Need a Little Win Here: Cleveland Browns Week 2 Winners and Losers

In many ways, the games the Cleveland Browns had little chance to win¹ yet should have won are the toughest ones to swallow. Sure, there have been games with more on the line. There have even been ones against division rivals where the juice is that much sweeter. On Sunday, however, you have a team that many had picked to win the Super Bowl this season, at home, that should have lost to the Cleveland Browns.

If Andrew Clayman was still a part of WFNY, he’d have to dig up this gem, and update it with the latest and greatest. The part I continue to wrestle with: What happens every Sunday should not be lumped in with what transpired over the last 18-plus seasons. The Browns are not 1-31-1 over the last two seasons because of Zane Gonzalez, but they’re 0-1-1 large in part to his inability to execute upon his singular job. If we continue to treat every game as an extension of the 17 or so before it, we’re setting ourselves up for an avalanche of disappointment.

Both the Steelers game in Week 1 and the Saints game in Week 2 could have been won in a variety of ways. One or two fewer interceptions here, one or two fewer ill-timed penalties there and the Cleveland Browns are the headline, perhaps slotted just below Ryan Fitzpatrick’s legendary post-game fit.

But here we are. Stuck in a sailboat in the middle of a lake in desperate need of a gust of wind, comparing a pair of games that were both there for the having. Two games that were there to break the streak.

I take it back: The only thing worse than losing the way the Brown did on Sunday would be losing a game in which they’re favored. Sup, Thursday?

LOSER: John Dorsey

Think about this for a second: Zane Gonzalez being the placekicker on a team littered with cap space during a time when a handful of better options remain ready for the signing is such a careless and reckless and disingenuous decision that it made everyone forget that Desmond Harrison is the team’s starting left tackle. Worse: Letting this glaring negligence trickle into Week 3 will now put the Browns against a handful of other teams (like the Vikings, who are wasting no time) for a kicker upgrade. Handing the left tackle spot the way this front office did is inexcusable, but the options at this stage are limited. Zane Gonzalez could have been upgraded in training camp.

LOSER: Todd Haley

The Browns defense has done everything in its power to give this team a chance to win, yet the offense looks as if “work in progress” is being kind. While it woke up a bit in the second half (desperation breeds creativity after all), the first half left a lot to be desired. There are a handful of people thinking Haley will be named head coach if the Browns move on from Hue at some point in the next seven months, but I don’t see how you can promote someone who is responsible for the unit not executing.

Aside: Kudos to Gregg Williams for making the most of his improved talent. Let’s see what happens when they face a team without a top-three receiving option.

LOSER: Hue Jackson

1-32-1.

WINNER: Tyrod Taylor

The fourth-down bomb to Antonio Callaway was a beautifully thrown football, perhaps the best pass thrown by a Browns quarterback in the last two or three seasons. Taylor’s completion percentage (73.3) was a gigantic leap from a woeful Week 1, and he put the team in a place to eventually win the football game. In the prism of Cleveland football, this is more than many have provided this franchise over the course of the last 19 years.

https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1041413982668546049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

LOSER: Tyrod Taylor

The fourth-down bomb to Antonio Callaway was only necessary due to the inability to move the football in the first half coupled with a dreadful interception late in the game. Taylor’s completion percentage (73.3) was a gigantic leap from a woeful Week 1, but much of this success was predicated on a lack of blitz. When the Saints threw a blitz at Taylor, his completion rate dropped to 57.1 percent including the interception, totaling a passer rating of 42.9. The dink and dunk stuff has to stop.

WINNER: Antonio Callaway

The rookie was on the field for 33 passing plays, which is a solid first step. He received four targets, hauling in three, none bigger than the 47-yard touchdown referenced above. He moved the chains three times, pulled in an 18-yard reception on Marshon Lattimore, and took full advantage of his increased role in the wake of Josh Gordon’s “hamstring injury.” Honorable mention to Jarvis Landry (five receptions for a nice 69 yards) and Rashard Higgins (five for 47) though the latter did have a fumble.

LOSER: David Njoku

Targeted two more times than Callaway, Njoku pulled in four passes for a mere 20 yards. He added just 1.8 yards after catch, and had another brutal dropped pass.

WINNERS: Jabrill Peppers and Larry Ogunjobi

It’s been a long time since Jabrill Peppers had a chance to be in this column, but it appears we may finally have the player we thought we were getting a little over a year ago. Put near the line for much of Sunday, Peppers played run defense on 13 snaps while being a part of the pass runs on five others. He recorded a QB hurry, five tackles, an assist, and three “stops” (according to PFF). In coverage, Peppers forced Michael Thomas for a two-yard loss, and allowed just a mere five yards to tight end Josh Hill. Solid afternoon for the sophomore.

Larry Ogunjobi was a bullshit penalty on Derrick Kindred away from having a three-sack afternoon. Easily the most disruptive defensive lineman in the game on Sunday.

WINNER: Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler

The Browns offensive line was drastically improved compared to Week 1, but no players were better than Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler. Thirty-seven pass plays and neither player allowed a single pressure. The two guards anchored a unit that struggled a week earlier, and allowed Taylor to at least get rid of the football.

LOSERS: Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson Jr.

As good as the line was in providing Tyrod Taylor time, there wasn’t much to be had on the ground for either of the Browns “starting” running backs. Hyde had 16 attempts, and while he found the end zone, he averaged just 2.7 yards per attempt—1.8 of which were after first contact. Some how, Duke Johnson had just three carries, one of which was on a bizarre 4th-and-1 situation that was reminiscent of the days of Eric Metcalf. Some games you just have to take what the defense gives you, so I’m not ready to bury the run game after this one. They’ll need to get things going on Thursday night at home.

LOSER: Zane Gonzalez

Chris Tabor is impressed by his ability to still have a job.

Zane Gonzalez today:
2/4 FG
0/2 XP

Browns lose by 3. pic.twitter.com/jFERv2dHVI

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 16, 2018

And now, the fans:

I have been a lifelong diehard Browns fan for only about six months and I already hate this team so much.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) September 16, 2018

Loser: Zane’s stripes

— Charlie Wulf (@CharlesWulf) September 16, 2018

Loser: Zane…..Winners: Dan Bailey and his bank account

— Christian Quarantino (@Kxtxro) September 16, 2018

https://twitter.com/mattrhein86/status/1041419566012882944?s=21

https://twitter.com/parkerbutchy/status/1041420319901343744?s=21

1. The Browns were the second-largest underdog on Sunday behind the Arizona Cardinals. [↩]