Week 2 Recap: A Win is A Win
Here is something that feels weird to say. For the first time in as long as I can remember, the best offensive player on the field for the Cleveland Browns this Sunday was their quarterback. Deshaun Watson did not light up the scoreboard against the Jaguars, and the stats might lie a little about how well he played, but he played immeasurably better this week. Going 22-for-34 for 186 yards is not an eye watering stat line, but when you factor in the drops (at least 5) and the fact that the Browns were in “chew clock” mode halfway through the 2nd quarter, the case starts to take shape.
Deshaun didn't just make the throws he was supposed to - he made plays out of structure that gave flashbacks to vintage Texans Deshaun. When national pundits are tweeting “is the old Deshaun Watson back?”, you know something has started to click for the quarterback. Oftentimes, and especially when it came to drops and offensive penalties, it felt like offensive failure was coming in spite of Deshaun’s performance, rather than because of.
D’onta Foreman got the first carry of the game for the Browns, and immediately made his case to be the lead back going forward. If the Browns want to retain any identity of the smashmouth, AFCN, 14-personnel football team they had in the past, Foreman is the only healthy back on the roster that allows them to do so. He led the team with 14 carries, and while he lacks the home run potential of Jerome Ford, his ability to gain 3-4 yards running in between the tackles on first down is essential for the Browns to implement their gameplan.
Continuing in the vein of stand-out performances demanding more attention, Jerry Jeudy showed himself to be the best WR on the roster Sunday. He looked like WR1. He had a few big catches on money downs, and seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time when Watson was playing out of structure. It's unclear if the other WRs have struggled to find this chemistry with Watson early on, but Jeudy and Watson seem to be on the same page when plays start to break down.
Perhaps the lack of structure in the passing game is what has made it difficult for Amari Cooper to play to his potential this year. This week he caught just 3 passes for 11 yards, when targeted 8 times. He had two drops in this game, including a backbreaking drop on third down, reminiscent of the drop he had from last game - an over the shoulder ball that just sailed through his outstretched hands. I’m not sure what's going on with Amari, but he has not looked like his usual, dependable self this season - perhaps a little holdout hangover?
The negative theme that continued over from Week 1 to this week was the offense constantly putting itself behind the sticks with costly penalties. The Browns were penalized more than twice as often as Jacksonville (13 to 6), including a ridiculous run of 3 offensive penalties in a row which ruined the Browns chance to put the game away late in the 4th. If the Browns have any interest in making a playoff run, the penalties need to go away.
This Browns specialists room is a weapon. Dustin Hopkins continued his perfect streak for the Browns from 50+ yards and went 3/3 on field goals, although he did have a VERY confusing offsides on a kickoff which negated a forced fumble. I still can’t believe he only cost a 7th rounder. Corey Bojorquez is a very good punter, but it feels like it has been a while since he has had a chance to pin a team back. On Sunday, when it mattered most, he had an absolutely perfect punt that pinned the Jaguars at their two with 1:56 to play.
The defense, which had played well all day, did their job and paid off the perfect punt on the very next play, with Alex Wright powering into the backfield and sacking Trevor Lawrence for a safety. The defense put on a clinic in the first half, and held the Jaguars to three points on less than 20 passing yards. It seemed like Doug Peterson came out of the half with some adjustments, and the Jags were able to find some momentum leaning on Travis Etienne to bring the physicality to the Browns, who were on the field a lot in the 2nd half as the offense struggled to stay on the field.
Despite giving up 323 total yards of offense on Sunday, the defense found a little bit of their identity by holding strong in the red zone - continuing on the promising theme from last week. In 2023, the Browns were dead last in red zone percentage - allowing the highest percentage of red zone touchdowns in the NFL. Jim Schwartz clearly made it a point of emphasis in the offseason, because the Browns have held opponents to field goals several times this year.
Overall, I wont complain about a win against a tough AFC opponent, especially when that win might be very important in determining tiebreakers at the end of the year. It was far from perfect, but despite the glaring issues on the field, there was never a doubt who the better team was. If the Browns had played a clean game, this would have been a blowout, which is a far cry from how I felt coming out of week 1.
The offense has solid momentum to build on - some things that worked, some that definitely didn't (please no more Elijah Moore end arounds). The defense looked dominant and showed up when it mattered most.
Time to clean up the mistakes and get this operation humming.