Deshaun Watson turned back the clock and the Cleveland Browns overcame a two hour weather delay to stun Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speculation swirled around the Cleveland Browns heading into a Week 2 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a lackluster performance in Week 1, momentum was mounting toward Week 2 being Deshaun Watson's last game under center if the offense continued to struggle.
With ex-Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield on the opposing sideline, Sunday had all the makings of becoming the latest embarrassing moment in franchise history. Watson, however, had other plans.
Cleveland spoiled Mayfield's shot at revenge with a stunning 23-19 win, and boy did we learn a lot.
1) The Browns won't be benching Deshaun Watson
The smoke pregame was very, very real. Cleveland was set to reevaluate the QB position heading into Week 3 if the Browns offense continued to struggle with Watson under center. And while the offense still wasn't a well-oiled machine by any stretch, Watson surely did enough to remain the starter.
He finished the game 24-of-30, for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns and posted the third best passer rating of his Browns tenure, 121.9. Perhaps most importantly, though, he found a nice rhythm in the second half to lead multiple scoring drives. For once he looked confident throwing the football. He didn't turn it over. It seems difficult to scapegoat him now, when he showed pretty clear improvement, so get ready for Watson running out of the tunnel at Huntington Bank Field next week.
2) Todd Monken's play-calling has been hot and cold
It was evident on the first series of the game, as Monken once again opted to take the ball after winning the coin toss. The Browns gained 9 yards on the first play of the game, then Monken ran a jet sweep with KC Concepcion that got blown up for a loss of six and then facing 3rd-and-7 Monken handed it off to Quinshon Judkins. It was a head-scratching play call in that spot.
The run game plan in general left a lot to be desired. None of the outside zone runs are popping right now and screens aren't really an effective tool right now either.
That said, in the second half, knowing the run game was struggling so much, he got the running backs involved as pass catchers on short-yardage concepts, almost as an extension of the run game. Denzel Boston started getting more involved too and the offense found a nice rhythm.
3) Monken's decision making is still a work in progress
There were two VERY glaring ones. The first was a challenge in the second quarter with 6:30 to go in the half. Mayfield completed a pass for to Cade Otton for three yards that was quickly punched out by Denzel Ward. It was ruled a catch and a fumble setting up a 3rd-and-5 for the Bucs, but Monken threw the red flag to determine whether it was actually an incomplete pass. He was essentially challenging three yards, which is just silly.
The second one came just before the half. Monken was trying to find some momentum with his offense and decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 from his own 34 to no avail. Judkins was stuffed on the play and the Bucs took over with a short field and ultimately kicked a FG to push their lead to 9-6. It just wasn't a smart call with the game tied.
4) The Browns cannot run the football
The Browns run game is just non-existent right now. They rushed 23 times for a meager 44 yards on Sunday. That's good for a pathetic 1.9 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Judkins accounted for only 21 of that, averaging 1.8 yards per attempt himself.
It's a stunning development really because Judkins looked good in camp, and the Browns had plenty of success running the ball overall in camp. Through two games, though, Cleveland has amassed just 131 total yards rushing.
5) Maybe zone coverage wasn't the problem
There were still some problems in the secondary (stay tuned). But the zone coverage was mostly effective in limiting Mayfield and the Bucs offense. Also, Myles Harden earned his first career interception in the first half while dropping into a zone with the Browns in quarters in the first half. There were definitely some signs of growth in Week 2. The bigger issue is the missed tackles, which continue to persist at all three levels.
6) Denzel Boston IS in fact HIM
Boston was targeted just twice in the first half and had 1 reception for 8 yards. In the second half, there was a concerted effort to get Boston the football and his numbers jumped to five receptions 95 yards and an incredible TD that saw him spin away from a tackler and race 55 yards to the end zone. Everyone saw during training camp that good things happen when he touches the football. He's already a budding star with a touchdown in each of his first two games.
7) Jerry Jeudy has been demoted
Contrary to Andrew Berry claiming in the offseason that Jerry Jeudy is their workhorse wide receiver, the evidence against that is damning. Jeudy has been reduced to wide receiver three in terms of usage at this point. He was targeted only once the entire game, and it came at the 13:33 in the fourth quarter.
8) Ronnie Hickman is a liability
It was another bad day at the office for Hickman. He remained a liability in coverage and continued to miss tackles at an alarming clip. It's an unfortunate development for a player in a contract year, but it hasn't been pretty these first two weeks.
