CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – That was a beatdown.
The Dolphins dominated the Browns in every way Sunday afternoon and rolled to a 39-17 win to improve to 7-3 and drop Cleveland to 3-6.
Here are our Top Takeaways from an epic beatdown in Miami.
1. Warm up the vocal cords for Amazing Grace…
2. Shelve the playoff talk until the offseason and start writing the obituary. This team – and season – is officially sunk two weeks into November.
3. That’s loss number five against an AFC team. Conference record is the fourth tiebreaker in the divisional race but the second behind head-to-head in breaking a tie for a Wild Card. The Bengals are the only contender within the conference they’ve beaten, and at this rate, it doesn’t matter because they’re not chasing them down any time soon.
4. They aren’t catching the Ravens either, so stop it.
5. Unless Deshaun Watson can play defense, he’s not saving the season, or the franchise in three weeks.
6. Why does it feel like the Browns remain the NFL’s Pepto Bismol? Whatever teams can’t do coming into a game, the Browns end up being the perfect elixir. Miami came in 29th running the ball at just under 90 yards a game. The Dolphins gashed Cleveland for 195 yards on the ground led by 119 yards from Jeff Wilson Jr. It marks the fourth time in the last six games the run defense got bulldozed for at least 150 yards on the ground.
7. Guess what? The defense isn’t fixed.
8. The Dolphins didn’t punt, and they scored on seven of nine possessions. The only stops came late in the first half on downs and when they took a knee to run out the clock.
9. Four times in nine games the Browns have surrendered at least 30 points and unsurprisingly they are 0-4 in those games.
10. Tua Tagovailoa was incredible, again and continues his MVP-caliber season for the Dolphins. The Browns generated minimal pressure up front and what Tagovailoa wanted, he got in the passing game. His final numbers: 25-32 for 285 yards and three touchdowns. The top-rated QB in the league notched a 135.0 rating Sunday.
11. The bookends up front – Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were non-factors Sunday. Did they even play?
12. Another masterful opening drive script by Kevin Stefanski – plus a pair of Dolphin penalties: offsides and pass interference in the end zone – lead to seven points thanks to a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harrison Bryant. The first play of the game went 38 yards to Donovan Peoples-Jones. That was pretty much it for the fireworks offensively.
13. With backup offensive lineman Michael Dunn inactive, Hjalte Froholdt replaced him in the jumbo package Sunday, which was used on the touchdown to Bryant. Wyatt Teller, who had just returned from a left calf strain, was sidelined in the second quarter forcing Froholdt to step in.
14. At least Stefanski got to empty his bench a bit in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand.
15. Miami scored the first touchdown on an opening drive against the Browns by attacking the soft spot of the defense – the middle – on the ground to put together a 10-play, 84-yard drive. Wilson and Raheem Mostert combined to run five times for 42 yards, including a fourth-and-1 conversion in their own territory. Tagovailoa’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Alex Ingold tied the game at 7. They never looked back as five different Dolphins scored touchdowns in the win.
16. Nick Chubb fumbled, which never happens, ending the second possession for the Browns. Chubb got stripped by Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler and cornerback Xavien Howard recovered at the Miami 29. The defense held Miami to a 39-yard field goal. Chubb atoned for that with a brilliant 33-yard touchdown run that saw him spin out of a tackle at the 21 to pull the Browns within 30-17 early in the fourth quarter.
17. The end of the first half was a disaster for the Browns. Not only did they give up a quick touchdown drive capped by Tagavailoa tossing a dime to Trent Sherfield on a 14-yard touchdown pass to the back corner of the end zone – that took 50 seconds, both offensive tackles – Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin – were called for penalties taking away any opportunity to attempt to counter in the final 30 seconds of the half. Turns out, with Miami getting the second half kickoff, it was a 14-point swing in the game.
18. Running back Jerome Ford, fresh off injured reserve, wasted no time making an impact on special teams. Ford ripped off a 48-yard return on the opening kickoff, a season-best return for the Browns. The Dolphins learned their lesson and didn’t kick it to him again the rest of the afternoon.
19. 2020 was clearly a one hit wonder. An aberration. The sustained success we were all expecting with a young core intact following an 11-5 team that came within a play or two of the AFC Championship game has vanished.
20. Stefanski can't blame Baker Mayfield for this. Or his current quarterback Jacoby Brissett. This continued failure is squarely on him and his coaching staff. Stefanski was the toast of the town after starting his Browns career 14-6. Since then the Browns have fallen off a cliff and returned to the same slopfest we’ve watched here for the overwhelming majority of this god awful expansion era. They are 8-14 since and over their last 17, 6-11.
21. If Stefanski was counting on a mulligan because of the Watson situation, he shouldn’t. The Browns were supposed to be good and talented enough to be in contention in time for Watson's December return. They’re essentially out of it two weeks into November. So the problem is either the roster Andrew Berry has augmented over three offseasons or Stefanski. Or maybe both.
22. The Browns might have alignment in Berry and Stefanski but they also now have sustained losing with them too. The bloom is off the rose.