Nick Chubb, defense carries Browns to win
Nick Chubb carried the offensive workload and the Browns defense did their fair share in the 34-20 win over the Washington Football Team.
If the Cleveland Browns were going to win their second consecutive game they were going to need to run Nick Chubb a lot. Luckily Cleveland combined a dominant rushing attack with a surprising defensive performance to defeat the Washington Football Team 34-20.
Nick Chubb carried the ball 19 times for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is the best way for Cleveland to be consistent on offense. Chubb is the best offensive weapon on the team and he needs to be used that way. Build the offense around one of, if not the best running back in the NFL. Nick Chubb is what makes this offense go and giving him ample opportunities to pull his weight will lead to positive outcomes for the Browns.
Even when the Browns were not running the ball with Nick Chubb they incorporated their other running back, Kareem Hunt. Yards did not come easy for Hunt as he finished with 16 carries for 46 yards. Hunt did make an impact in the passing game, catching 2 passes for 18 yards and 1 touchdown. Even though the numbers don’t necessarily show it, Kareem Hunt had a fairly large impact on the game. The duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are going to give opposing defenses fits for the foreseeable future.
Defense steps up
This came out of nowhere. The Cleveland Browns defense had an impressive showing. Cleveland forced 5 Washington turnovers and sacked Dwayne Haskins 3 times. Myles Garrett finished two sacks, including a strip sack and Sheldon Richardson had the other. The biggest surprise on Sunday was linebacker BJ Goodson.
BJ Goodson recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass, and defended 1 other. For someone who is not necessarily prolific in pass defense, he had a pretty good day.
Karl Joseph had an interception on an overthrown pass from Dwayne Hasksins. Joseph returned the ball 49 yards and set the Browns offense up well, eventually resulting in a touchdown. Joseph also had 6 total tackles (4 solo) in the game.
The other Cleveland defender with an interception was Malcolm Smith. Smith read the eyes of Haskins and jumped the route to force the turnover. Smith did not record a tackle, but his interception was more than enough.
One of the more impressive pieces of information to come out of this game was that Cleveland scored touchdowns after all three interceptions. In the past this would be an area that they would struggle in. It felt like it was all too often the team would end up punting after falling to gain a first down. Scoring touchdowns after a turnover was a nice change of pace.
With this win the Browns are over .500 for the first time since 2014 and this is the first time they are 2-1 since 2011 . This was also the first time since 2010 that they scored 30+ points in back-to-back games. Finally, the last time they were 2-0 at home to start the season was 2004.
