It’s been a few games, but this one was sweet. After a lost west coast road trip, the Browns responded with a great game against a quality opponent. Jacksonville was undefeated on the road (6-0) and featured a head coach who has a super bowl ring and a very good quarterback. Was it perfect? No, still too many turnovers. The good news was the Browns had more takeaways than giveaways. The running game is still not where it needs to be, but when the team needed to run and get first downs, it worked. It also helps having a quarterback who can throw short passes which are basically long handoffs.
The offense is starting to click and head coach Kevin Stefanski has already announced Joe Flacco will be the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. Don’t worry about his demotion to the practice squad. Because he’s a vested veteran, no team can sign him away unless he wants to be signed and he doesn’t want to go anywhere. Did you notice how open the wide receivers were? That’s the result of fifteen-year veteran at quarterback. Flacco is making the right decisions at the right time. I’m still worried about offensive drives after the first one, the scripted one. The team seems to get bogged down in three and outs for the next few drives.
The defense worked through injuries and the secondary played great without their best cornerback. The return of CB Cameron Mitchell was the key. Then the Browns had to start D’Anthony Bell and Ronnie Hickman at safety with the injuries to Juan Thornhill and Grant Delpit. I guess being yelled at by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz really helped the defensive line. They turned pressures into sacks. The Jaguar offense would start to get rolling and boom, a takeaway. Then when the Jags scored their last touchdown, DE Myles Garrett comes up big to keep the Browns lead at four points. Great job on the on-side kick as well. I almost had nightmares from 2021.
Pro Football Focus grades. Offense, RB Jerome Ford, 76.1, RB Kareem Hunt, 73.1, TE David Njoku, 71.5, RG Wyatt Teller, 69.8 and QB Joe Flacco, 68.6. Defense, DE Myles Garrett, 92.0, CB M.J. Emerson, 84.5, DE Za’Darius Smith, 82.2, DT Shelby Harris, 82.1 and LB Anthony Walker, 81.9.
Rooting guide for next week. Vikings over Bengals, Colts over Steelers, Lions over Broncos, Titans over Texans, Cowboys over Bills and Jaguars over Ravens.
The Browns are currently in the fifth playoff spot and the number one wildcard team if the playoffs started today. They still have a path to winning the division because Baltimore’s next three games are tough, at Jacksonville, at San Fransico and home against Miami.
Injury news. Right tackle Dawand Jones is out for the season and is having knee surgery. The Browns are now without their top three tackles. James Hudson will be the starter. He’ll need to stop committing stupid penalties moving forward. As for the other injuries, the two that bother me the most are Grant Delpit (groin) and Ethan Pocic (stinger). We’ll know better by Wednesday.
Next up is the Bears in Cleveland. They are playing better as of late and if this game was in Chicago, I’d be worried. But at home, this should be a win. Stay safe and Go Browns.