The Cleveland Browns managed to come away with a 31-21 victory over the Houston Texans to win their first game of the season.
It was not the prettiest game, but a win is a win. The Cleveland Browns encountered a much tougher battle than expected, however they did prevail with a 10-point victory over the visiting Houston Texans.
Injuries were really the focus of the game. Jarvis Landry exited on the second play of the game and did not return due to a knee injury. Landry’s absence led to a what can only be described as a struggle fest for the passing game. Sure, Baker Mayfield completed 19 of 21 passes for 21 yards, but this is definitely a case where numbers lie. Mayfield was fine, but the passing game was far from the expected production, especially after last week when it appeared they might be a bit more explosive though the air. The fact of the matter is that without Landry or Odell Beckham Jr., opposing defenses are not scared of the Browns passing attack.
For the Texans it was one injury that changed the game, Tyrod Taylor. Taylor did not return after half-time after keeping things level with Cleveland. Houston had to turn to the inexperienced Davis Mills and it led to expected results. While there was a touchdown drive from the rookie, his passing numbers struggled overall as he completed just eight of 18 passes for 102 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
One more note about the Browns offense, where was Nick Chubb? Only 11 carries for 95 yards and one touchdown in the contest. Considering Cleveland was without their best two receivers one would think that they would put the ball in the hands their best offensive player, but apparently that was not the game plan for some reason. In fact, the still competent but less impressive Kareem Hunt had 13 carries to Chubb’s 11. Hunt finished with just 51 yards, averaging 3.9 yard per carry compared to Chubb’s 8.6.
After providing some hope during the first half of Week 1, the Browns defense struggled to do much of anything. Cleveland had a tough time stopping anything Houston through at them and that is a serious problem. There was the expectation that the defense would take some time to gel, but after Week1 the learning curve was expected to be significantly less.
The Browns are waiting on more information in regards to the injury to Landry. If he were to miss any time that would make their offense a lot less threatening, assuming Beckham is still out.
With the win Cleveland is now 1-1 on the year and they will look to move above .500 next Sunday as they take on the Chicago Bears.
