Who still wants to fire Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods? Talk about a dominating defensive performance, wow. The Browns held the Bears to 47 total yards, one passing yard and six first downs. What makes the 47 yards of total offense even more impressive is the Bears had 24 yards on their first three plays. The defensive line did it’s job yesterday, pressuring a rookie QB and getting nine sacks. They seem to have finally gotten used to playing with each other. So what are the positives and negatives from the game.
Positives. According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns are currently the number one offensive team in the NFL (84.6). As a team, they’re the second highest graded team (87.9) in the NFL behind the Rams. RB Kareem Hunt was the highest graded offensive player with a 90.6 grade. QB Baker Mayfield is currently fifth in completion rate ( 76.5%) and fourth in yards per attempt (8.9). Through three weeks Arizona and Cleveland are the only two teams ranked in the top seven in both offense and defense. The Browns are seventh offensively and third defensively. The highest graded defensive players were Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (93.9), Myles Garrett (90.0), Troy Hill (83.8), Malcolm Smith (80.0), Ronnie Harrison (79.8), Jadeveon Clowney (77.8), Mack Wilson (76.5) and Takk McKinley (70.9).As for the special teams, RB Demetric Felton has 129 yards in punt returns, the most in the NFL after three weeks. Kicker Chase McLaughlin was four for four on field goals including a 57 yarder.
Negatives. The offense had a very slow start and the play calling on the first two fourth down conversions was strange. I know the Bears have a top five run defense and they love to blitz, but a quick pass or a running play might have worked better. Seven penalties for 98 yards and the penalties on special teams didn’t help the offense. The offensive line gave up five sacks, 2 to Khalil Mack and 1.5 to Robert Quinn.
Injuries. CB Greg Newsome, II left the game with a calf injury and had a MRI today. The extent of the injury is not known. LT Jedrick Wills, Jr. left the game briefly because of his ankle injury. And WR Odell Beckham, Jr. looked great catching five passes for 77 yards.
It was a good team win. When the offense scored right before halftime, this game was over. Next week the Browns travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings at Noon CST. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.