Week 1 Recap: Well That Sucked

Let's talk about it.

First off - I love you Kevin Stefanski, and I get that preseason is meaningless - But maybe we should have played the starters a bit more in preseason? Countless procedural penalties, illegal formations, illegal shifts, not covering the tackle - I get that the NFL is making some pre-snap penalties a “point of emphasis” this year, but the Browns did themselves no favors on offense by starting far too many drives on 1st and 15. 

And when the offensive line is as bad as the Browns’ was on Sunday afternoon, there isn't much room for error. Deshaun Watson had no time to throw (more on that later) and the Browns were getting pushed around in the run game. Jerome Ford had another one of those nightmare games he was prone to last season, and experienced contact in the backfield on nearly every run and made zero forward progress. 3.7 yards/carry aint gonna cut it. We need Nick Chubb back. Ford is great as a receiver out of the backfield and works well in space once he gets there, but is infuriatingly indecisive as a runner. He hesitates to hit holes with speed, and dances around the backfield like he is prime Le'veon Bell - It feels like he turns 3 yard gains into 2 yard losses all too often. 

With the O-Line and running backs out of the way, let's address the elephant in the room - Dehasun Watson’s performance. It wasn’t pretty, and the stats reflect that - 24/45 for 169 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks is just gross. Seven yards a completion is baaaad, 3.7 yards an attempt is putrid.

I get that he had a lot of pressure in his face, and that the Cowboys might just be the best defense in the NFL, but nothing can excuse how woefully inefficient he was as a passer Sunday afternoon. Nearly all of his throws of 10+ yards were inaccurate, and he really struggled to settle into the passing game until late in the third quarter. I have a very hard time believing that there are not 32 other quarterbacks in the NFL that could have posted a better performance than Watson did. 

He did a decent job avoiding pressure and trying to make plays out of structure, totaling 39 rushing yards on 5 attempts, but his lack of time on the field with his receiving corps was evident. Several times, Deshaun and his receivers were on different wavelengths while he was out of the pocket, forcing him to take a sack, throw it out of bounds, or force a dangerous throw. For the entire first half, the Browns offense looked awful. In the 2nd half, there were a few bright spots, including a 12 play, 75 yard drive in the 3rd quarter that ignited the smallest glimmer of hope that there was something salvageable in the wreckage of the game. 

Regardless of what drives the Browns were able to scrape together in the waning minutes of Sunday’s game, many questions still remain about the state of the offense. I am not sold on the offensive identity that Ken Dorsey brought to Cleveland - the quick passing game looked more like the checkdown game on Sunday, and only looked effective once Dallas decided the game was firmly in hand and they could just play shell defense. 

Deshaun Watson has a lot of work to do to prove that he can still be a starter in this league, let alone be worth 230 million dollars. I will reserve my judgment on the offense for a few more weeks, but the Browns will not win many games this year if the same offense that was on the field against Dallas shows up in weeks 2-18.

As far as the defense goes, while they weren't lights out, they showed enough to keep any concerns from entering my mind. Thestruggled to keep up when on the field for long stretches of time, but the offense wasn't doing them any favors. Jet sweeps were once again a weakness for this Browns defense, but that comes with the territory of a man-heavy scheme. They did give up one busted coverage touchdown to Brandin Cooks from the slot (called it), which is par for the course with week 1 and how the Browns play in the red zone. Apart from that, the cornerback room had a really strong showing, and Denzel Ward held his own against one of the premier pass catchers in the league in CeeDee Lamb. Overall, they did well containing a passing attack that will likely be top of the league in yards by the end of the year.

Here is the good news:

The rest of the AFC north did not have a great weekend either; the Ravens didn't look lights out in their contest with the chiefs, and it doesn't seem like Derrick Henry will be the silver bullet that makes their offense pop off. Their defense lost most of the coaching staff and key pieces on every level. They are not a lock to repeat as division champs. The Bengals lost to the worst (on paper) team in football on Sunday, and might have just as many offensive concerns as the Browns. The Steelers somehow pulled some Steeler magic and beat the Falcons at home, but they still have some major QB questions that need answering.

Regardless of how shitty Sunday night feels after a week one loss, it's only week one, and there is a long season ahead. Time to wash the Dallas Cowboys out of our hair and focus on going 1-0 this week.