That one certainly was a weird game. But I'll take it! The Cleveland Browns improve to 5-7 on the season with a win in Houston! Deshaun Watson was certainly rusty in his first official game with the team, but the Browns defense showed up today. In spades. Yes, the Browns were expected to win, and they covered the 8-point spread. But it was certainly nice to see the most criticized and weakest unit put the team on their back and carry Cleveland to a much-needed win on the road today. But it was a complete team win. Let's take a look at how Cleveland notched another win with today's Keys to Victory!
Run the Rock!
Nick Chubb only carried the ball 17 times for 80 yards. But as a team, Cleveland ran the ball 38 times for 174 yards. That's a good thing to see any time the team tries to run it consistently. Even though the Browns didn't score any touchdowns on the ground, or offensively for that matter. I definitely was pleased with the amount of runs Kevin Stefanski called throughout the game. The run game is the Browns' bread and butter. There's never a reason to abandon it. Ever. The only time the Browns should ever stop being a run-first team? When Nick Chubb decides to leave, and they retool the offense to be more of an aerial attack. Until then, run! As the old saying goes, "You dance with who brung ya!"
Unleash the Sack Reaper!
I'm not too upset that the Browns didn't get it done here, considering the defense provided the majority of the team's points today (fumble recovery by Denzel Ward and interception by Tony Fields, both for touchdowns). But the pass rush just didn't get home today against Kyle Allen. That might have been one of the only things to go wrong for the Browns today. I really wanted to see the Cleveland defensive front feasting and racking up sacks against a bad team. But they'll have to go back to the drawing board, and prepare for a road trip to Cincinnati next weekend for their next chance to get after the quarterback. And I imagine those guys are licking their chops to get after Joe Burrow again. They made life rough for him in Cleveland the last time they played, in an impressive 32-13 victory for the Browns on a Halloween edition of Monday Night Football.
Keep Watson clean
For the most part, the Browns succeeded here. Watson was only sacked once and hit twice. It's always incredibly important to protect the quarterback. That's one of the integral parts of this game. But it was also probably good that the Browns offensive line kept him upright for another important reason: confidence and easing him into the offensive system. Did he play great today? No. He was rusty as expected. But there's a massive difference between how things went today, and if the Texans had made life hell for him. Deshaun Watson is still getting used to the offensive system. I imagine he won't be fully acclimated to everything and rolling until sometime in the middle of next season. It'll take him a while before he's the quarterback the Browns expect him to be. But for now, he had a nice introduction to running the offense, in large part thanks to the solid pass protection from the offensive line.
Next up for Cleveland, the Browns aim to earn their sixth straight win over the Bengals, and third straight sweep in the Battle of Ohio at Paul Brown Stadium. I'm confident Cleveland can win that one to get to 6-7 on the season, and win their third-straight game. But we'll have to wait and see if they still have the Bengals' number. Until then, celebrate another Victory Monday tomorrow, Dawg Pound! Let's keep it rolling! GO BROWNS!
Stat Leaders
Deshaun Watson: 12-22, 131 yds., INT
Nick Chubb: 17 car., 80 yds.
Donovan Peoples-Jones: 3 rec., 44 yds.
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