3 Cleveland Browns whose stock actually went up in Patriots disaster

1. Cleveland Browns D’Ernest Johnson

Filling in for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson looked poised for another huge game following the team’s first drive.

Everything went according to Kevin Stefanski’s script and Johnson was a beneficiary, ripping off 58 yards on four carries. Then it stopped. He managed just six more yards in the first half.

Much is being made of Kevin Stefanski abandoning the rushing attack after the Browns went down 14-7. His defenders will point out how New England stacked the box, giving Johnson no room to operate.

To that point, I’d contend that is the point where the coach needs to get his quarterback into a flow–at least attempting to throws to his receivers on the outside. You don’t need to be Vince Lombardi to know that success doing that will lessen up the box.

Alas, Baker Mayfield couldn’t get his receivers involved, as the game reinforced the point that when pressed to make plays from the pocket, the quarterback just can’t do it.

Johnson finished with 99 yards on 19 carries, good enough for a 5.2 yard-per-carry average.