Browns get their first win of the season over the Texans: Behind the Numbers

Dealing with a number of different injuries on offense, the Cleveland Browns were still able to rack up 31 points to beat the Houston Texans in the home opener, 31-21, Sunday afternoon. While there is certainly plenty of room for improvement, especially on the defensive side of the ball, it’s much easier to learn from a win than a loss. The most important thing is that Week 2 ended with a W, no matter how good (or bad) the Browns looked at times.

I took a look at some of the numbers on the stat sheet after the Browns beat the Texans to earn their first win of the season and improve to 1-1 on the season.

19-of-21 – Baker Mayfield was as close to perfect as an NFL quarterback can be Sunday afternoon. Completing 19 of his 21 pass attempts for 213 yards and a touchdown, he did just enough to lead the offense to 31 points. When you add in the fact that the interception he threw wasn’t his fault and was on Anthony Schwartz pulling up on his route, something that Kevin Stefanski confirmed in the postgame press conference, that makes No. 6’s day look even better.

Then, when you remember that Mayfield’s shoulder popped out of the socket and he went into the locker room, popped it back in, and came back out to play the rest of the game, that efficiency and accuracy look even better. Oh, and that was with both Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, too, with the latter suffering an MCL sprain on his first reception of the game in the first quarter. The Browns have enough weapons where if Baker can just be accurate, much like he has through the first two games of the season, the offense can be lethal.

11 for 95 and 1 – I truly do feel bad for opposing defenses that are forced to try and stop a fresh Nick Chubb in the fourth quarter. Time and time again, Stefanski has used the best running back duo in the NFL to his advantage: Give the pair enough time on the sidelines throughout the game so that they are fully ready to go when the defense is out of gas.

Chubb might have only received 11 carries on Sunday, but he made the most of his opportunities, running for 95 yards and a touchdown in Cleveland’s first win of the season. It was yet another dominant performance by him.

We can argue about the fact that Chubb should have received more than 11 carries, but then again, the Dawg Pound also needs to sit back and remember that this is a 17-game regular season, Cleveland’s bye week isn’t until Week 13, and the entire season, including the playoffs, is a marathon, not a sprint. The more fresh Chubb and Hunt are as games go on and the season goes on, the more they will be able to take advantage of opposing defenses.

2 for 51 and 1 – Just two games into his NFL career, Demetric Felton already seems to be making it known that he was quite a steal after being taken in the sixth round of this past April’s NFL Draft. He only had two touches on offense, but he made the most of both of them. The best was a 33-yard catch that turned into Felton’s remarkable spin move, leading to a touchdown on his first career reception.

When you add in the fact that the rookie is also an X-Factor as a returner and it seems like the RB-WR hybrid will receive plenty of playing time, especially as he gains more experience in the league.

That spin move by the rookie. pic.twitter.com/pO4XL14ntN

— WaitingForNextYear (@WFNYCLE) September 19, 2021

31 – Houston might be one of the worst teams in the NFL at season’s end, but the fact that the Browns offense was able to put up 31 points without their top two receivers and with their quarterback having a bad non-throwing arm shouldn’t go unnoticed. I mean, Felton and Harrison Bryant were the leading receivers for Cleveland against Houston, who saw *that* coming?

5 and 1 – After missing all of his rookie season in 2020 and the season opener last week, Grant Delpit had quite the NFL debut. One of the few bright spots on the defense Sunday afternoon, Delpit showcased his versatility while totaling five tackles and a sack.

Delpit showing a lack of compassion. #Browns pic.twitter.com/A8y5a2dDvO

— Craig Lyndall (@WFNYCraig) September 19, 2021

8-of-14 – The defense’s struggles have been very evident through the first two games of the season. Luckily, it’s a unit that has plenty of new faces and still needs time to gain some chemistry and coexist. It’s a long season, as we all know.

That said, one of the most glaring weaknesses of the defense so far has been their inability to get off of the field on third down. On Sunday, the Texans were able to convert 8 of 14 third-down attempts. If Cleveland wants to improve on the defensive side of the ball, they can’t allow the opposing offense to be as efficient as that on third down. It not only keeps Baker and co. off of the field, but it also makes the defense even more tired as the game goes on.

67,431 – A soldout FirstEnergy Stadium. The fans, the noise, the home-field advantage. It will be a major factor for the Browns as the season goes on.

1-1 – No matter how ugly it might have looked at times, the most important thing is that the Browns beat the Texans to get their first win of the season on Sunday. That’s truly all that matters in the end. On to the next one.

Our guy – This isn’t a number, obviously, but I’m so glad the Browns finally found their guy to lead this team. Stefanski is special. The guy just gets it, as he proved once again in his postgame speech to his players in the locker room.

“Good teams after a win: Identify, Correct, and then we move on.” – Kevin Stefanski pic.twitter.com/V2H1oPUGrn

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 20, 2021