Browns: 5 Players who impressed against the Bengals

The Browns pummeled the Bengals.

The Browns saw what they could be on Sunday with their decisive win against the Bengals. Cleveland never trailed at any point in the game and the lead was nearly out of hand by the start of the third quarter.

Considering the drama that surrounded the team over the last week, this win really shut down a lot of the gibberish surrounding them. So it’s no surprise they were able to pounce on the Bengals as easily as they did. They did so in part due to five names who really stepped up when called upon.

Shoutout to Donovan Peoples-Jones, who didn’t make the top five this week, but did have two huge catches, and ate one nasty shot near the end of the game.

Five players who stepped up against the Bengals.

Baker Mayfield

Anyone who thinks Baker Mayfield didn’t have a good game is new to football or ignorant of it. Mayfield played fantastically. He was a catalyst for the offense, helped drive them down the field in key possessions, and made use of his limited opportunities. This is the Browns offense on max, and they need more of it.

Myles Garrett

Myles “Meme” Garrett is almost more known for the blocking memes that come out of his games as he is for his play. Watching two offensive linemen hold him worse than Daniel Jones nipping at a Titans heel is one of the most defining moments of the game. Whatever residual Covid-complications he may have had after last season are either gone or no longer affecting him and it shows. He’s never been more consistent. The lone knock on him is how often he comes out of the game. It wouldn’t be that bad if his replacements could actually do, you know, anything.

Nick Chubb

We take Nick Chubb for granted. No, not every team in the NFL has a guy like Chubb. The Titans do, sure, but that’s about it. As much as I love Christian McCaffery and Saquon Barkley, they haven’t been healthy that often, and when they are, need to be worked into the offense by their quarterback to maximize their full potential. Not Chubb. Just give Chubb the ball and let him open up a new hole in the stadium after he runs through it.

Troy Hill

At one point the announcers said Troy Hill had three sacks on the day but the stats say he had just two. I’m not going to thumb my nose at “just two sacks” from a cornerback. One, because they’re a corner, and two, because both times came from blitzes. Joe Woods is finally using blitzes effectively. This is a good day.

Denzel Ward

A near 100-yard interception return for a touchdown that ended up changing the entire context of the day. The Browns were getting driven on hard, and out of nowhere here comes Ward, popping up and taking away the ball and going the other way for a touchdown. Who knows how the Browns rebound if the Bengals go down in seven minutes and score a touchdown on you. Maybe they don’t rebound. Maybe they do, but thankfully for Ward, it was the Bengals who felt the pressure all day.