Nick Chubb and backfield mate Kareem Hunt combined for four touchdowns Thursday night (Fox8.com)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns’ 35-30 win over Cincinnati Bengals …
1. That’s more like it: Save the burial of Baker Mayfield and the Browns for another rainy or snowy day. The sun is shining on them, finally, after a 35-30 triumph over the rival Bengals and promising rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. Kevin Stefanski earned his first NFL coaching win in his first home game. He did it with a sounder offensive game plan that was a 180-degree turn from the one unveiled in the season opener in Baltimore five days earlier. Stefanski made Mayfield much more accurate throwing on the run while misdirecting the Bengals’ defense and the coach unleashed Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt for over 210 yards rushing and three TDs. Odell Beckham Jr. had four catches on six targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. And new kicker Cody Parkey was 5 for 5 on PATs.
2. Take that: Mayfield had an error-free game until throwing an interception intended for tight end Harrison Bryant at the Bengals’ 2 with 11:22 to go in the fourth quarter. Burrow moved the Bengals 83 yards and tossed a 5-yard touchdown to Mike Thomas to get the restricted crowd of about 6,000 nervous. Chubb and Hunt pummeled the ball downfield for 75 yards on six carries between them. Hunt finished the Bengals off with the last four runs, covering 45 yards and the score. Burrow wouldn't quit, though, and put another TD on the board on his third scoring pass of the evening, to Tyler Boyd.
3. Defensive rebound: The Browns’ depleted defense responded, also, by keeping Burrow’s top receivers – A.J. Green and Boyd – in check. Green was stifled for three catches for 29 yards on 13 targets. Cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell took turns frustrating Green and Burrow overthrew him four times. Burrow was strip-sacked by Myles Garrett inside the 5 and later was denied a TD after having first-and-goal at the Browns’ 1. The Bengals under-used their premier back, Joe Mixon (16 carries for 46 yards). Burrow had to chuck the ball 61 times. He completed 37 for 316 yards.
4. Copy and paste: Needing a 180-degree turnaround from its lame performance in Baltimore, the Browns’ offense clicked on just about all cylinders in the first half with three touchdowns. Mayfield was nearly perfect (156 rating) in throwing for touchdowns to Beckham and Kareem Hunt on 11 of 14 passing for 167 yards. Mayfield was especially sharp on the move and the emphasis from Stefanski on getting him outside the pocket was evident. Stefanski also received the city-wide memo on giving the ball to Nick Chubb. The running back scored the first TD of the game from 11 yards and totaled 52 yards on 12 carries. Mayfield’s 11 completions were spread to six receivers. Stefanski had nearly perfect offensive balance – 14 pass attempts and 15 runs. New kicker Cody Parker was perfect on three PATs.
5. Burrow-ing down: Burrow got the ball first and on his first series in Cleveland, he took the Bengals 41 yards for a field goal. That was a laborious, ball-control drive of 15 plays. Burrow’s TD drive in the half was much more snappy. He moved his offense 57 yards on six plays, throwing 23 yards to tight end C.J. Uzomah for the touchdown. On the play, safety Ronnie Harrison arrived late. Burrow threw 28 times in the first half, completing 18 for 169 yards, as Bengals coach Zac Taylor forgot about Joe Mixon (eight carries for 26 yards).
6. Balling: The injury-depleted Browns’ secondary did a number on A.J. Green in the first half, holding the elite Bengals receiver to two catches for 14 yards on seven targets. Burrow contributed with three overthrows, but Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell had a fine half defending Green.
7. Giveth and taketh: Beckham seemed to touch his knee down inside the 1 on his 43-yard catch-and-run for a TD. But the play stood after review. Later, though, Beckham’s jersey was being tugged by William Jackson when he flew past the cornerback, but the official didn’t throw the flag.
8. Special foibles: After an inauspicious debut in Baltimore, Browns special teams gave up returns of 42 and 45 yards on their first two kickoffs. The Bengals parlayed the short fields into 10 points. In the second half, Parkey’s kickoff dribbled out of bounds, giving the Bengals possession at their 40. That led to another field goal.
9. Faces in the crowd: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the game after visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to celebrate the NFL’s 100th birthday.
10. Banged up: The Browns deactivated defensive end Olivier Vernon (abdomen). He was replaced by Adrian Clayborn. Other lineup changes: Chris Hubbard for Jack Conklin (ankle) at right tackle, though Conklin remained on the active list; Malcolm Smith for Jacobs Phillips (knee) at weakside linebacker, and Terrance Mitchell for Greedy Williams (shoulder) at cornerback.
11. Pfffft: Any chance of drama involving kicker Austin Seibert, who changed teams during the week, was eliminated when the Bengals made him inactive.
12. Streak is over. Long live the streak: Mike Brown, 85, Bengals president and general manager, stayed home in Cincinnati as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic. It snapped a streak of 824 regular- and post-season Bengals games Brown has attended. The only Bengals game Brown had ever missed was a preseason game in 1991 to attend the funeral of his father, Paul Brown, the Bengals’ founder and the Browns’ founding coach.