Instant Insights: Browns beat Bengals, 35-30, in home opener to notch first win of the season
September 17, 2020Buckeyes have a very favorable schedule this fall
September 21, 2020The thing about the Cleveland Browns is that they provide a constant wrestling match between logic and reality. Logically, the Browns were at home against an inferior team. They were favored by a touchdown.1 They came equipped with fans and play-making weapons and they were hosting on what was a short week. Yet, they’re the Browns.
Cleveland is where logic gives way to reality. Cleveland is where game-winning sacks turn into no-time downs. Cleveland is where game-winning field goal attempts get returned for game-winning touchdowns. Cleveland is where touchdowns get reversed after the extra point.
For once (and hopefully more times to come…) logic became reality. Sure, the game had its ups and downs — as Browns fans we are conditioned to be simultaneously anxious and desensitized. I wouldn’t blame anyone for watching that on-side kick thinking “Here we go.” Thankfully, logic stayed up past its bedtime.
WINNER: Baker Mayfield
According to NFL’s NextGen Stats, Mayfield’s completion percentage (69.5%) was plus-13.1% over expected in the win, the highest completion percentage over expected of his career. In a way, even this feels misleading as multiple “misses” were not on No. 6. When you factor in the missed P.I. on Beckham (more on this later) and throw-aways, Baker looked like rookie-season Baker, rolling, finding receivers in stride. It was a much-needed showing after Week 1’s debacle, and if anything, gives the kid fuel for the coming weeks. His lone mishap was a downfield interception that was actually a well-designed play — the Bengals safety simply slid over from being out-of-sight. While you hate to see turnovers at the goal line, I like the aggressiveness to throw beyond 20 yards there.
WINNER: Kevin Stefanski
Just an all-out beautiful game from Stefanski who earned the game ball from his team after the contest. The play-action passes. The running game. The multiple tight-end sets. The entire contest, from opening drive to Kareem Hunt’s late TD, had Stefanski’s fingerprints all over it. We’ve seen plenty of first wins by first-time coaches in Cleveland, but something about this one just feels different.
WINNERS: Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt
While part of me wants to focus on the abandonment of the run game in Week 1, there is no doubt in my mind that the Browns have the best running back tandem in the NFL. It will be fun to see how Stefanski utilizes these two stars throughout the rest of the season.
The Browns beat the Bengals 35-30. Nick Chubb finished with 124 yards and 2 TDs.
This was Chubb's 12th career 100-yard rushing game, the 2nd-most by a Browns player in his first 3 seasons.
Who is Chubb behind? Hall of Famer Jim Brown with 19. pic.twitter.com/v1s58ANxYD
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 18, 2020
WINNER: Odell Beckham Jr.
That’s more like it.
WINNER: Denzel Ward
The kid was tested all game long and delivered throughout. There’s a reason AJ Green’s statline looked like Odell Beckham’s a few days earlier. Sure, he was caught on that tight slant early on, but it got to the point where the Bengals started putting Green on the other side of the field to get away from No. 21. Next step would be for the Browns to have enough confidence in having him shadow opposing No. 1s, but it’s great to see the confidence after the injuries sustained earlier in his career.
LOSERS: The Rest of the Defensive Backfield
The Bengals, while losing, may have provided the rest of the Browns’ opponents with a bit of a blueprint on Thursday night. I’ll be very curious to see how many teams consider going for fourth-down conversions at various spots on the field. Burrow and the Bengals converted every fourth-down opportunity they had on Thursday, oftentimes gaining much more than the four or five yards they needed. This defense is atroctious, and if there’s any reason for the whole logic-versus-reality wrestling match to continue through the season, it will be that no lead is safe given how porous the defensive backfield is. Allowing Andrew Sendejo to wear 23 should be a punishable offense.
WINNER: Myles Garrett
According to NextGen Stats, Garrett’s sack of Burrow was clocked at 2.9 seconds, the eighth-quickest in the league thus far. If the rookie hadn’t had a Welcome to the NFL moment to that point, he certainly did there.
LOSERS: The Officials
We should have known it was going to be a long night when the first play of the game had to be challenged and overturned. These no-calls were equally insane.
Lol pic.twitter.com/um8wNdAfZ7
— Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) September 18, 2020
Clean block. pic.twitter.com/6030RCziro
— Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) September 18, 2020
LOSER: Las Vegas
Nearly 60 percent of public money was on the Bengals (either catching 6 or 5.5 points). While no one will ever feel bad for the house, the Browns’ late touchdown drive was so effortless that it left too much time on the clock for Joe Burrow and Randy Bullock to complete the back-door cover.
WINNERS: Browns Fans
Congrats, fans. While it would have been an excrutiang 10 days between this morning and Week 3, you now have 10 days to bask in the win and just enjoy the NFL this weekend. You earned it.
- Though this did creep to 5.5 points by kickoff. [↩]