Receiver Amari Cooper was just one of eight Browns who posted career-years in 2022.
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A sampling of strange tidbits from the Browns’ 2022 season
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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.
Tidbits from the Browns’ 2022 season that might interest only me …
1. I’ve always felt scoring differential – points scored v. points allowed -- is a fairly good measure of a team’s strength. It’s an easy-to-understand statistic and over the course of a season, now 17 games, scoring differential is an indisputable figure that delves beyond a team’s won-loss record. In 2022, the Browns scored 361 points and gave up 381 for a differential of minus-20. This marked the 15th consecutive year the Browns had a negative scoring differential. In their expansion era, they scored more than they gave up only two times – in 2002 (plus-24) and 2007 (plus-20). Their best marks in my time was in 1987 (plus-151) and 1994 (plus-136).
2. You can reasonably argue that the following players enjoyed the best individual seasons of their careers – quarterback Jacoby Brissett, running back Nick Chubb, wide receiver Amari Cooper, wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, guard Joel Bitonio, tight end David Njoku, defensive end Myles Garrett and safety Grant Delpit. That’s eight, main-line, high-profile players out of 22 starters having personal-best years in the same season. And yet the Browns “team” went 7-10. Bottom line: All those team-building exercises implemented by coach Kevin Stefanski in the minicamp season didn’t seem to have an impact.
3. There aren’t many “first player in Browns history” accomplishments left. Denzel Ward, however, became the first player in Browns history to return two fumbles for touchdowns in a season. He did it in the first Pittsburgh game and the Houston game. Remember that in 2021 Ward had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. That wasn’t the longest in franchise history, however. Brodney Pool had one for 100 yards in 2007.
4. It seemed like Delpit was at the center of so many miscommunication breakdowns in the secondary in the middle of the season. Yet he wound up leading the Browns in interceptions (four) and tackles (101). Only three other players in the NFL had at least four interceptions and 100 tackles this year – Tennessee safety Kevin Byard, Houston safety Jalen Pitre and San Francisco safety Talanoa Hufanga.
5. Rookie kicker Cade York had a roller-coaster first year. His 58-yard game-winning field goal against Baker Mayfield’s Carolina Panthers in the season-opener probably saved jobs, and definitely raised expectations. York made 4 of 4 field goals and 2 of 2 extra points in his Browns debut. Alas, York would miss a PAT in a shocking, 31-30 loss to the New York Jets in Game 2, and also missed two field goals in a 30-28 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders. Ultimately, York missed 10 kicks. Two were PATs, and eight were field-goal attempts. Minnesota’s Greg Joseph led the NFL with 13 misses. Denver’s Brandon McManus matched York with 10 misses. Cincinnati's Evan McPherson and Kansas City's Harrison Butker each missed nine. York’s 107 points were a Browns rookie record.
