Safety John Johnson had a key fourth-down stop, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and the recovery as the Browns' defense led the way in a 13-3 win over the Ravens. (Cleveland Browns)
Second thoughts: Browns defense continues mastery over division rivals
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Second thoughts on Browns’ 13-3 victory over Baltimore Ravens …
1. When the Browns evaluate the performance of defensive coordinator Joe Woods after the season, they shouldn’t lose sight of his record against AFC North division opponents. Those are the most important games on the schedule and in the last two seasons, Woods’ defense has saved its best games for Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. With one game left this year in Pittsburgh, the Browns have a chance to go 4-2 in division games for the first time in their expansion era. They were 3-3 last year. In those 11 games the last two seasons, the Browns have allowed point totals of 15, 16, 16, 22, 26, 16, 17, 23, 13, 23 and 3. They have outscored their rivals by an average score of 20.4 to 17.2. On average, Woods’ defense has surrendered 328 total yards (205 passing and 123 rushing), sacked quarterbacks three times and produced 1.5 turnovers. The 13-3 win on Saturday marked only the Browns’ sixth double-digit victory over Baltimore in 48 all-time meetings. It was the second time they limited the Ravens to just 3 points.
2. It seems that the Browns’ best two players on defense – Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward – show up big in division games. That was the case again on Saturday. Ward’s interception of Tyler Huntley on Baltimore’s first possession of the second half was the play of the game. He reached in front of Desean Jackson and stole the ball at the Browns’ 9 with the Browns ahead, 6-3. Huntley said after the game, “21 just made a great play.” The Browns’ offense then marched 91 yards for the only touchdown of the game. Ward bemoaned dropping a second interception with 3:06 to play. “That was terrible,” he said. Actually, no. It was better that he dropped it because it was on fourth down and turned the ball over to the offense at the Ravens’ 33 instead of 20 yards downfield where Ward missed the interception. Garrett had 1.5 sacks of Huntley on successive plays in the fourth quarter, leading to a turnover on downs. In the five division games so far this year, Garrett has six sacks, five additional quarterback hits, and three pass breakups, one of which led to an interception.
3. Cade York was 2 of 4 in field goals but felt no consolation that the great Justin Tucker was 1 of 3 on the treacherous FirstEnergy Stadium field. Tucker was so upset with himself that he apologized to his teammates. “I missed two, and they happened to be back-to-back in a tough environment with tough conditions,” Tucker said. His misses should serve to put York’s troubles on his home field in perspective. York is now 22 of 30 on the season. He is 9 of 15 at home, with four of the six misses coming at the “easier” closed end. Tucker also missed one in that direction. “I do think there is an element to that for sure,” coach Kevin Stefanski said of the challenge of kicking in FES. “Our stadium being on the lake, you are going to deal with the elements and you are going to deal with the cold. You are going to deal with the cold this week as you look at the forecast. Certainly, the wind picks up. I don’t think the wind was real big factor yesterday. That is part of the elements that really both teams have to deal with. I think there is not an advantage or disadvantage in that since both teams have to deal with that.” If and when York conquers the elements, however, he will have an advantage over opponents. Phil Dawson was only 3 of 5 at home in his rookie year. He improved to 7 of 7 in his second season.
4. The improvement in Deshaun Watson’s third game was evident in better throws, two keeper runs for first downs and in him taking more command of his teammates. Watson was upset with Michael Woods when the receiver gave up on a route near the end zone when Watson was scrambling. “I just told him the play is never over,” Watson said. “I have made plays out in space, and everyone just has to work with me. Regardless if guys are coming up, the play is never over. That was an opportunity for him to be able to continue to go. I know you all have seen the play with Pat Mahomes last week. I felt like I could do the same. No-lookers and all that stuff, it just kind of comes natural. I am going to always try to extend the play for the best for the team. That was an opportunity. That is something that he is going to grow as a young receiver and working with me for the last couple of weeks. We are going to continue to grow from there, and hopefully, we can make some big plays outside the pocket.”
5. Any concerns of Browns veterans “checking out” with playoff hopes all but extinguished should be relieved by the play of safety John Johnson on Saturday. Johnson started his big night by making the first hit on 305-pound fullback Patrick Ricard on Baltimore’s fourth-and-1 failure at the Browns’ 7. In the third quarter, Johnson knocked the ball out of Demarcus Robinson’s hands after a catch and then recovered the loose ball. Before leaving with a thigh injury, Johnson co-led the Browns with nine tackles, and also jarred the ball loose on a pass to tight end Mark Andrews. By the way, Andrews, a one-time nemesis of the Browns, was held to three catches for 31 yards on seven targets. In the first meeting in Baltimore, Andrews had no catches for only the second time in his career.
