Month: September 2026

Yep, you heard me, two straight victory Mondays. This one was all about the Browns defense. They pressured and covered. The defensive line harassed Bryce Young all game long. Remember, this was the best passing offense after two weeks in the league. Young was first in touchdown passes and the team was averaging 312.5 yards a game passing, 409 yards a game in total offense and 35.5 points per game. The Browns have now gone 48 straight games without allowing a 300-yard passer. They did this without cornerback Tyson Campbell. Myles Hardin decided to have a great game. Both linebackers were outstanding especially Quincy Williams. While some fans are complaining Jared Verse hasn’t had a sack yet, he and Michael Hall are making the first-round trade in 2025 look like a stroke of genius. Mason Graham and Maliek Collins are playing great.

As for the offense, I hate that the Browns are making me root for Deshaun Watson. Through three quarters he was 10 of 21 for 67 yards. Yikes. He still stares down his first wide receiver and panics when there’s pressure. Yes, he’s only thrown one interception, but Sunday he almost added three more and on one he got bailed out by a roughing the passer. The run game was better, but a lot of those yards came from Watson. The good news was his longer runs came in key moments when the Browns needed a first down. The offensive line committed seven of the twelve penalties committed by the team, which now has 34 penalties after three games. They’re second only to the Green Bay Packers. Tytus Howard might be replaced by Dawand Jones Thursday night against the Steelers. Speaking of the offensive line, center Elgen Jenkins turned up on the injury list yesterday with a concussion. If he doesn’t clear protocol that means either Luke Wypler or Parker Brailsford will have to go against Cam Heyward. Yikes, yikes. As for the special teams, not a great game returning the ball, but a good game covering kicks.

I love coach Monken, but his play calling on third and fourth down in short yardage situations is not daring it’s painful. Just do a quarterback sneak please. Getting back to Watson, while he’s been average to okay during the first three quarters, he’s been the best QB in the league in the fourth quarter after three games. But that’s the way he’s always been, a slow starter and a quick finisher. If only he could play that way for a full game. Because the Browns are 2-1, the media and some fans are wondering if the Browns will try and resign Watson. If they do, they’ll have to work out something prior to March 13, 2027, because that’s when a $200 million roster bonus kicks in. I still say that no matter what happens with the 2026 season he’ll be cut March 11, 2027. Stay safe and GO Browns.

If you’ve followed me on this blog and on podcasts, I’ve said many times I do not want Deshaun Watson taking another offensive snap for the Cleveland Browns. Game one versus the Jaguars kind of proved my point and the point of various other fans who feel the same way. During game two in the first half, he didn’t look too bad, and I understand the reasoning you could blame his average play on stupid penalties caused by the offensive line, I’m talking to you Tytus Howard. I have no idea what happened at half-time, but with better execution by the OL, the offense worked. It’s nice to see a coaching staff who recognizes they need to make adjustments. A few simple things got the ball rolling. First passing to Quinshon Judkins. Get him in space and see what he can do. Finding tight end Harold Fannin who works hard for every extra yard. In the first half Tampa knew the Browns were going to try and get the ball to K.C. Conception and were determined to stop him when he did. In the second half, the Browns starting using him as a decoy and that helped other wide receivers get open. For the first time in two years the Browns offense looked like an NFL offense.

The defense made a dramatic change from one week. More pressure, more man looks in the secondary and more letting the talent dictate the formations. There were two plays that saved this win. On offense, the third and one where Watson threw to Fannin as he was getting hit and Fannin getting the extra yards for the first down. On defense and probably for the game, LB Carson Schwesinger tackling Baker Mayfield on third down with 22 seconds left in the game. He slipped on the wet turf, got up, ran and grabbed Mayfield before he could get out of bounds, forcing Tampa to use a time out. This gave the Browns time to put in the right personnel for fourth down, which had to go to the endzone.

Now comes the hard part for some fans. Watson will start and deserves to start the week three home opener. I’m not a fan of this, but I’m smart enough to know he played well in week two. It was the first time the Browns have scored 20+ on offense in a game since week 10, 2023 when they beat the Ravens in Baltimore 33-31. The last time Watson had a good game. I know the “Baker Bros” are licking their wounds as are the “Sanderites” which I’m happy about. I’m a Browns fan and I’ll always want the Browns to win. Hoping they lose just to be right, or just so you think you can dictate what the team will do, or even hoping for a better draft pick, which will happen later in the year, is not my style. I said all year, I couldn’t see a situation where Watson would play any better than he did two years ago. Well, he and head coach Todd Monken have made me say I was wrong. I just wish more fans and media would admit when they’re wrong, but I know that’ll never happen. Hopefully the team can keep this momentum going, because I love it when the Browns win. Finally, I still have March 11, 2027, marked on my calendar as the day Watson is no longer a Brown. It doesn’t matter how he plays this year, he’s still going to be gone. Stay safe and Go Browns.

If you wanted to believe some of the Cleveland media concerning the potential positive play of Browns starting QB Deshaun Watson, congratulations. He was supposed to be the healthiest he’s been in years. His play will show how much he wants to prove he’s a starting QB in the NFL. He deserves this chance. No, no and no. As I’ve said over the last six months, Watson doesn’t need to take another offensive snap for the Cleveland Browns. We saw this pathetic QB play two years ago. Nothing has changed. He’s the same lousy QB making the same lousy decisions he made in 2024. He holds on to the ball too long. He stares down his intended receiver. He lowers his head right before runs. The perfect example of him being a lousy QB is when he’s lined up in the shotgun and still takes an eight-step drop. An offensive line can’t protect you in the pocket if you run away from a pocket.

So what happens next? I’m sure Watson will start against Tampa and I’m equally sure he’ll suck, because that’s what he does right now. He’s not going to get 100% better in six days. My concern right now is the defense. Safety Ronnie Hickman and cornerback Myles Harden looked lost. In the first half, there was no pressure from anyone on the defensive line. LB Carson Schwesinger had ten tackles, but most of those came in the second half. The Jags offensive play calling embarrassed a very good defense. The only bright spot was special teams.

A ton of Browns fans are asking, why not Sheduer Sanders? Good question. Right now, head coach Todd Monken thinks Watson helps the team win on the road better than Sanders. I’m not a Sanders fan, but I’ve maintained you have to play him to help decide if he’s a viable option in 2027. Last time I looked, teams in the league have to play road games. If this team lays another egg in Tampa with Watson as the starter, you have to start Sanders in the first home game, not because the fans want it to happen, but because it only makes sense. Just remember the magical date of March 11, 2027, because that’s when Deshaun Watson will be cut by the Cleveland Browns. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Hard to believe it’s finally Browns game week. The journey from the former head coach being fired to right now seems like a dream, or maybe a nightmare. The roster has been greatly improved at the positions it needed to be after last year. Wide receiver and offensive line were defiantly areas of weakness in 2025. Three promising high draft picks, (Spencer Fano, KC Conception and Denzel Boston) will hopefully spark an offense that was very offensive to watch in 2025. Along with Fano, there will be four other new starters on the offensive line. This is an unprecedented move for any NFL team. But if it works, the run game should be better which will improve the passing game. The only major hole on the offense is the passing game. I for one, never wanted to see QB Deshaun Watson take another snap for the Cleveland Browns. But I understand the reasoning with two road games to start the season. If head coach Todd Monken can get Watson to play like an average quarterback not the hot mess, we all saw in 2024, then he should be in the running for coach of the year.

On defense, the Browns roster in my opinion is more talented than last year. I’m well aware they traded the best defensive player in the league, but overall, the roster is better. My only concern is who’s going to step up and replace DE Alex Wright, hopefully Isaiah McGuire can return to the form he had the last time he replaced Wright, after game two in 2024. As for the rest of the defense, the linebackers are better with the addition of Quincy Williams next to Carsen Schwesinger. The cornerbacks are better with a full year of Tyson Campbell and the addition of Mekhi Blackman. The safeties are better with the addition of Emmanuel McNneil-Warren and a bigger role for Ronnie Hickman and Donovan McMillon.

On special teams, the coverage is very much improved if the pre-season games are any indication. In 2025, the coverage teams and special teams as a whole gave away too many games. I still shake my head at allowing a kickoff return for a TD then a punt return for a TD in the span of 38 seconds. I want the special teams to be boring. If they’re not talked about, then they’re doing good.

This writing may sound very optimistic, but let’s face facts, the 2026 Browns comes down to one thing, the quarterback room. As it stands now, this room is bottom five in the league. In the NFL winning teams are either cared by a great franchise quarterback or the team as a whole carries an average or good quarterback. I can say with great conviction the Browns aren’t the first one, but they could possibly be the second one. They just need average to good quarterback play, a solid offensive line and a top ten defense. We’ll have to wait and see, but six wins looks about right. Stay safe and Go Browns.