Deshaun Watson had a much better performance in Game 2, which included a 1-yard touchdown run in the first half. (Cleveland Browns)
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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.
JACKSONVILLE, FL
Instant takeaways from Browns’ 18-13 win over Jacksonville Jaguars …
1. How about that?: Kevin Stefanski did it again. The Browns’ coach pulled out all the stops, including several plays from his old offensive playbook, to overcome a horrible opening loss and prevent an 0-2 start. Relying on jumbo formations to possess the ball and take the pressure off Deshaun Watson, the Browns outlasted the Jacksonville Jaguars, 18-13, on a muggy afternoon in TrEverBank Stadium. It was excruciating through the end. The Browns took over possession with 7:32 to play and a 16-13 lead, but were forced to punt after four offensive penalties submarined them. A brilliant Corey Bojorquez punt bounced out of bounds at the Jacksonville 2-yard line with 1:44 to play, and Alex Wright buried Trevor Lawrence in the end zone for a safety. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson announced an onside kick and punter Logan Cooke’s high free kick was fielded with a fair catch by James Proche at the Jaguars’ 42. The Browns failed to run out the clock, however, and had to punt again and sweat out another Jacksonville possession with 1:27 to play. The game ended on a Lawrence Hail Mary into the Browns’ end zone from the 33-yard line.
2. Hanging on: The Jaguars wore down the Browns’ defense on an 83-yard drive in the fourth quarter, and the Browns contributed three defensive penalties. But Trevor Lawrence failed on three plays inside the 10 and the Jags had to kick a 25-yard field goal. The Browns were hanging on, 16-13.
3. DEE-fense: The Browns’ defense preserved a lead with two strong possessions in the third quarter. On the first, it forced a Jaguars’ punt in three plays, including a 2-yard run stop loss and a Jordan Hicks sack. On the second, Jacksonville moved to the Browns’ 14, but a Myles Garrett 8-yard sack forced a 43-yard field goal try by Cam Little. It banged off the right post. But Lawrence finally clicked with his flashy rookie receiver on the very next possession. He threw a beautiful ball to Brian Thomas, who outphysicaled Greg Newsome for the catch and a 66-yard gain. Travis Etienne’s 4-yard TD run two plays later decreased the Browns’ lead to 16-10 after three quarters.
4. Seen it before: Stefanski resorted to a variety of formations in the first half dusted off from his former playbook to build a 13-3 at halftime. It should have been more. His first play from scrimmage foretold what he was up to: Linemen Zak Zinter and Nick Harris reported in a jumbo package with D’Onta Foreman as the lone back. Foreman gained 8 yards. Stefanski used the jumbo package 3 times on a 16-play, 9 minute-14 second drive that ended in a Watson 1-yard TD on a quarterback draw.
5. There’s more: On the Browns’ second offensive possession, Jameis Winston came in to execute a QB sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Browns’ 41. That proved to be a big play for the following reason: The next time Winston came in on a similar down-and-distance, the Jaguars oversold the sneak and Winston handed off to Jerome Ford, who scooted through a vacated left side and scampered 36 yards to the Jaguars’ 27.
6. What’s up with Mr. Cooper?: The Browns had to settle for a field goal on their second drive when Amari Cooper dropped his second pass in two games. Cooper was all alone breaking free when Watson’s pass went through his hands at the Jaguars’ 15. Cooper had a similar miscue near the goal line v. Dallas.
7. Who knew?: Dustin Hopkins had a good first half, sort of. His first kickoff touched down just inside the landing zone and resulted in returner Devin Duvernay getting flummoxed and tackled at the 20. Later, Hopkins converted a field goal from 53 yards, making him 10 for 10 on 50+ kicks with the Browns. But then, a Hopkins penalty on the fine print of the new kickoff rule negated a Tank Bigsby fumble on a Winston Reid hit. Hopkins was penalized for crossing the 50-yard line before his kickoff was touched by Duvernay.
8. Nuts: Denzel Ward appeared to be on a pitch count in the first half. He sat out most first and second downs and would come in on third downs. Ward almost had an interception on Jacksonville’s second possession, but receiver Gabe Davis was able to knock the ball from his hands. Later, M.J. Emerson failed to hold on to a low interception. His own knee might have knocked it loose. Nevertheless, the defense was playing extremely well. After Lawrence just escaped a Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah lunge for a sack and ran for 33 yards to the Browns’ 2, the defense came up big with a 2-yard stuff and forced two Lawrence incompletions to settle for a chip-shot Cam Little field goal.
9. Big break: The Browns received a break to start the day when Jaguars tight end Evan Engram suffered a hamstring injury in pre-game warmups and was ruled out for the game. Evans killed the Browns last year for 11 receptions on 12 targets for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Browns were without safety Juan Thornhill in that game, as was the case this time. Engram had 114 catches for the Jags last year, second-most for a tight end in NFL history.
10. He used protection: Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah became the first Browns player to use the Guardian cap in a game. The rubberized addition to the top of the helmet is supposed to help reduce the incidence of concussions.
11. Pre-game notes: Another game, another inactive game day for offensive tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills. That made Germain Ifedi the only backup tackle. Other Browns inactives: quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, cornerback Kahlef Hailassie, guard Javion Cohen, receiver Jamari Thrash, and tight end David Njoku.