The Browns saw some good and bad in Week 1’s loss to the Chiefs.
A day has gone by and it’s safe to say the sting of the loss on Sunday to the Chiefs still resonates. The Browns had every opportunity to win the game but the defense could muster absolutely nothing all game, save for two series. The offense mostly was perfect but did have some flaws.
They struggled in the second half but it wasn’t any one reason specifically. A Nick Chubb fumble just three plays into their first drive of the second half put Cleveland behind the eight-ball, so to speak. Then, after the Browns and Chiefs scored, it was 29-27, and on Cleveland’s subsequent third offensive possession of the second half, Mayfield got sacked nearly after the snap, putting them in a hole. This of course was then when Jamie Gillan muffed the punt and had a turnover on downs deep into the Browns territory.
David Njoku had a good game but did have two illegal shifts against him, though the most costly was the one in the second-half that caused the Browns to go from having a first and 10 to a first and 15. Had Cleveland not lost five yards, then the very next play would’ve been a first down. If Cleveland gets that first down, the entire fourth quarter goes very differently. It’s not directly Njoku’s fault the team lost, obviously, that’s the point. This was a letdown team-wide.
Luckily there is hope for next week, as the Texans come town but before we get ready for next week we have to look at this past Sunday’s loss just a little bit longer.
Good
Baker Mayfield
Yeah, Baker Mayfield didn’t throw a touchdown and threw a last-second pick. If you only care about fantasy football stats (the worst thing to happen to football), then yeah, Mayfield sucked today. To everyone else paying attention, however, Mayfield played beautifully. He made hard passes, he spread the ball around, he made smart decisions. He was nearly perfect. He had two or three drops, threw the ball away a time or two as well, and only really missed with two or three passes that were hard throws to make. Each of those misses, however, were thrown over the defense to ensure they weren’t picked off. Plus, there was a late-game pass to Anthony Schwartz that would’ve been a touchdown had he not broken his route. Mayfield had a wonderful day.
The Offensive line
Yeah, Chris Hubbard seems to not be the same guy he was in 2020, at least today. That was obvious, but the line still played well regardless. There were giant holes so big that Trent Richardson could’ve found them (just kidding, no he couldn’t), and Mayfield was only sacked twice. All in all a pretty good day for the team.
The play calling
Kevin Stefanski’s offense is a machine. Sure, they struggled in the second half, especially after the Nick Chubb fumble but they were still executing. We talked about how the team needed to be perfect offensively to win this game and that was nearly the case. He dialed up some great plays for Anthony Schwartz and Jarvis Landry, both of whom looked very good this week. That said, Schwartz also proved that he has some work to do, dropping an easy catch that would’ve given the team a first-down and given the Browns another chance.
Bad
Ronnie Harrison
Some people will want to defend Ronnie Harrison with the “oh, he slipped!” or the “the coach pushed him first!” routine. Doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you can’t put your hands on a coach, even in retaliation. This isn’t some street fight, there are no bonus points for flexing your manhood. Harrison should’ve walked away. If he had, he’d of played this game. Instead, proving he was tough was more important than the game. It’s not “instinct” either, it’s learned behavior. The Browns need players to not retaliate. Two wrongs don’t make you right. His actions may have cost this team a win and for what? To shove a 50-something-year-old man? What did that prove? Players need to be smarter than this. Just walk away. It happens every play. Just walk, the heck, away.
The entire defense
Just trash. That’s the best way to describe this unit after today. It may get better, that is an absolute possibility. It may not. That’s also a possibility. After all, the same issues that plagued them all season long reared their heads once again. They played soft coverage and allowed a lot of underneath stuff, and had no ability to get to Patrick Mahomes on a consistent basis. Either Joe Woods is a bad coach, or Andrew Berry has yet to give him the players needed to run the defense. One of those is going to be found true and if the team defense continues to be this awful, one of, or both men, may find themselves gone. Giving up six scoring drives out of eight possible is horrid. Chiefs or not. After all, how are you going to get to the Super Bowl if you can’t stop an offense like the Chiefs? So it being the Chiefs isn’t an excuse.
Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were nowhere to be seen, plus each jumped offsides. That alone is bad enough, you’re right there. You can see the football. You don’t move until it does. Takk McKinley blew his containment on Patrick Mahomes on a 3rd and seven. It was all a wreck.
Scoring 29 points should win you a game.
The special teams
Yikes, who saw this happening? Firstly, Demetric Felton is looking rough as a returner. Twice he took the ball and slipped (or tripped) and allowed a Chiefs’ defender to catch up to him and tackle him for barely any gain. Jamie Gillan, in his only punt of the day, miffed the snap and forced a turnover on down. Then there was Chase McLaughlin who nearly shanked one of the extra point attempts. The team clearly has no faith in him.
In Conclusion
The Browns had a bad game defensively, mostly because of Patrick Mahomes’ mobility and Tyreke Hill’s speed. That doesn’t make it any better that the Browns defense got dog-walked like a puppy wrestling with his leash. It actually makes it far worse.
Yes, the Browns defense may look like world-beaters next week against the Texans. Why wouldn’t they? Houston’s best players are journey quarterback Tyrod Taylor, 32-year-old and oft-injured running back Mark Ingram, 35-year-old Danny Amendola, and 28-year-old Brandin Cooks. The Browns defense better be world-beaters against them.
It was disappointing to see how little Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and the rest of the defensive line did all game. Sure, they limited the Chiefs rushing game by quite a bit but they ranked 23rd in the league last year in rushing attempts. It wasn’t exactly something they relied on in the first place.
The defense could not make a play against an offensive line where three of the five starters were making their first career start. Wasn’t Clowney supposed to help take pressure off Myles Garett? Wasn’t Garrett supposed to be a difference-maker?
These men are getting paid way too much money to only show up once a game. It’s great they got a sack, but considering Mahomes threw 36 times and only once did Garrett or Clowney actually touch him, it’s concerning.
While it may be only Week 2 but if Taylor, Amendola, and Cooks go off on the Browns, then people need to start being fired; win or lose. This team has too much talent to squander it with bad defensive schemes.