Takeaways from the Browns’ 17-13 preseason win over the Giants

Man, was it nice to see fans in FirstEnergy Stadium again, right?

Football returned to the shores of Lake Erie on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns rounded out a week of joint practices with the New York Giants with a preseason game that Cleveland won, 17-13. With a large portion of those that will start for the team in Kansas City in three weeks’ time not participating in the game, it was yet another solid showing for the Browns’ reserves.

My key takeaway: I really do not envy the job that Andrew Berry, Paul DePodesta, and Kevin Stefanski have to perform over the next nine days cutting the roster down from 85 to 53 players. Several of the guys that many would consider being on the bubble had solid outings on Sunday, so it’s not getting any easier for the Browns’ front office.

That wasn’t my only takeaway from the win, though. Here are the rest.

• The Browns running back room is so talented. Obviously, they have one of, if not the best one-two punches in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, but they have three more guys after them on the depth chart that I don’t have any problem getting carries, as the depth proved themselves once again during Cleveland’s second win of the preseason. D’Ernest Johnson had a couple of solid runs on the Browns’ first possession of the game, but it was John Kelly that stole the show late. He does have a tendency to bounce the ball outside faster than I think Stefanski would like, but it worked for him more than a couple of times, including his touchdown run in the third quarter. However, I’m not sure there’s a spot for him on the roster. Cuts have to be made somewhere and, while I think he had a great outing on Sunday, it may turn out to be more of an audition tape than anything.
• Demetric Felton is the gatekeeper for Kelly to make the final roster. For the second straight week, the RB/WR hybrid proved his value at both positions and the Browns showed off even more of what the rookie is capable of with various formations on Sunday. He carried the ball eight times, was targeted twice, and returned three punts. An underrated roster battle may end up being Felton vs. Jojo Natson. It’s obvious that the Browns intend on keeping Felton due to his versatility alone, and he and Natson fill similar roles in the offense. Either way, I can’t wait to see what Stefanski does with him in the regular season. 
• To wrap up the running back position talk, the running game as a whole looked a heckuva lot better on Sunday than it did in Jacksonville. Obviously, none of the starting offensive linemen played either game, but the improvement from 1.6 yards per carry to 5.4 yards per carry is noteworthy. The Browns were much smoother running their zone scheme this weekend, finishing the game with 163 yards on the ground. In the preseason, the kind of thing you like to see is week-to-week improvement in various aspects of your game and I think Cleveland was able to do that on Sunday.
• The backup quarterback controversy, as Joe Gilbert mentioned recently, had a bit of an off day. Neither quarterback looked particularly consistent. Both had moments where they made quick decisions and got the ball to the right place and others where they held the ball and made not-so-good throws (Keenum’s pick in the endzone was particularly confusing). Given the choice between the two, I think I would take Keenum’s experience and connection to Baker, but Lauletta has another week to win that job or even one on another team.
• On the whole, not as dominating of a performance by the Browns defense in the early going of this game. That being said, it would have been hard to replicate what they did to the Jags in the first half last week. But, overall, it was a solid day for the defense. Guys like Greg Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah got their reps in but didn’t necessarily have the flash plays like they did last week. Other guys stepped up to make those plays, though.
• What a day for Malik McDowell, huh? The former No. 35-overall pick gave some justification for the Browns taking a flier on him earlier this year by showing up in a big way against the Giants. He was consistently in the backfield, getting to Giants’ third-string QB Brian Lewerke for a sack in the second half. He also picked up five tackles in the game. One of the concerns that many people had going into training camp was the defensive line depth the Browns had. Obviously, their starters are among the top DL groups in the league, but if the preseason has done anything, it’s shown that their depth isn’t so bad either. Guys like McDowell, Jordan Elliott, and Sheldon Day can certainly provide the depth the team needs in short spurts.
• Is the Scottish Hammer back? After struggling through last season, the third-year punter has been much better this preseason. Through his five punts in the last two weeks, he is averaging 49 yards per kick, with two of those being downed inside the 20. Last season, Gillan averaged just 44 yards per kick. Obviously, it’s a bit easier to punt in August compared to December, but this preseason has rekindled hope that the Browns aren’t going to have to search for a punter anytime soon.
• As for the kicker position, Sunday both was and wasn’t a fair evaluation of the competition between the incumbent Codey Parkey and Chase McLaughlin due to Parkey sitting out the game with a groin injury. That being said, McLaughlin was able to hit a 49-yard field goal in relatively drama-free fashion, and drama-free is not something that comes with watching Parkey kick.

The Browns wrap up their preseason next Sunday night with a trip to Atlanta to face the Falcons. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on NBC.