Ten things I liked about the Browns’ win over the Bills

The Cleveland Browns beat the Buffalo Bills in a comeback victory, ending the four-game losing streak the team was on over the past month or so. It wasn’t pretty, but it was very much needed to stop the tidal wave of negativity, dysfunction, and change that was coming the franchise’s way. The Browns and its fans needed this win. There were some things that I liked and some things I didn’t like. But, I wanted to highlight ten things I liked from the victory on Sunday.

1. I liked the infusion of running back Kareem Hunt into the Browns offense. The way they utilized him in many different roles and areas on the field was very imaginative. I liked that the Browns used him with fellow running back Nick Chubb on the field. They made the defense have to deal with both talented backs and the multiple ways the two could attack them. The offense got another playmaker to utilize.

2. I liked the fact that the team was safe with the football and committed no turnovers versus a talented Bills defense. The game could have been drastically changed had the Browns given the ball away to the Bills. One turnover might have been a death nail in the close win.

3. I liked that the Browns were more disciplined overall in their penalty area of the game. The Browns were called for just four penalties. Cleveland needed to show an improvement in this area after just a horrible start of the season where the penalty problem saw absolutely no improvement. The self-inflicting wounds were held to a minimum in terms of penalties. The last two weeks of no penalties have helped the Browns to move out of the top spot in total penalties committed.

4. I liked what I saw from quarterback Baker Mayfield. Mayfield had a strong performance versus a good Bills defense. The last drive of the game really nailed down that performance and showed that the ability that we saw last season is still there in the young quarterback. He showed great accuracy and ability to maneuver in the pocket to find the open target. This game should give him a boost in confidence.

5. I liked what I saw from the Browns run defense. The Bills came into the week averaging 129.3 rushing yards per game. Cleveland allowed Buffalo to just accumulate 84 yards on the ground. After struggling for many weeks in stopping the run, the Browns run defense had a nice bounce-back week.

6. I liked the continued dominance of running back Nick Chubb. Chubb is the Browns’ best player and he showed it on Sunday. He was carrying defenders and the offense for much of the day en route to another 100-yard rushing game. He finished with 20 carries for 116 yards.

7. I liked the performance we saw from receiver Jarvis Landry. Landry has been the most productive and consistent Browns wide receiver this season. He continued his strong play on Sunday, catching nine passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. He made the biggest catch of the game in the final drive when he made the contested over-the-head catch to put the Browns inside the ten-yard line for an eventual game-winning touchdown.

8. I liked the dominant performance we saw from edge rusher Myles Garrett. He had a total of six pressures in the game, according to Pro Football Focus. His presence definitely was felt by Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

9. I liked the game-winning touchdown catch by receiver Rashard Higgins. Higgins showed the mental strength to stay in it through all the controversy and lack of playing that he had received over the first half of the season. He went out there and ran a perfect route to give Mayfield an easy target for the touchdown.

10. I liked the heart that the Browns showed on Sunday. They had a lot of things go wrong that could have derailed the game. The two bad red zone trips could have been a death sentence to the Browns, but the defense helped them stay in it, while the offense regrouped. They never quit or started blaming each other. They won as a team.