Kareem Hunt joined Nick Chubb in a second-half charge that put away the Bengals in a 35-30 Browns win. (CBSsports.com)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
The heat is off Kevin Stefanski, Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. just as fast as it turned on.
They walked their fans off the ledge with a 180-degree turnaround on offense in a 35-30 win over the Cincinnati Bengals that notched Stefanski his first career coaching win in his first home game.
In front of a Covid-restricted crowd of about 6,000 and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in FirstEnergy Stadium, Stefanski’s offense looked like a final product in only its second game.
Blending the pass in the first half and the indefatigable running tandem of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the second, the Browns scored five touchdowns four days after they scored six points in Baltimore.
They needed them because Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow exhausted the Browns’ defense with 61 passes and never let up.
In contrast, Mayfield was blessed to throw but 23 times – only nine times in the second half when Chubb (124 yards and two touchdowns) and Hunt (86 yards and one touchdown run plus one receiving) overpowered the Bengals’ defense.
Everybody wanted to see Stefanski give the ball more to Chubb and Hunt, and they delivered when the coach heeded the call.
“Very relieved,” said Hunt, who had 80 of his 86 yards in the second half. “I feel like we are game-changers, and moving forward, I would like to continue to get more touches. The both of us need them. We both make plays.”
Stefanski used the pass offense to build a 21-13 in the first half. Mayfield was almost perfect (156.0 passer rating) as Stefanski utilized him more on play-action, roll-outs and bootlegs. They got Odell Beckham Jr. involved early on a 43-yard catch-and-run as Mayfield delivered bootlegging to his left.
Mayfield also threw a touchdown to Hunt uncovered in the right flat from six yards out.
“I think any time in any offense, if you can run the ball like that and then marry up the pass game with it and make it all look similar, you are going to have success,” said Mayfield (16 of 23 for 219 yards, two touchdowns, one interception). “My job is just to get the ball in their hands, and when we are calling plays and able to run the ball like that, it is easy.”
The key to everything on offense was the line. It produced 215 yards on the ground (counting three Mayfield keepers) and did not allow a sack. Rookie Jedrick Wills and Chris Hubbard, filling in for injured Jack Conklin at right tackle, kept Mayfield clean all night.
“The offensive line played great tonight,” Mayfield said. “Those were some big holes, and those guys were not going down by just one single guy. It was a great effort by both our offensive line and our running backs. Those guys are really special. That shows what we are capable of when we get the running game going.”
Burrow gassed the Browns’ defense with a relentless assault that turned the game into a shootout. The Bengals punted only two times, the Browns once.
Burrow kept fighting even though his two best supporting players, running back Joe Mixon and receiver A.J. Green, were woefully ineffective.
Mixon, who crushed the Browns for over 300 rushing yards in two games last year, carried 16 times for 46 yards. Green was stifled for three catches and 29 yards on 13 targets, as cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell took turns frustrating the All-Pro receiver.
“I missed some throws to A.J. again,” said Burrow (37 of 61 for 316 yards, three touchdowns). “I am just going to have to fix that. I can’t keep missing throws to A.J. when he gets open like he does.”
Burrow also was strip-sacked by Myles Garrett. Newly-claimed end Joe Jackson fell on it at the 1, and Chubb scored two plays later for a 28-13 lead.
That sequence came after a Cincinnati goal-line stand that stopped Chubb two times from the 1 and then on fourth down from the 2. Stefanski deferred to the analytics crew when he eschewed a chip shot field goal with a 21-13 lead on the Browns’ opening possession of the second half.
“We want to be aggressive,” he said. “I think sevens over threes are just a huge deal. Knowing that if you do not get it, you are going to pin them back. That is how you script it if you do not get it. Obviously, you hope it comes right back to you like that, but we are just going to trust our guys in moments like that.”
Yes, Stefanski scripted quite an offensive rebound after a dismal opener in Baltimore to get everyone off his back. Mayfield, too.
He wouldn’t concede that the offensive outburst, which helped to even the record at 1-1, was a big morale boost.
“We do not ride the wave,” he said. “We just show up and play, and we try and learn from our mistakes and be one game better each week. The guys understand that.”
Mayfield saw it differently, however.
“I think that is going to build confidence for us,” he said. “And us playing complementary football with the defense, that is the scary part. If we start clicking and keep getting better, it is going to be a fun ride.”
Garrett said, “We were determined to get back on track. We don’t want that to be our legacy, that first game, and we don’t want that to be the story told about the 2020 Cleveland Browns. We had to make a stand very fast, and tonight was the night to do it.”