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It’s Victory Monday again and the Browns are 7-3. Because of the loss by the Ravens, the Browns are now in second place in the AFC North. Also with the Dolphins, Ravens and the Raiders losing, the Browns went from eighth in the playoff race to sixth. The Browns are now 20-20 in the last 40 games that QB Baker Mayfield has played. That might not seem like much, but in the previous 40 games the Browns were 2-37-1. The team is tied for the fourth best record in the NFL behind Pittsburg, Kansas City and New Orleans. Have times changed. Lets start with the positives.

On offense, even though the Eagles were determined to stop the run, head coach Kevin Stefanski never stop trying to run the ball. I’m so impressed with Stefanski. He has a plan and he sticks to it, no matter what. The players believe in his plan and he puts the players in the best position to win. What a concept. While Mayfield was only 12 of 22 for 204 yards, he again had no interceptions. He did fumble and it led to the Eagles first touchdown, but Eagles DE London Fletcher put an incredible bull rush on Browns RG Wyatt Teller. We all know the connection between Mayfield and WR Rashard Higgins is special, it seems Mayfield also has a connection with WR KhaDarel Hodge. Top Pro Football Focus ratings for the offense were Higgins (78.9), Hodge (77.7), Mayfield (71.5) and Teller (71.0). On the touchdown leap by RB Kareem Hunt, Teller blocked one guy out of the way and then did his Andre “the giant” imitation by putting both arms out and blocked two defenders. RB Nick Chubb had another big game. He now leads all NFL running backs with seven 20+ yard runs. I guess Eagles DE Joe Ostman now knows to get out of his way.

On defense, the top PFF grades went to Sione Takitaki (90.4), Jordan Elliott (90.4), Olivier Vernon (86.9), Denzel Ward (80.2), Adrian Clayborn (75.0) and B.J. Goodson (73.3). Vernon and Clayborn needed to step up with the loss of DE Myles Garrett and boy did they. Vernon had three sacks and a safety and Clayborn added one and a half sacks. I thought S Karl Joseph had a good game and CB Denzel Ward is in Pro Bowl form. But LB Sione Takitaki was the star of the defense. Because of a Ward hit on Eagles QB Wentz, Takitaki timed his jump perfectly and boom, pick 6. On special teams, Parkey was 2 for 3 on field goals and Punter Jamie Gillam’s perfect punt to the Eagles two, set up the Vernon sack and safety.

As for the negatives, the play calling on the first series was kind of head scratching, a three and out. If you’re going to start the game with a pass to the tight end, try Harrison Bryant or Austin Hooper, not David Njoku. Speaking of tight ends, Mayfield had two open and missed both for a touchdown. LT Jedrick Wills had a rough game, but the Eagles front four played a very physical game. I guess Special Teams coach Mike Priefer has seen enough of Donovan Peoples-Jones as a Kicker Returner, he was replaced by RB D’Ernest Johnson. DPJ did return one punt for 30 yards. The one Parkey miss was a blocked field goal. I’m still waiting for the special teams to be special.

As for injuries and Covid, DE Myles Garrett will sit out one more game and Chris Hubbard and Andy Janovich should be back for the Jags game. S Ronnie Harrison has a bone contusion and is day to day. CB Denzel Ward is awaiting a MRI for a calf injury and S Sheldon Redwine has a knee injury. Hopefully Harrison and Ward will be ready for Sunday, but if there’s any doubt, hold them out for a game. I would rather have them both back for the matchup with the Titans week 12.

Moving forward, the only team that didn’t lose that the Browns needed to lose was the Colts, but the Browns have the tie breaker on them. It’s a good thing that the Dolphins and the Raiders lost this weekend, because both have winnable games this Sunday. The Raiders play Atlanta and Miami plays the Jets. As for the Titans and the Colts, they play each other Sunday. Like I said before, I would really like for the Titans to take control of the AFC South and keep the Colts in the wildcard race because of the Browns tie breaker over Indy. The Ravens play the Steelers Thanksgiving night, maybe. The Ravens are dealing with a Covid outbreak and closed their facilities today. The game is still scheduled but might have to be pushed back to Sunday. However it’s too late for the NFL to move a new game to Thursday night, so the Ravens may have to play short handed.

The playoff push continues with this Sundays game against Jacksonville. It has already been announced that the Jags will be without their best pass rusher DE Josh Allen and starting guard Andrew Norwell. Plus three of their four starters in the secondary are dinged up. Enjoy Victory Monday Browns fans. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s Victory Monday and the Browns are 6-3. The Browns finally beat Texans QB Deshaun Watson and ended a five game losing streak to Houston. They did what they had to do, win a must win game. Head coach Kevin Stefanski learned from the Raiders game, when the weather is bad, run the ball. Both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt finished with over 100 yards rushing. Chubb had 126 and Hunt had 104. The last time two Browns running backs had 100 yards in a game was 1966, Ernie Green and Leroy Kelly. Chubb leads all NFL running backs with a 6.1 yard average and he missed four games. You have to give credit to Stefanski, the Browns had about 60 yards rushing in the third quarter and finished with 231. He kept running the ball. While QB Baker Mayfield was only 12 of 20 for 132 yards, he made big throws when he had to. The 21 yarder to Rashard Higgins on third and eighteen comes to mind. Lets look at the positives.

On offense, the return of RB Nick Chubb and RG Wyatt Teller was just what this team needed. When they play, the Browns are 4-1 and when they don’t the Browns are 2-2. According to Pro Football Focus, Teller was the highest graded player on offense with a 96.4. That’s elite. The offensive line did a good job again, only allowing one sack and in the fourth quarter physically manhandled the Texans defense. They wore Houston down. What surprised me was there were no turnovers by either team. Glad to see the Browns protect the ball in that weather. On defense DE Myles Garrett was Myles Garrett. When he ran down Watson and pushed him out of bounds, he showed his speed. It looked like it really surprised Watson. DTs Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi both had good games. The highest graded player on defense by PFF was safety Ronnie Harrison with a 77.6. He is currently graded as the fifth best safety in the NFL. He is becoming the third best defender on the team behind Garrett and CB Denzel Ward.

As for the negatives, I wish the tight ends were used more. Austin Hooper was the only tight end targeted with one catch for eleven yards. It ended up a catch for a first down, but in that weather, more tight end targets please. WR Jarvis Landry got a taunting call that killed a drive before it started and Mayfield stopped a drive with a bad intentional grounding call. On defense, I can’t stand the roughing the passer calls, but LB Mack Wilson obliged. These guys need to control their emotions. When Donovan Peoples-Jones bobbled the kickoff after Houston scored, I thought, oh great here we go again. Luckily he got bailed out by Hunt and Chubb. By the way, that was a smart unselfish move by Nick Chubb running out of bounds with 56 seconds in the game. The Texans had foolishly burned all their timeouts and no Browns fan wanted a replay of the end of the last Bengals game. The growth of this team and it’s head coach is amazing. He’s learning from his mistakes.

Next up for the Browns are the Eagles and the weather might again be a factor. Hell it is November in Cleveland. Currently the Browns are just out of the playoff race if the season ended today. As of today, there are nine teams in the AFC with six or more wins. Browns fans need to keep rooting against the Raiders and the Dolphins. Luckily they play each other on December 27 in Vegas. This weekend the Browns need the Titans to pull off an upset and beat the Ravens. As for the Colts they host Green Bay this weekend. The Browns will be favored to beat Philadelphia and should move to 7-3. With some help, they could be back in the playoff picture by this time next week. One game at a time Browns fans. Finally, it was announced today that another Browns player has tested positive for Covid, so hopefully it won’t be anyone important and whoever it is will be alright. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s been a very news worthy bye week. First QB Baker Mayfield was placed on the Injured/Covid-19 list on Sunday. After panicking for about three minutes, Browns fans found out he had not tested positive, but had come in contact with a staff member who had. As of this morning, Mayfield was activated from the Covid list and will practice today. Major sigh of relief. Monday felt like victory Monday when we all found out RB Nick Chubb was activated from the IR and returned to practice. Besides Chubb, TE Austin Hooper, RG Wyatt Teller, DE Myles Garrett, WR Jarvis Landry, FB Andy Janovich and LB Jacob Phillips also returned to practice. More sighs of relief and fist pumping. While most Browns fans are celebrating Chubb And Wyatt returning, I’m celebrating the return of LB Jacob Phillips. The Browns defense missed his athleticism and speed. Combine Phillips return with LB Mack Wilson saying he’s finally feeling 100% and the linebacker corps are instantly improved.

On Tuesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski told the Cleveland media the coaching staff spent the bye week scouting themselves. Stefanski added, they took apart all phases of the team and put them back together again. Sounds like a great plan, especially on defense. On offense, I’d like to see the tight ends used more in the passing game. On defense, put LB Mack Wilson back in his normal position and play Ronnie Harrison at strong safety and Sheldon Redwine at free safety. It wouldn’t hurt to try. I’m interested in seeing how Stefanski handles the team coming out of the bye week. It will be another first for the head coach. Historically the Browns are terrible coming out of the bye, going 13-20. The last victory after the bye week came against the Bengals in 2018, Mayfields rookie season.

So where do the Browns stand at the bye. They are 5-3 and if you had them at 5-3, I want to run some lottery numbers by you. Because of the loss to the Raiders, they are one game out of the playoffs. This just means the Houston game is another must win game. The Texans scare me offensively. Well, their passing game scares me. Texans QB Deshaun Watson is 2-0 verses the Browns and in those games Houston was so far ahead, Watson didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Watson’s wide receivers, Brandon Cooks, Will Fuller and Randall Cobb are going to be a major problem for the Browns defense. Add former Browns RB Duke Johnson and TE Darren Fells to the mix and this might be a long day. On the positive side, the Texans can’t run the ball because the interior of their offensive line is struggling. Expect Garrett to line up over the Texans right guard quite a bit. DTs Sheldon Richardson and Jordan Elliott could have big games. On defense, the Texans are just as bad as the Browns, no make that worse. They allowed backup Jaguars QB Jake Luton (who?) to pass for 304 yards. The Texans are 2-6, but those two victories came against the Jaguars. This might be another shootout.

Looking forward, as mentioned earlier the Browns are in the eighth spot for the playoffs. If you’re a Browns fan you need to hope the Raiders and the Dolphins start to lose some games. If the Browns beat the Texans, their next two games verses the Eagles and the Jags are defiantly winnable games. Then comes a trip to Nashville and a game against the Titans. The next three games for the Titans are hosting the Colts Thursday, the Ravens at Baltimore and at the Colts. The two Colts/Titan games will give us an early indication of who will win the AFC South. I’d like to see the Titans take control of the division because the Browns hold the playoff tie breaker against the Colts. As for the last four games on the Browns schedule, they control their on destiny, but a home victory over the Ravens would make a playoff berth much easier. Right now with the way the Steelers are playing, a AFC North crown for the Browns is very slim. But it is 2020 and stranger things have happened. The NFL owners did approve a playoff plan to add an additional wildcard team per conference if games are cancelled. So the Browns could still get in as the eighth seed.

The Browns playoff push starts this Sunday verses the Texans. The Texan defense can’t stop the run and besides J.J. Watt can’t pressure the quarterback. The Browns passing offense needs to attack the Texan linebackers who are terrible in coverage and of course run the ball. On defense, the Browns need to pressure the right side of the Texans offensive line and keep containment on Deshaun Watson. Pressure without too many blitzes. As mentioned earlier, this is the first of many important games for the Browns. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

That was a tough game to watch and to write about. It’s been 48 hours, so lets give it try. You have to give credit to the Raiders they played the Browns the way I thought the Browns would play them. Short passes and running the ball. It seemed like the Raiders were second and four to six yards all game long. The Raiders won the turnover battle and when they do they’re 4-0. This Browns defense is better when they get turnovers and they got none. The Browns defense just couldn’t get off the field. The first mistake by the Browns was when head coach Kevin Stefanski deferred and took the ball in the second half. This meant in the fourth quarter, the Browns would be playing into the wind. Rookie coach mistake and I know he won’t make that mistake again. So lets start with the few positives.

The offensive line as a whole played well. Their Pro Football Focus rating was 83.5 and allowed no pressures or sacks. So QB Baker Mayfield had a clean pocket all day. I was glad to see Stefanski still using roll outs on offense. As for the defense, DE Olivier Vernon finally showed up with two sacks. I just wish he was more consistent week to week. That’s it, that’s the list.

Now for the negatives. On offense, dropped passes. A ton of dropped passes. The Browns targeted WR Jarvis Landry eleven times and he had four catches. I don’t know if his ribs were the problem, but if they were, why not target someone else? Donovan Peoples-Jones only had four offensive snaps. Four. I don’t think the Browns targeted KhaDarel Hodge one time. As for the tight ends, after the red zone fumble by Harrison Bryant, I don’t think he was targeted again and Njoku just isn’t reliable. The running game was working, but again the Browns went away from it. They had 101 yards for a 4.7 average. The Browns had six offensive series, the least by and NFL team in a game since 1933. Yikes.

As for the defense, if this team doesn’t get any turnovers, it’s going to be a long day. And it was a long day. The linebackers on this team were non existent. Here are the PFF ratings for the linebackers: Takitaki 57.9, Wilson 29.1, Goodson 52.3 and Smith 67.0. Anything under 70 is below average. Through eight games the Browns defense has given up 195 first downs. They’re 26th in opponent third down conversions and 31st in opponent fourth down conversions. That is terrible. The defensive linemen were pushed off the line of scrimmage five to six yards down the field. There is one disturbing trend that developed in the first eight games. In the Browns three losses, they were out played at the line of scrimmage. My only problem with defensive coordinator Joe Woods, he is not scheming for the talent he has available. I think two plays by the Raiders sum up this game. On third and 17, the Raiders threw a screen pass and gained 16 yards. They go for it on fourth down and get the first down. The Browns defense has forced one punt in two games.

This team really misses RB Nick Chubb, RG Wyatt Teller, WR Odell Beckham and LB Jacob Phillips. The good news is DE Myles Garrett is fine after suffering a knee injury verses the Raiders. He and TE Austin Hooper will defiantly be back for the Houston game. Chubb and Teller are day to day. Cross your fingers both are back for Houston. As for the trading deadline today, I really don’t think GM Andrew Berry will pull off any major moves. He’s looking for players that can help this year and in the future. So players still on their rookie contracts or free agents that the Browns can resign. So no one year rental players. I would love to see a edge rusher or a line backer added, but I just don’t see it happening. Hopefully I’m wrong.

The Browns are 5-3 at the bye, which is better than I thought they would be. They need to rest up and get key players back. Hopefully the defensive coaching staff will have better schemes for the last eight games. The schedule is favorable for the Browns after the bye and I still expect them to make the playoffs. Everyone enjoy the bye week, stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s another Victory Monday and the Browns are 5-2. They won without Odell Beckham, Nick Chubb, Wyatt Teller and Austin Hooper. That’s impressive. Also, lets face facts, Bengal QB Joe Burrow is really, really good. But so is Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Last week, at this time, Browns twitter was ready to run Mayfield out of town and start all over again with a new quarterback. Bottom line, the Browns are 5-2 and head coach Kevin Stefanski looks like the real deal. Lets start with the positives.

After the first quarter, where Mayfield went 0-5, 0 yards and an interception, he went 21-22, 297 yards and FIVE touchdowns. The Browns scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives. 11 plays for 75 yards, 9 plays for 75 yards, 8 plays for 79 yards, 7 plays for 75 yards and 5 plays for 75 yards. The last drive took only 55 seconds and resulted in the game winner. The only incompletion was a spike to stop the clock on the last drive. Amazing. Mayfield threw two touchdowns to a fourth round pick, Harrison Bryant and the game winner to a sixth round pick, Donovan Peoples-Jones. The running game only had 82 yards, but still was utilized enough to keep the Bengal defense on their heels. Mayfield saw the whole field and let it rip. The Bengals did the same thing the Steelers did with their safeties, but Mayfield saw it and adjusted. He was reading the defense and throwing the football. The offensive line did their job, Mayfield wasn’t sacked. Glad to see WR Hollywood Higgins have a great game. Six catches for 110 yards. He and Mayfield have a chemistry and it’s working really well.

HC Kevin Stefanski did a great job tweaking the offense. Mayfield was in the shotgun more, which gave him extra time to read the defense. I love the flat passes to RB Kareem Hunt. It didn’t work every time, but on the second to last touchdown drive, it worked twice. The first was a 12 yard pass to get the ball to the Cincinnati 11. Then after a short run, another flat pass to Hunt for the touchdown. Opposing defenses keep trying to put a linebacker on Hunt on those passes and it’s still not working for them.

On defense, DE Myles Garrett is on a different level. Two more sacks and one was a strip sack. After seven games, Garrett has nine sacks and four strip sacks for turnovers. CB Kevin Johnson played well as did S Ronnie Harrison. He batted down a pass that resulted in an interception and recovered a fumble after the strip sack, before it rolled out of bounds. CB Denzel Ward also had a great game. Knocking the ball out of the hands of Bengal WR A.C Green in the end zone forcing a Cincinnati field goal at a key moment late in the game.

As for the negatives, Mayfield has thrown an interception on his first pass of the game in consecutive weeks and on his first drive in three straight weeks. The running game wasn’t working again, but the Browns still found ways to use Hunt. This team misses RB Nick Chubb. On defense, the Browns blitzed way too much. All Joe Burrow had to do was throw the ball in the direction of where the blitz was coming from and he was very successful. This team has so much money invested in the DL, you would think they could pressure without all that blitzing. If you’re going to blitz, how about more than one guy when the opposing QB is attempting a hail mary pass. Safety Ronnie Harrison should start every game for the rest of the season. Period.

The worst news on Sunday was the injury to OBJ. Torn ACL and he’s out for the season. Of course Browns twitter is saying it’s Mayfield’s fault OBJ got hurt, Mayfield plays better without OBJ on the field and the Browns need to trade for a receiver. No, No and No. If you want to blame anything for OBJ’s injury, blame the turf. It looks like he got his foot caught. As for Mayfield playing better without OBJ, go watch the Cowboy game again. And the Browns don’t need to trade for a WR. KhaDarel Hodge is due to come off the IR this week. Problem solved. If the Browns are going to trade for a player, please make it a defensive lineman or a linebacker.

One more game before the bye, the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are similar to the Cowboys, great offense, terrible defense. With the exception of a handful of teams, every team in the NFL has a terrible defense including the Browns. Hopefully TE Austin Hooper will be back for that game, but I doubt it. No need to rush him back with the way Bryant and Njoku are playing. Wyatt Teller and Nick Chubb should be back after the bye. 6-2 at the bye would be great. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

I’ve waited 48 hours after a Browns loss, as I always do, so here goes. Despite what Browns twitter says, it’s not as bad as it looks Browns fans. Yes, I hate losing to the Steelers, but right now they’re an elite team, just like Baltimore and the Titans. Do all three have holes? Yes. Can all three be beaten? Yes. Hell Kansas City and Green Bay were supposed to be elite teams until they lost to the Raiders and Tampa. The Browns are currently 4-2 and weren’t going to go 15-1. They’re still on pace, baring major injuries, to make the playoffs. Something this team hasn’t done in 18 years. They’re still a good team. So what went wrong Sunday.

First of all, QB Baker Mayfield should have never started the game. I love head coach Kevin Stefanski, but that was a bad decision. I know people will say, the Browns went into the game with no third string quarterback because the Cowboys poached QB Garrett Gilbert off the Browns practice squad last Monday. Still if Mayfield’s ribs were sore, he can’t effectively throw the football. I know QB Case Keenum isn’t the season long answer, but for one game announced on Sunday morning as the starter, maybe. At least the Steelers couldn’t have game planned for Keenum. As for Mayfield, I’m not ready to throw in the towel. Is he a franchise QB right now? No, he’s still a work in progress. The Browns are six games in and they’re 4-2. They played a bad game, it’s that simple. Mayfield was good in college and his rookie season 2018. He didn’t forget how to play football. I don’t count 2019, because his head coach was Freddie Kitchens. The Steelers mixed up their coverages, especially their safeties and brought the pressure on every play. They were ready for the Browns.

On Monday, HC Kevin Stefanski took the blame for the loss, He said, “There’s plays we ran yesterday that I wouldn’t run again. I learned a lesson in a hard way.” This is how a coach handles a team after a bad loss. Hopefully he won’t make a t-shirt out of it. Unfortunately, moving forward, opposing defenses now think they have a blueprint against Baker Mayfield and the Browns. How do the Browns keep that from happening? More rollouts, because Mayfield is much better when he’s on the move. More screen plays to keep the defense honest. When Kevin Stefanski was the offensive coordinator for the Vikings, they used the screen play very effectively and the Browns have the tight ends, running back and offensive line to execute this play call.

On defense, the Browns need to get healthy at the safety position. Karl Joseph and Ronnie Harrison have to play. Since CB Kevin Johnson has been healthy, opposing slot receivers have been covered. Now get your safeties healthy and the middle of the field is covered. The linebackers have been good, however getting Jacob Phillips back would help. The defense needs to get the linebacker group involved in pressuring the opposing quarterback. After six games, the linebackers have no sacks. Other defensive linemen besides DE Myles Garrett, also need to start to apply better pressure. No sacks in the last three games. The one thing that bothered me Sunday, the Steelers as the game went on, were very effective throwing to the outside against Denzel Ward and Terrence Mitchell. By this time in the game, the defense was exhausted. Just remember the Browns defense hasn’t been completely healthy for the first six games.

Looking forward, and as those who know me, I don’t like to look forward, the Browns have two winnable games prior to the bye. The Bengals and the Raiders. The Browns will be favored to win both. Personally, if the Browns had beaten the Steelers, the Bengal game would have been the perfect trap game. Beat Cincinnati and Las Vegas, the Browns are 6-2 going into the bye. I’ll take that any day of the week. The Bengals can put points on the board and QB Joe Burrow appears to be the real deal. Against the Colts Cincinnati had a 14-0 lead and just didn’t have the team to hold the lead. As for the Raiders, I know they beat Kansas City, but like Browns/Steelers, that’s an old time AFC rivalry game. The Raiders play at Tampa this weekend. Which Raider team will play in Cleveland on November 1, the one that beat Kansas City or the one that lost to the Patriots and Bills?

To win these two games, the Browns need to stick to the winning formula, Run the ball, don’t ask Mayfield to do too much and play great defense. The Browns are 40% of the way to ten wins with ten games to go. 10-6 gets this team into the playoffs. Since 1999, all I’ve wanted was for the Browns to have a winning season and make the playoffs. They did it once in 2002 and now it’s time to get another winning streak going. Learn from the loss to the Steelers and come out and put a slap down on the Bengals. Everybody stay safe and GO Browns. On to Cincinnati.

It’s Victory Monday again. I could get use to this. The Browns are now 4-1. The last time the Browns started 4-1 was 1994. The Browns dropped 32 points on the number one defensive team in the NFL. That’s four straight games scoring 30 plus points. That hasn’t happened since 1968 when the Browns scored 30 plus in seven straight games. Currently the Browns are number 2 in offense, number nine in defense and 27th in special teams. As you can see, this is new territory for many Browns fans.

Lets start with the positives. QB Baker Mayfield was 21 for 37, 247 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. However with Mayfield it was a tale of two halves. In the first half, he was 19 for 29, 228 yards with two touchdowns. Mayfield had to step up in the first half because the Colts run defense is legit. The Browns did rush for 124 yards, but 28 of those yards came on D’Ernest Johnsons game clinching first down run late in the game. RB Kareem Hunt finished with 72 yards on 20 carries. I love how this team keeps running the ball as the game goes on. It was good to see Rashad Higgins make it out of the witness protection program and walk the red carpet after his touchdown reception. And his block helped on Johnsons 28 yard gain. Of course, Landry, Beckham and Hooper were their usual selves. RG Wyatt Teller gets hurt early, Chris Hubbard steps in and the offensive line didn’t skip a beat. Colts DT DeForest Buckner was held to his worst Pro Football Focus grade since week one of 2019. For the third week in a row, the Browns scored before the end of the first half. What’s amazing was the amount of time left for the other team. Week three, 7 seconds, week four, 5 seconds and this game, 32 seconds. That’s good play calling.

One defense, it all starts with DE Myles Garrett. Another sack and his seventh pressure leading to a turnover. To put that in perspective, last year two players led the league in turnovers off of pressure and they were tied with six apiece. Again this week individual players stepped up. LB Sione Takitaki, LB Jacob Phillips, LB Malcolm Smith, S Ronnie Harrison and S Sheldrick Redwine. The defense is slowly getting better. Last, the Browns committed two penalties, TWO. When’s the last time that happened?

As for the negatives. QB Baker Mayfield in the second half. He was 2 for 8, 19 yards and two interceptions. HC Kevin Stefanski admitted today the play calling was at fault. This team has to keep the offensive pressure on all game. Baker Mayfield’s QB rating per quarter, 1st qtr. 77.3, 2nd qtr. 91.5, 3rd qtr. 51.9 and 4th qtr. 7.4. Yikes. The defensive play calling in the middle of the field is horrendous. Opposing WRs are open way too much. They had so much time, I could’ve sworn I saw Colts WRs filling out change of address forms. The safety positions did improve with Harrison and Redwine playing. Harrison had a PFF rating of 79.6 and Redwine with nineteen defensive snaps had a PFF rating of 93.6. The special teams are a mess on kickoff returns. K Cody Parkey was perfect again and P Jamie Gillan kicked a perfect punt to the Indy four that led to the safety.

Injuries are starting to pile up. Mayfield (ribs), Teller (calf strain), Harrison (concussion), Jordon Elliott (knee) and Olivier (groin). Today the Browns finally put CB Greedy Williams on Injured Reserve and will miss at least three games. Mayfield and Teller will get X-Rays today, we’ll have to wait until the injury report on Wednesday to find out anything on the other players. Hopefully Harrison and Larry Ogunjobi will be back for the Steelers game. The defensive line is starting to get a little thin.

It’s Steeler week. I watched a little of their game against the Eagles. Their offense is still totally generated by Big Ben. The Steelers offensive line is average, so disrupting Ben Roethlisberger is the key. On defense, if I’m the Browns, I target former Brown CB Joe Haden. He has definitely lost a step. Eagle rookie WR Travis Fulgham burnt him for ten catches, 152 yards and a touchdown. The Browns offensive line has already faced two of the better front fours in the league in Washington and Indy, so keeping Mayfield upright is a must. On defense, the Browns have to clean up the middle of the field. The 4-1 Browns head to Pittsburg to play for first place in the AFC North. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s Victory Monday and I’m loving it. I had some confidence the Browns would win based on how horrific the Cowboy defense is playing, but 49 points? I did not see that coming. The Browns are now 3-1 for the first time since 2001. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has won three games in his first four. To put that in perspective, former HC Hue Jackson won his first three in 40 games. The Browns are currently first in these categories, -1st in rushing yards (818) -1st in yards per carry (5.9) -1st in rushing TDs (8) -1st in defensive takeaways (10) -1st in turnover differential (+6). The Browns redzone efficiency is 80%. What a difference a coaching staff makes.

First the positives. I love how this team commits to the running game and stays with it. The Browns rushed for 307 yards against the Cowboys. Even after RB Nick Chubb went down with MCL strain, D’Ernest Johnson comes in and runs for 95 yards on 13 carries. The offensive line is a well oiled machine right now. Even the wide receivers are blocking in the running game. I saw Donovan Peoples-Jones man handling the Cowboys secondary. Running the ball in the NFL is a mentality and right now the Browns have that mentality. For the second straight week, the Browns got WR Odell Beckham, Jr. into the flow of the games early. He had five catches, three went for first downs and two went for touchdowns. When Beckham and QB Baker Mayfield get into a rhythm, there’s no defense that can stop this team. Speaking of Mayfield, he was a lot smoother in this game. He was 19 of 30 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Second straight game without an interception.

On the defensive side of the ball, DE Myles Garrett is a beast. Two sacks, one a strip sack and a fumble, his third in three games. Garrett is playing like a game changer. The defensive line was again dominant. The Cowboys rushed for 85 yards. I saw better linebacker play this game. It was good to see both LB Mack Wilson and LB Jacob Phillips playing. The outside cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Terrence Mitchell had good games. After the Cowboys scored twice in the first quarter, the Browns confused Dallas for the second and third quarter.

Which leads me to the negatives. HC Kevin Stefanski needed to keep the offensive pressure on Dallas. The Browns could have scored 60 Sunday. The combination of taking the foot off the offensive gas pedal and the defense going into a prevent, allowed the Cowboys back in the game. Dallas has too many offensive weapons and they showed it by scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter. The safeties on this team are not very good. I know this is because the Browns lost S Grant Delpit to a season ending injury in training camp, but you can’t tell me S Ronnie Harrison isn’t better than S Andrew Sendejo. He only had eleven snaps and his Pro Football Focus rating was 91. Of course the worst news was the injury to RB Nick Chubb. He is going on injured reserve and will miss at least three games. The NFL Network is reporting he’ll probably miss six games, but HC Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t commit to that timeline. Chubb is known for quickly recovering from injuries. The Browns could promote RB John Kelly from the practice squad if needed. The good news on the injury front, TE David Njoku came off the injured reserve. Another weapon added back.

This weekend the Browns will host the 3-1 Colts. The Colts have the best defense in the NFL and have not allowed a 100 yard rusher after four games. On offense the Colts feature 107 year old Phillip Rivers and a very good offensive line. It will be strength verses strength on both sides of the ball. Like Mayfield, Rivers is still learning the Colts offense, so catching them now is good test. If Stefanski keeps calling games like he did in Dallas, then the Browns should win. I’m really impressed. The Browns have a plan, they are prepared and they implement the plan. Let me leave you with this stat, the last two teams to score 49+ points against the Cowboys in Dallas went on to reach the Super Bowl (2004 Eagles, 2013 Broncos). Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Happy victory Monday Browns fans. The Browns did what they had to do to, win. The Washington Football team isn’t very good and the Browns were expected to win this game, but all Browns fans know, nothing with the Browns is a certainty. Especially after a terrible third quarter which saw Washington score thirteen unanswered points and grab the lead late in the third quarter. Lucky the Browns scored on the next drive and were given short fields because of Washington turnovers which led to another touchdown and a field goal. Game over.

First the positives. This offensive line is fantastic. Sure rookie LT Jedrick Wills had a couple false starts, but for this group to mesh so quickly is a testament to Offensive Line coach Bill Callahan. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the best running back duo in the NFL. The Browns had 158 yards rushing. Any time a team can run for 150 yards or more is a good day. Wide receiver Odell Beckham only had four catches, but they all went for first downs. Beckham’s best play was as a defender, knocking down a sure interception. QB Baker Mayfield had a good day, but still looks a little impatient in the pocket. It could be he’s still learning the offense. The one thing I love about this offense, it plays perfectly into Mayfields strengths.

On defense, the defensive line is getting the job done. DE Myles Garrett had two sacks and a fumble recovery and DT Sheldon Richardson added another sack. The Browns got five turnovers including three interceptions. One by S Karl Joseph, one by LB Malcolm Smith and one by LB B.J. Goodson. All three interceptions led to Browns touchdowns. That’s how you make the opposing team pay for their mistakes. For the second week in a row, key players on the defense stepped up and made plays when they had to.

I was glad to see kicker Cody Parkey kicking the ball out of the end zone on kick offs and was perfect on two field goals and four extra points. It was refreshing. I know it’s only his third game as a head coach, but nothing seems to bother Kevin Stefanski. Even though the running game wasn’t working at the beginning of the game, he stuck with it and it paid off.

As for the negatives, Mayfield almost threw another interception and again had an intentional grounding. He was sacked twice, but Washington has one hell of a defensive line. As for the Browns defense, they seemed to disappear in the third quarter. Too many wide open receivers for Washington. Hopefully the Browns will get injured players back this week. CB Greedy Williams needs to get healthy for Dallas. You could tell LB Mack Wilson and CB Kevin Johnson were still knocking off some rust. Finally, wide receiver/kick returner Jo Jo Natson has been lost for the year with a torn ACL. It could be Donovan Peoples-Jones time.

Now it’s on to Dallas. The Cowboys are 1-2 and could easily be 0-3 if not for a Falcons team who still hasn’t gotten over their historical loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Browns defense will need to play a complete game because the Cowboys are loaded on offense. As for the Dallas defense, they have trouble stopping teams who use a lot of play action and right now the Browns are doing exceptionally well at play action. Dallas has allowed 126.6 passer rating in the secondary, worst in the NFL. Enjoy being 2-1 Browns fans. Everyone stay safe, Go Tribe and Go Browns.

It’s victory Friday. Four days after a humiliating loss, the Browns coaches had the team ready to play. Before you say, “but they gave up 30 points to the Bengals”, I have a news flash for you, QB Joe Burrow is very good. Cincinnati needs to figure out a way to protect him better, he’s going to get killed before the season is over. The Browns did what they had to do to win. More importantly, every time the Bengals scored, the Browns answered. So lets start with the negatives.

The defense was average, maybe below average, but made plays when they had to. They still can’t cover an opposing tight end. Raise you hand if you’ve ever heard of Drew Sample and C.J. Uzomah. I didn’t think so. Besides CB Denzel Ward and CB Terrance Mitchell, the back seven was erratic. LB Mack Wilson, CB Greedy Williams and CB Kevin Johnson can’t come back soon enough. None of them have shown up on the short-term IR yet, so it appears they’ll all be ready for week three. The tackling by the defense was terrible. The special teams were not special at all. Note to kicker Cody Parkey, kick the ball out of the back of the end zone. The kick off coverage was non existent. I’m sure pre-season games would’ve helped but this is what happens when your best special team players are starting on defense. On offense, RG Wyatt Teller had two stupid penalties. That’s it, that’s the offensive list.

Now for the positives. The offensive line was fantastic. Rookie LT Jedrick Wills allowed only one QB pressure. One. The OL allowed no quarterback hits, no sacks and 6.1 yards per rush. RT Chris Hubbard started in place of Jack Conklin and you did not hear his named called once. I loved how HC Kevin Stefanski started the game with play action and rollouts. The Bengals were completely caught off guard and it allowed QB Baker Mayfield to get in a rhythm early. Is there a better running back duo in the NFL right now? No there isn’t, the Browns rushed for 215 yards. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt ran though and over the Cincinnati defense. FB Andy Janovich was on the field more this game and he was a blocking machine. That’s what Browns fans call “fullback porn.” This is how a wide zone offense is suppose to work.

On defense, the defensive line had three sacks, seven QB pressures and eight QB hits. DT Sheldon Richardson was disruptive all game. DE Myles Garrett made a big play when the team needed it, forcing a fumble which was recovered by the Browns on the one yard line. DE Porter Gustin was in the back field constantly. As mentioned earlier, Ward and Mitchell played very well. Cincinnati star wide receiver A.J. Green was targeted thirteen times and only had three catches. Now I know why the Browns signed K Cody Parkey. Having a kicker who can make an extra point is refreshing. The Browns need someone who is reliable from 40 yards out.

The Browns now get ten days of rest and recoup. Hopefully injured players will heal and safety Ronnie Harrison and linebacker Malcom Smith will have fully learned the defensive scheme. The Browns need both to start against Washington. The kick coverage team needs a lot more practice time. Enjoy this one Browns fans. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.