Game 2 is more important to the Browns than any Game 2 deserves to be

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Four downs on Browns (0-1) v. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)

First down: Must-win?

It’s preposterous to label a game in Week 2 as must-win. A “must-win” is an elimination game. This isn’t that for the Browns. More accurate is to call this a “you better win or life is going to be hell the next 10 days” for the Browns. Nobody expected the Browns to start 1-0. But a 38-6 loss wasn’t expected, either. That was the second-biggest loss in a season opener in Browns expansion history. Only one worse was the inaugural game in 1999 when Bill Cowher’s Steelers blanked Chris Palmer’s wide-eyed expansion Browns, 43-0. So Kevin Stefanski has to show improvement after a short work week. Making this game bigger than any second game of the season deserves to be are two other factors. 1. It’s another division game, and the Bengals historically have been the most beatable division foe for the Browns; they’re 15-27 against Cincinnati, and that’s their best record (by four wins) against division rivals since 1999. 2. This is Joe Burrow’s first NFL start in a road game. More on Burrow below.

Second down: Baker v. Burrow.

Franchise quarterbacks have to win division games and that means out-performing their division counterparts. Baker Mayfield v. Ben Roethlisberger: 0-1. Mayfield v. Lamar Jackson: 1-3. Now comes Joe Burrow. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 draft has been a lifeline to a Bengals franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1990. (Don’t laugh: The Browns last post-season win was in the 1994 season.) Burrow is the native of Athens, OH who transferred from Ohio State to LSU and produced the greatest season for a college quarterback ever, leading the Tigers to the national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy along the way. Burrow’s acceptance speech at the Heisman ceremony was a tear-jerker and brought awareness to a hunger problem in impoverished Athens County, earning Burrow instant respect nationally. He never blanched at the prospect of winding up with the Bengals and since the draft he has been everything the Bengals had hoped and more. He has been outspoken in Bengals racial injustice initiatives and was voted a captain before his first game. In his NFL debut, he took his team 84 yards in 3:08 with no timeouts, only to lose to the Chargers, 16-13, after an offensive pass interference penalty on A.J. Green on a would-be game-winning catch and then a game-tying field goal miss by Randy Bullock. Afterwards, Green exclaimed, “The way he handled himself on that last drive was unbelievable. I haven’t seen any rookie handle it the way he did. We’ve got a special one in Joe.” Burrow, 23, makes his first Cleveland appearance with one game of NFL experience. Mayfield, 25, is 12-18 in his 30 NFL starts, and the once-brilliant shine on his future is fading fast.

Third down: “Stefanski!”

The Browns’ first-year head coach has been dealt a bad hand since the pandemic hit in March. Only one game into his coaching tenure, he’s faced with his first mini-crisis. His Browns’ debut was a rotten egg. The defense was missing four starters because of injury. But the offense was at full strength and scored 6 points. In his first game as coach and play-caller, Stefanski called an ill-fated fake punt from his own 31-yard line in the first quarter, lost sight of his star-studded running game, failed to get his quarterback out of the pocket on rollouts and bootlegs, and then acquiesced to underperforming Odell Beckham Jr.’s passive-aggressiveness and forced the ball to him in a dismal third quarter series. Through no fault of his own, Stefanski inherited a Mayfield-Beckham soap opera and his ability to resolve it will dictate his first season. Stefanski has to right this ship against a beatable division opponent – or else the sharks will start circling. Is that unfair after two games? Of course. Used crying towels are available from Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens.

Fourth down: Ain’t that a kick in the head?

On Monday, the Browns waived kicker Austin Seibert and the Bengals claimed him. Almost immediately, Bengals coach Zac Taylor pronounced that Randy Bullock, author of that 31-yard game-losing shank in their opener, was still his kicker. Bullock has been on the Bengals’ injury report this week with a calf injury, but has progressed to “full” participation as late as Wednesday’s injury report. The Bengals may decide their kicker based on pre-game warm-ups. If Seibert isn’t their kicker to start the game, he may be active in case Bullock’s calf muscle acts up during the evening. The Browns tempted fate by waiving Seibert so early in the week and hand-delivering the Bengals an insurance policy if Bullock can’t play. The Browns replaced Seibert with Cody Parkey, who has a history of game-losing misses, most notably with the Chicago Bears in the 2018 playoffs.

Prediction: Browns 24, Bengals 20.

My record: 1-0.