CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The eulogy for the 2021 Browns season will have to wait.
They very much are alive and well.
Following a week of external noise created by Odell Beckham Jr. turning on his soon to be former team and orchestrating his release, the Browns went down I-71 and took whatever frustrations they might have had out on the Bengals.
Here are our Top Takeaways from the 41-16 beating that saw the Browns play their most complete game of the season.
1. The blowout, fueled by big plays on both sides of the ball, had to be therapeutic – for Baker Mayfield, for Kevin Stefanski and for the defense. Early in the week Stefanski spoke about being “desperate for a win” and they played like it.
2. What a performance by the defense, especially the secondary. They set the tone early and did not let up. The final numbers: 5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and 8 pass breakups.
3. Denzel Ward got the party started when he stepped in front of Ja’Marr Chase at the goal line and returned it 99 yards up the near sideline for a 7-0 Browns lead, thwarting the Bengals’ opening drive. Ward’s pick-6 was the second-longest in franchise history behind Brodney Pool's 100-yard interception return on November 18, 2007. It was the first time this season the Browns got a stop on a goal-to-go. Opponents had previously scored 11 times in 11 trips inside the 10. With less than 30 seconds left in the first half Ward broke up a would-be touchdown to Tee Higgins. He also deflected a pass that led to an interception and finished the day with 3 pass breakups.
4. Nickel corner Troy Hill played the best game of the year as a Brown. He had two sacks, delivered 4 QB hits and had 3 tackles for loss. Joe Woods turned him loose and he came up big.
5. Safety John Johnson III was also equally spectacular. He had an interception, which he returned it 31 yards to the 8 to set up first-and-goal that resulted in a field goal, broke up another pass and forced a fumble.
6. Baker Mayfield responded to the Beckham diss in a big way. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns to net a 132.6 rating. His 60-yard strike to Donovan Peoples-Jones was some pretty strong shade to throw – no pun intended. Mayfield let it rip deep and Peoples-Jones, who replaced the player to be waived Monday in the lineup, torched Eli Apple, and walked into the end zone with his third receiving touchdown of the season for a 21-7 lead. Mayfield dropped another third down dime to Peoples-Jones for 26 more yards before firing a bullet to David Njoku for a 17-yard TD to cap the scoring.
7. Mayfield, who is now 6-1 against the Bengals and 3-0 against Burrow, went out of his way throughout the game to run up to teammates following completions and big plays to show them appreciation. While Mayfield typically does this, it was really noticeable Sunday, as if he was sending a message to them, as well as Beckham.
8. Nick Chubb was a freight train. What else is there to say about him? The model of consistency, Chubb ripped off 137 yards on 14 carries including a 70-yard touchdown run. He also scored from a yard away. The Browns improved to 15-4 since the start of the 2020 season when they rush for 100 yards in a game.
9. Myles Garrett’s 2021 sack counter is now up to 12. He was credited with 1 ½ sacks. The officials continue to miss a ton of holding penalties by offensive linemen, but that’s pretty much the only way Garrett can be stopped.
10. According to Elias and ESPN Stats and information, the Browns are the fourth team in NFL history to record a passing, rushing and defensive touchdown of 60-plus yards in the same game and the first team since 2012 to have 3 TDs of at least 60 yards in a single game.
11. The Bengals racked up 141 yards of offense, picked up nine first downs and ran 20 plays before the Browns even touched the ball, yet Cleveland blew them out. Cincinnati ran 70 plays to the Browns 46 and had 25 first downs to Cleveland’s 14 and they won the time of possession by nearly 10 minutes. But that’s all Cincinnati won Sunday.
12. Now to the not so good stuff. The Browns defense was called for offsides three times in the first 11 plays. The second one – on Malik McDowell that took a sack off the board and set up Ward’s pick-6.
13. Kevin Stefanski got too cute calling for an option off a Jarvis Landry run that saw him lose yardage and fumble on third-and-1 with a chance to blow the game wide open. Thankfully Chubb fell on the loose ball to preserve the field goal and allow the Browns to go up 24-7. A touchdown would’ve likely been a knockout blow at 28-7. In the end, it didn’t matter
14. Chase McLaughlin is human. McLaughlin was wide right on a 45-yard field goal try with just over 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It was his first pure miss of the season. He had a kick blocked by the Broncos in Week 7.
15. The road back to the playoffs won’t be easy, but beating the Bengals Sunday put the Browns right back in the middle of the conversation. Considering the dumpster fire this season had the potential to turn into with all of the injuries, and of course the events of this past week, credit Stefanski and Mayfield for getting it done when it mattered. Now the question is, can they keep it going with every team – minus the winless Lions – left on the schedule being serious playoff contenders?