Let’s all calm down a little. Yes, quarterback Shedeur Sanders stepped up and handled his first start well. Was he perfect, no. Are there area’s he needs to improve on, yes. Let’s not get carried away and think he can start week one against the Bengals. He can’t. As a matter of fact, if you look at the Browns first opponents, Bengals, Ravens, Packers, Lions, Vikings and Steelers, you really don’t want the kid to start. The Browns want to accomplish two things in 2025, win games and develop one of the rookies to start in 2026. Neither rookie should start in 2025, because it would destroy their development. Joe Flacco will start week one. The one thing I’ll say about Friday night, it was a fun game to watch. Last year there were very few games that were fun to watch. The home game against Baltimore, the “snow globe” game against Pittsburg and the primetime game against Denver. The first win of the season, against Jacksonville, was a struggle to watch, too much stress for a victory over the Jaguars. Here’s a few things I noticed.
Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger are the real deal. I have no idea why the Panthers double-teamed Graham, but it freed up Alex Wright. Imagine if Myles Garrett had played, Yikes. The Browns defensive line is deep and talented. Julian Okwara had two sacks and UDFA Adin Huntington had one. The Browns had two take aways and didn’t turn the ball over. The team had 308 total offensive yards (183 yards passing & 125 yards rushing). The Browns had 20 first downs, were 6 of 15 on third down (40%), had 6 penalties for 34 yards and their time of possession was 34:28 versus 25:32 for the Panthers. Considering how bad the offense was last year, all these numbers are an improvement, and the penalties mostly happened in the fourth quarter. On offense Luke Wypler and Cornelius Lucas were the best offensive linemen for the Browns. I found it interesting; Javion Cohen started at one of the guard positions. Jackson Barton (RT) and Teven Jenkins (LG) were not impressive. I think Jenkins can still turn it around, but the Browns might be in the market for a fourth tackle on cutdown day.
Gage Larvadain and Kaden Davis have a real chance to make this roster as wide receiver number six. I thought the same of Luke Floriea, but he was waived with a serious hamstring injury. Hopefully he can clear waivers, and the Browns can put him on IR. The backup running backs looked good. I noticed the offensive line was running wide zone concepts the entire game. That’s how this offense is going to work in 2025 and to do it the first preseason game is impressive. It was weird number three tight end Blake Whiteheart didn’t get a single snap, but his replacements Brenden Bates and Sal Cannella played very well.
On defense, I’m not sure Cameron Mitchell makes the roster. After Rayshawn Jenkins was thrown out, he struggled. I’m gald to see the Browns sign two more cornerbacks today, Christian Holmes and Darius Rush. Never hurts to have as many corners as possible. I feel much better about the linebacker depth, while I’m still not to concerned about the secondary depth. Donovan McMillon (UDFA), Dom Johnson (UDFA) and Chris Edmonds played well. As did special team ace, Tony Brown, he was very impressive. Speaking of special teams, wow what a difference. They made a big difference in this game and in a good way.
This week will be a true test for the team. Going from an average Carolina team to the defending Super Bowl Champs is big difference. I can’t wait to see how the two practices go; this will be a true measurement for this team. Stay safe and Go Browns.