Browns draw inspiration from Nick Chubb and rebound with a resounding win
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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.
So if you could script a Browns rebound winning performance after that Monday nightmare in Pittsburgh, would you want the defense to continue its tour de force or see Deshaun Watson have a breakout game?
How about both?
Would you want Jerome Ford to score a touchdown in his first NFL start in place of injured Nick Chubb or for Kareem Hunt to look like mid-season form?
How about two touchdowns for Ford? And Hunt blasting through tackle attempts for a key first down on a screen pass?
Would you want Dustin Hopkins to belt a long field goal in his new workplace to gain confidence in this graveyard for kickers?
How about two long field goals?
It’s amazing how the mood of football-mad Cleveland can take a 180 turn in six days -- from utter despair to total jubilation. All it took was a 27-3 annihilation of the offensive line-challenged Tennessee Titans.
And when you throw in the division-leading Ravens losing in Baltimore on a field goal in overtime – setting up Sunday’s contest for first place at the quarter-pole of the long season – there just haven’t been many days in Cleveland Browns Stadium like Sunday.
It’s not a stretch to credit the victory to Chubb’s inspiration. The fallen running back appeared in the facility all week, on crutches, waiting for the surgery on his left knee that will determine the extent of his rehabilitation process, and demanding his teammates win a game for him.
Myles Garrett earned a game ball from coach Kevin Stefanski for leading another defensive gem with 3.5 sacks. (Cleveland Browns)
“The look in their eyes on Tuesday told me they were going to bounce back,” said coach Kevin Stefanski. “Nick not being here with us in that locker room, that hurts. But he’s with us every time we’re out there on the field. The spirit of what he brings to this team is with us.”
Watson, who had his finest game in nine with the Browns, said, “He just looked me dead in my eyes and [said], ‘I need it. Go get it.’ And it was no smile, no joking. It was a serious face because you can tell the depression. You can tell the sadness.
“He’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s going to come back stronger. At the same time, he knows that it’s in me, it’s in us. And as the leader of the team and the leader of the offense, I got to take charge of that. I got to fill some of those holes and voids with his position it comes with.”
Playing against a foe more familiar to him than his new division rivals certainly perked up Watson.
Stefanski and his coaches wrote a game plan to get Watson in rhythm with some easy completions. As his confidence grew, Watson was able to compose himself and complete the kind of throws he used to make against the Titans routinely while with the Houston Texans. This game was so in hand that Stefanski removed Watson with 4:49 to play.
Watson survived a hit to his throat on a roughing call on Tennessee pass rusher Arden Key and finished with vintage 2020 numbers – 27 of 33 passing for 289 yards, touchdown passes to Ford and Amari Cooper, no turnovers, and a passer rating of 123.4.
“I think the biggest thing for me personally was just I control my emotions,” Watson said. “I just let everything just come to me. Don’t try to press the issue. Just control my emotions, my energy, and really just channel that. Don’t get caught up in all the extra stuff and just go out there, have fun and execute.”
Any quarterback would be blessed to have a defense carry him like the one Jim Schwartz has created. It held the Titans to one of their worst offensive games since they were the Houston Oilers – 6 first downs, 2 of 12 on third downs, 94 total yards, and 20 yards rushing by one-time NFL rush champion Derrick Henry.
For the record, the Titans became the first opponent this season to take a snap inside the Browns’ 20. That happened after cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting stripped Elijah Moore after a catch and recovered the ball at the Browns’ 17. In succession, Myles Garrett then stoned Henry for a 3-yard loss, Garrett blind-sided Ryan Tannehill with a strip-sack (Henry recovered), and Denzel Ward submarined tight end Chig Okonkwo for a 2-yard loss after a catch.
Nick Folk’s 44-yard field goal was all she wrote for the Titans.
The defense thwarted Tennessee’s only other scoring chance in the last minute of the first half when linebacker Anthony Walker knocked down a pass for DeAndre Hopkins inside the 5, safety Juan Thornhill tackled back Tyjae Spears for no gain, and Garrett blasted through two blockers to sack Tannehill at the 20 with the Titans out of timeouts and the clock hitting zeroes.
The Browns have outscored Cincinnati and Tennessee, 51-6, in their two victories at home.
“It feels great,” said Garrett, who led the defensive charge with 3.5 sacks and five total hits on Tannehill. “The crowd was so involved and into the game, so passionate, so excited. And you want to feed into that. Whether that’s getting your guys open, taking a pick for them, taking the double team or making a play yourself. You just want somebody to keep feeding that crowd and keep them rocking and rolling.”
In the end, everybody was affected by the injury to Chubb in Pittsburgh, particularly his replacement, Ford, who scored on a 19-yard pass and a 3-yard run.
The soft-spoken Ford said it felt odd not standing next to Chubb on the sideline during the playing of the National Anthem.
“You see him standing right next to you and know that Nick is ready to go,” Ford said. “So not having him here is hard. Nick is the guy. Everybody felt the sense of urgency to play for him.”
Mission accomplished.
On to Baltimore.
