The Cleveland Browns won their first game of the season by holding off the Houston Texans 31-21. Getting the first win of the season is great, but there are some takeaways that need to mentioned and kept in mind for the rest of the season.
Winning is great, but game was a lot closer than it should have been
This should have been a get right game for the Browns. In the past this was the type of game where the visiting team comes in, blows the doors off of Cleveland, and gets back on track for the next few games. Unfortunately this game was a lot closer than it should have been against a Texans team that does not have high expectations for the season.
Outcome very well could have been different if Tyrod Taylor does not leave due to injury
Tyrod Taylor was moving the ball well and was very effective in the first half. There is a real chance that the final outcome is entirely different if Taylor did not have to leave the game with his injury. Cleveland’s defense had trouble with Houston’s offense for the entire first half.
Defense is bad, like really bad
As mentioned above, the defense could not stop Tyrod Taylor in the first half. Davis Mills even looked okay at times, leading one successful scoring drive and another that resulted in a missed field goal.
Additionally, Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were pretty much non-factors in this game. The only time they were really mentioned was when the broadcasting team said that they have not done much of anything.
As of now it appears that the Browns defense performance in the 1st half of their loss to the Chiefs was more about Kansas City being off rather than the defense stepping up.
Debut of Grant Delpit
Now for a positive defensive note, Grant Delpit looked good. Delpit made a couple of plays while only appearing in 43% of defensive snaps, but there is some hope here. Again, health will be a concern with him moving forward, but Delpit making plays in his first NFL game is encouraging.
Browns passing offense struggled despite deceiving numbers
Baker Mayfield was 19-21 for 213 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The 90% completion percentage is impressive, but deceiving. A lot of Mayfield’s throws were not far down the field and most of his yards came after the pass was completed, most notably on Demetric Felton’s 33-yard touchdown on a screen pass. While Baker executed and that’s great, there are some much larger issues at hand.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were missed big time
When Jarvis Landry exited the game after the second play the passing offense did not have a legitimate threat in the passing game. This led to a lot of shorter passes from Mayfield and his 19-21 performance. The fact of the matter is that without Landry or Odell Beckham Jr. the passing game is very much unimpressive. Those who have been standing on mountaintops screaming for the team to move one or both players got a good long look at reality without the best receivers on the team. Currently without Beckham or Landry in the lineup the passing game is very much pedestrian at best.
Not enough Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb finished the game with 11 carries for 95 yards and one touchdown. In a game without the two best pass catchers available it would have made a lot more sense to hand Chubb the ball a hell of a lot more. To compare, Kareem Hunt carried the ball 13 times for 51 yards, an interesting split to say the least.
Limiting Chubb could be due to wanting to preserve him for later in the season when the Browns are hopefully in the playoffs. Well, in order to get back to the playoffs they need to win games earlier in the season to get there. While the Browns did win this one, the offense could have used the boost it would have gotten if they handed Chubb the ball more. Perhaps more attempts from Chubb results in the lopsided win it should have been and many expected it to be.
