The 3 good and 3 bad things from the Cleveland Browns game against the Carolina Panthers
By Chad Porto
The Good
Pressure + Tackling
The Cleveland Browns’ defense was positively fantastic when it came to applying pressure on the Panthers all game. Baker Mayfield could barely set his feet in the first half due to the Browns’ rush. Part of that is due to the Panthers’ offensive line being so bad, but you can only perform against who is in front of you and that’s exactly what they did. The other thing of note was the solid tackling, with a lot of Browns wrapping and driving their feet and not losing guys due to arm tackles.
Rushing the ball
Even though Ethan Pocic didn’t look great in the pass blocking, he and late-game replacement James Hudson really did a solid job providing decent run blocking. Using Kareem Hunt as a fullback at times was helpful. While he didn’t stand anyone up, Hunt allowed defenders to ride him out of the way of the play, which is all you really want.
The kicking game
The Cleveland Browns really do have a gem of a kicker. Cade York went 4-4 on the day, and single-legged got the Browns into their first season-opening game for the first time in a long time.