Few people expected the Cleveland Browns to defeat the Atlanta Falcons. Even less expected it to be a double-digit victory, but that is just what happened.
28-16. That was the final score in a game that not many thought the Cleveland Browns could win. A balanced offensive attack from Cleveland led the Browns to their 12 point victory over Atlanta. Baker Mayfield competed 17 of 20 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Mayfield also added 20 yards on six carries. Nick Chubb handled the bulk the of rushing duties. 20 rushing attempts for 176 yards and one touchdown. Chubb was also a factor in the passing game as he hauled in three passes for 33 yards and one touchdown.
While Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan did throw for 330 yards and two touchdowns, the Browns were able to keep the Atlanta rushing attack in check. As a team Atlanta ran for 71 yards on 19 carries. A partial reason for the lack of running game for Atlanta was due to the fact they trailed 28-10 midway through the third quarter.
Cleveland’s offense appears to be hitting their stride
In his past two games Baker Mayfield has completed 46 of 62 passes for 513 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. During this span Mayfield has only been sacked two times. New offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has made some alterations to the original offense. Kitchens has essentially edited down the playbook. Certain plays and concepts that are working are being utilized more often and successful offensive drives are becoming more and more common.
Instead of tasking Mayfield with reading the entire field every play, a few reads are installed into the play and if they are not there it is up to Mayfield to throw the ball away or take off and run. Under Hue Jackson and Todd Haley this was not the case. Mayfield had to read the entire field and unfortunately this would result in excess hits or sacks. This occurred with previous Browns quarterbacks, most notably Deshone Kizer last season. In time Mayfield will have to read the whole field, but as a rookie this strategy is just fine.
The Browns offense is actually moving the ball consistently and putting up points. Granted Kansas City and Atlanta are far from good defenses, but if the previous regime were still in place it is hard to imagine the same or similar success. A combination of Mayfield’s success and Nick Chubb’s emergence is leading the way. Chubb has 406 yards on the ground over the last four games. This certainly takes some pressure off of Mayfield to carry the offensive load by himself.
Browns future games and outlook
The Browns have their bye-week in Week 11. After that they face the Bengals twice, Texans, Panthers, Broncos and Ravens. Cincinnati could be quite the matchup as they have relieved defensive coordinator Teryl Austin of his duties. (Cleveland already faced a team who fired their defensive coordinator, the loss to Tampa Bay in Week 7. While Cincinnati faces Baltimore next, they may just be able to get their defense to play well in time for their Week 12 game against Cleveland. The Browns have two weeks to get ready for their first of two games against the Bengals. The only problem that could occur is that it will be tough to take any trends away from one game. It will be important to focus on what has worked for Cleveland the past two games and not obsess over any changes the Bengals make defensively.
Cleveland may be able to win at least one more game this season. If things continue to work correctly they may even win more than once. It will be a tough task but it is far from impossible. The Browns are finally playing up to the level that was expected of them before the season began. It may be late in the season, but it is encouraging to see that they are actually resembling an NFL team for the first time in a long, long time.
