CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – It wasn’t pretty but wins never come easy for the Browns, so they’ll take it.
Jacoby Brissett was average at best making the first of what is expected to be 11 starts in the absence of suspended $230 million man Deshaun Watson, but he was just good enough as he made plays when it mattered most.
“We really could have pulled away earlier,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Going one-for-four in the red zone. We double dip at the half, we get a field goal, get the ball in the second half and get a field goal. You score on consecutive possessions but only six points.
“There are opportunities to be better early so that you do not have to kick a 58-yarder at the end.”
Stefanski used a balanced approach Sunday afternoon in Charlotte calling 35 runs and 34 passes in the thrilling 26-24 victory over Baker Mayfield and the Panthers.
Rookie kicker Cade York saved the day by making a 58-yard field goal as time expired to secure their first 1-0 start since 2004.
Brissett, who completed 18 of 34 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, missed at least four throws in the opening quarter and the Browns left plenty of points on the field through three quarters.
“Jacoby, he battled,” Stefanski said. “There were some opportunities early, but you have to understand that these games, there are going to be some moments with some highs, and you have to battle through the lows. You look around the league and there are some tough moments. There are some really good defenses out there.
“For us, it is going to be about learning from the plays that we would like back and then just putting a plan together to be able to go perform this week versus the Jets.”
Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt carried the load on the ground offensively. They ran a combined 33 times for 187 yards with Hunt scoring both touchdowns – a 1-yard catch and 24-yard run.
Five of Cleveland’s six longest offensive plays Sunday came courtesy of Chubb or Hunt.
“Yeah, we have a two headed monster back there, with Jerome [Ford] a three-headed monster,” right guard Wyatt Teller said. “So we're able to do things that some teams can't do.
“Kareem's not afraid of anything. He'll run in there and hit anybody, so he's basically a fullback who's really fast. He's a good guy to kind of set the block. Or you know, both can do it, and that's amazing.”
A strong run game, just enough in the passing game, no major special teams miscues and a ton of defensive pressure appears to be the Browns recipe for success until Watson returns.
“I think that's the formula we've always wanted to kind of portray,” Teller said. “Obviously our defense played really well. There was a handful of plays that changed it or that brought them close. But for the most part, the three phases of football working together, complementary football, that's how you win games.”
Until Watson is allowed to play, the job is to just find a way to win any way possible.
The Browns aren’t counting on Brissett to win them games by himself.
The reason they signed him to back Watson up was because they knew he wouldn’t go out and lose games with careless mistakes, including turnovers, making it easier to live with those missed opportunities.
“I really do believe he can continue to get better,” Stefanski said. “I think he will continue to get better. Having said that, I know there were some misses, but the throw to Donovan [Peoples-Jones] the second-to-last completion there – I know we completed it to Amari [Cooper] to get to the 40 – to Donovan with a player bearing down on him who was unblocked, standing in the pocket making that throw, that is big time football right there.
“He can be better, but really, really proud of how he finished that game.”
The only statistic Stefanski and the Browns are concerned with is the final score.
Against the Panthers, Brissett was just good enough to help them score two more than Carolina and that is good enough for the Browns because to a coach, there is no prettier win than an ugly one.