Victory Monday. 2-21-1 may not sound good to your average NFL fan, but it sure sounds good to me, as does 1-0. The Browns finally did something they haven’t done since 2004, win their opening game. Browns fans can now exhale and focus on the rest of the season starting with game two versus the Jets. Here we go.
The Good. The running game for about 95% of the game. Late in the game, the Browns started to get a little pass happy. Hey coach, run it till they stop it. QB Jacoby Brissett was average (18 of 34 for 147 yards and a TD) but put the team in the position to win. Everyone was worried about the wide receivers, but they got open, it’s just that Brissett was slow to see them. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones made some great catches and WR Anthony Schwartz made a big third down catch. As for the defense, they played well for about 95% of the game. Two blown coverages are two too many. The defense seemed to get sack happy late in the game. Speaking of sacks Myles Garrett had two and John Johnson, Ronnie Harrison, Jadeveon Clowney and Tommy Togiai had a half sack each. The defense also batted down five passes, Clowney with two, Garrett with one, Perrion Winfrey with one and Alex Wright with one. According to PFF, the highest graded offensive players were Wyatt Teller 85.9, Nick Chubb 79.3, James Hudson 76.0, Peoples-Jones 68.0 and Schwartz 67.6. On defense Garrett 94.4, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 78.3, Clowney 76.3, Anthony Walker 73.4 and Togiai 71.7. Kicker Cade York, four field goals, 26, 34, 36 and of course the game winner from 58 yards. Most importantly, no injuries.
The Bad. The other 5% of both the offense and the defense. Now that this team has learned to win week one, they need to learn to put bad teams away. The punt return situation is scary. Rest of the special teams were very good, but why don’t we try someone else to return punts, like maybe rookie RB Jerome Ford. Hopefully, the coaching staff will work with Brissett to speed up the offense. They were late getting out of the huddle and seemed to be a little chaotic. Smooth the rough edges on the offense and fix the blown coverages on defense.
The Ugly. Nine penalties for 71 yards, the carryover from the preseason continues. Before I die, I hope the Browns will learn to cover an opposing team’s tight end. This team makes average players look like pro bowlers.
Game one is in the books, it wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. The Browns will host the New York Jets in their home opener this Sunday. One final note, my wife and I had a great time watching the game very our fellow members of the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers. It’s the official club in Nashville TN and there was a great crowd on hand, over 240. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.