote about how the team was going to be able to apply pressure on the Eagles because of their poor offensive line despite Myles Garrett being gone and that’s exactly what happened. Now they need to prove they can do that against better teams.
An ugly win but one that shows this Browns team is absolutely capable of beating anyone at any time. If they can overcome the elements in Florida, then the upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars should be manageable.
With their win, they move to 7-3 and officially into a playoff spot.