Another Victory Monday and 1-0 for the third straight week. The Browns were laser focused and it showed. So much for off the field distractions. The Browns now stand at 5-6 heading to Pittsburgh for the rematch. All in all the Browns came out on fire and scored on 4 of their first 5 drives. So lets look at the the game, first the negatives and there aren’t many. The Browns came out a little flat in the third quarter and allowed the Dolphins to have a little hope. I bet everyone reading this thought, Oh-Oh they’re going to blow this. I was at the home of the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers watching the game and that’s what one of my friends said. Hopefully soon, the Browns will put together a complete game. When you have another team down, you have to keep the pressure on. The one trick play the Browns tried failed and could have been disastrous.
Again our defense allowed an opposing quarterback to rush for a touchdown straight up the middle. The good news, Ryan Fitzpatrick was Miami’s leading rusher, five for forty five yards. Still too many silly penalties, seven for seventy yards. The Dawg pound side of the stadium is where field goals go to die. Austin Seibert missed another field goal on that side of the stadium and kickers are now 2 for 10 on the Dawg pound side. The offensive line allowed one sack and Mayfield threw one interception, which could have been a mistake by Beckham. Beckham and Mayfield are still a little off, but are starting to show signs of life.
Now the positives. I have to give Freddie credit for incorporating Kareem Hunt into the offense so seamlessly. Nick Chubb’s touches have not decreased and Hunt has become a serious threat in the passing game. He’s a nice security valve for Mayfield. What can you say about Jarvis Landry, but wow. 10 catches for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nick Chubb again over 100 yards, 21 for 106, 1 TD and Hunt had 8 rushes for 37 yards, 1 TD. Beckham had 6 catches for 84 yards and a great touchdown catch. The offensive line played well, except for Tretter’s bad snap to Mayfield killing a drive. Robinson, since his one game benching, has played very well.
As for the defense, DC Steve Wilks called another great game with three of his four starting defensive lineman out. Sheldon Richardson had one hell of a game as did Chad Thomas and Porter Gustin who got his first career sack. Joe Schobert is a machine. Two more interceptions and is the true leader of this defense. Mack Wilson is all over the place and Takitaki made a great play on Miami’s attempt at a fake punt. Denzel Ward is a stud. I thought both TJ Carrie and Justin Burris played well. Greedy Williams is still making mistakes, but that’s because more teams are throwing his way. If he can tighten up a little in his coverage, both he and Ward could truly be special corners. I was really glad to see the special team looking for the fake punt.
Now on to Pittsburgh. The Browns haven’t swept the steelers since 1988 and this game hopefully won’t get ugly in a bad way. Lets hope cooler heads will prevail. The Browns are the better team and if they play like they did yesterday I don’t see any reason why they can’t win. They already know how to beat the steelers, don’t turn the ball over and play smart football. We know Ogunjobi will be back and hopefully so will Vernon. I would love for the Browns to be 6-6 after Sunday. As for the playoff picture, the Raiders lost to the Jets which helps and the Rams need to beat the ratbirds tonight. The important games for the Browns this upcoming Sunday are of course the Browns at Pittsburgh, Raiders at the Chiefs and Titans at the Colts. If the Browns take care of business and the Raiders lose, the Browns would be one game out of the last wild card spot. The Titans/Colts game helps because one will lose and both are in front of the Browns. So bring on the steelers and GO BROWNS.