Deshaun Watson silenced the boo birds by overcoming a bad play early in Titans game
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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 27-3 win over Tennessee Titans …
1. There was a critical point in the game for Deshaun Watson. Tennessee had tied it, 3-3, early in the second quarter. Six plays into the next offensive possession, Watson made a bad mistake trying to save a sack with a throwback lateral to Elijah Moore. Moore covered up the loose ball for a 16-yard loss. The crowd booed. With the Pittsburgh fiasco still in their minds, fans were getting restless with Watson. On the next play, Watson was decked after a throw for Amari Cooper with a forearm to the neck by pass rusher Arden Key. There were multiple flags, one for roughing and one for interference downfield. Watson slowly walked to the sideline and Dorian Thompson-Robinson walked on the field, expecting to relieve an injured Watson. There were audible cheers at the sight of DTR replacing Watson. By the time officials untangled the penalties, Watson returned to the field. Then he was smashed throwing the ball away. What happened next saved the day for Watson. He won back support with a good completion from the pocket to Moore and then, one play later, tossed the touchdown to Jerome Ford from 19 yards out. A turnover there, or failure to capitalize on good field position, could have made for an ugly afternoon for Watson. Instead, all was forgiven and he went on to enjoy his finest game with the Browns.
2. Watson has played only nine games for the Browns, so there are still things that fans need to see to fully embrace him. Such as, a clutch drive to win a game in the fourth quarter, and a signature victory against a division rival. Those opportunities may present themselves later. But for now, no individual player faced more pressure to rebound from the Pittsburgh game than Watson. He played through a tough stretch early in the game, overcame the adversity of an ill-advised play, and did what he absolutely needed to do. I don’t know if it’s a turning-point game for him, but it’s a start. Beating Baltimore on Sunday might be that turning point.Deshaun Watson won over the fans at a critical moment and went on to earn a game ball from his coach. (Cleveland Browns)
3. In his first game in place of the fallen Nick Chubb, Ford wasn’t electric as a runner (18 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries). But one of the reasons the Browns drafted Ford was because of his receiving ability out of the backfield. And that includes his route-running ability. The TD catch Ford made wasn’t hard; he was wide open. But the reason he was wide open was because of the great route he ran, a slant-and-go that caused linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair to bite hard on the slant look. Incidentally, the usage of the backs in the first game without Chubb serves as template for what lies ahead. Now, the lopsided score in the fourth quarter enabled some of this, but Ford played 40 of 71 offensive snaps (56 percent), Kareem Hunt played 14 (20 percent) and Pierre Strong played eight (11 percent).
4. One thing we’re sure to see in Chubb’s absence is more empty formation. CBS sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala disclosed on the TV broadcast that Watson has lobbied for more empty. What is the benefit of having the quarterback alone in the backfield with no back? “Well … obviously, when you're in empty, you know you're passing,” Stefanski said. “But trying to find completions, [empty] clears the vision up a lot for the quarterback. Clears up who's maybe blitzing. It's easier to see when you spread it out, because the nickel [back], for instance, can't disguise as much when you're maybe in a tighter formation with backs in the backfield.” While Stefanski claimed “empty is a big part of what we do,” it’s a much easier concession to go empty with Chubb unavailable. You don’t want to waste many downs with your franchise back not positioned in the backfield.
5. Save the superlatives for the Browns’ defense because there figures to be a lot more to come. The Browns’ defensive statistics are exciting, to be sure. Through three games, Jim Schwartz’s defense has allowed one touchdown (in Pittsburgh) and in Monday’s official league statistic report it ranked No. 1 in total yards, rushing yards, passing yards, first downs allowed, third-down efficiency and points allowed. Their nine sacks rank 10th in the league. What’s left? Well, turnovers. It’s almost flukish to note the Browns have only two defensive turnovers in three games. Only Denver (one) has fewer. We know turnovers come in bunches and sometimes a defense that leads the league in turnovers isn’t always the league’s best defense. More indicative of the Browns’ dominance has been their performance on third downs. They have held Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Tennessee to 8-of-41 third-down conversions – an amazing 19.5 percent. To put these numbers in perspective, the NFL record for defensive third-down efficiency is 24.1 percent (47 of 195) by the 2019 Patriots. New England’s 47 third-down conversions is also an all-time low. But that was over 16 games. The Browns are on pace for allowing 45 third-down conversions over 17 games. If you pro-rated their third-down conversions over 16 games, it would be 43.
6. In the euphoria of the post-game locker room celebration, Stefanski told the team he was awarding Chubb a game ball. On Monday, Stefanski confirmed that he indeed drove to Chubb’s residence and hand-delivered him a game ball following the game. The coach, however, declined to give any details about how Chubb accepted the gesture. “Listen, Nick’s a special person to this group, but I’ll keep that one between me and him,” he said.
7. The razzle-dazzle flea-flicker Stefanski called on the first series ultimately gained 14 yards on a Watson completion to Elijah Moore. But it should have gone for so much more. “That’s about the reaction I had, when I [re-] watched,” Stefanski conceded. It was a slow developing play that had Moore come from the left side and take an inside handoff from Watson. Running to the right, Moore flipped the ball to Donovan Peoples-Jones who was moving left, and DPJ flipped it back to Watson. By that time, the entire Browns offensive line had positioned themselves near the right sideline at the 50-yard line. I mean, they were five across in formation waiting for Moore to receive the ball and only two Tennessee defenders where in front of them – linebacker Jack Gibbens and nickel back Roger McCreary. McCreary did a remarkable job to knife between Wyatt Teller and Ethan Pocic and trip up Moore after a 14-yard gain. “The kid made a good play,” Stefanski said. “We had blockers out in front, but all you’re trying to do is get our guys the ball in space. Various ways to do that, but, yeah, it did look like that one could have been bigger.”