Brownies and Frownies: Browns shock the Ravens, lots of winners this week in Cleveland

Jameis Winston, Cedric Tillman and a tough defense lead the way for the Browns

The Baltimore Ravens rolled into town with a mighty offense highlighted by a tough running game. Both QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry are being discussed as league MVP and it’s not even at the halfway portion of the schedule. This Ravens rushing attack leads the league in almost every rushing category including most yards.

This Cleveland Browns defense is not the same as last year despite having almost the same cast members. DC Jim Schwartz definitely stayed up late at night attempting to come up with something, anything, to slow down Baltimore’s run game. Good luck with that.

Before this contest, the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers were tied for the AFC North Division lead with identical 5-2-0 records. The Browns were stinking up the joint with a horrible 1-6-0 record aided by a mess of an offense.

With QB Deshaun Watson lost for the season, Jameis Winston got the start with Dorian Thompson-Robinson waiting in the wings. In the end, the Browns pulled off the upset to defeat the Ravens 29-24.

So who played well for the Browns? Who didn’t?

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

---

BROWNIES

Jim Donovan – Thanks for the memories. This one’s for you!

DC Jim Schwartz – Before this game, Baltimore led in almost every rushing category. RB Derrick Henry was Number 1 in every single rushing category but one. He was averaging 124.7 yards rushing per game. Last season, the Browns smoked the Tennessee Titans when Henry was a member of their ballclub and gained just 20 yards on 11 carries under Schwartz. The Browns DC found that gameplan used some Whiteout to cover the word “Titans” and inserted “Ravens” for this week’s defensive strategy of how to deal with the “Alabama Nightmare” to which the defense corralled the league’s best runner to the tune of 73 yards. But get this: 39 were on one play. 34 yards rushing for four quarters is an amazing feat. Thank goodness Coach Schwartz had some Whiteout.

WR Elijah Moore – Who is this guy? Is he new? If not, then why was he thrown the ball a team-high 12 times for 85 yards? Moore made several great plays that became key first downs and was QB Jameis Winston’s fav target for most of the game and it showed early on. He caught a first down pass with 6:19 left in the first quarter that converted a third-and-five. With nine minutes left until the half, Moore snagged a pass that CB Brandon Stephens just missed and gained 19 yards to Baltimore’s 48. This drive got three points. Moore did have a drop that bounced off WR Jerry Jeudy right before the half. Early in the third quarter, Winston found Moore who had beaten LB Roquan Smith on a third-and-four for a 17-yard pickup. The end of this drive was the David Njoku touchdown grab. No catch in the game was probably more important than Moore’s 15-yard reception with 7:18 left in the game that kept possession and ended up with three more points. Eight catches for 85 yards.

Play calling – The short passing game has returned. DC Ken Dorsey did not rely as much on the run game and instead put the Ravens defense on their heels with the short out patterns. The reason? Baltimore was the Number 1 ranked defense against the run so Dorsey didn’t force it despite having RB Nick Chubb healthy. The short passing game worked. And something we thought probably wasn’t legal anymore because the Browns rarely used it: the long pass. Winston had several heaves for long yardage or simply fell incomplete, but one thing the bombs did was keep Baltimore’s defensive secondary on notice that this QB can – and will – throw deep. Using TE David Njoku was another aspect that Dorsey implemented that worked. Winston can run, but with Dorsey, he was not asked to roll out and take off with planned runs. Another part of this Dorsey-led offense was the ability to throw to multiple receivers all game long. Where did this come from? We like it and think it should become part of the gameplan from this point on. And Dorsey didn’t call for any three-yard passes when the offense was faced with a third-and-six. His receivers ran 6-7 yards routes and weren’t forced to try to get the additional yardage on their own and instead tackled short of the sticks. 401 yards of total offense. Nice game coach.

Third down efficiency & first downs – Under Kevin Stefanski’s play calling, the Browns were the worst team in the league in converting third downs. Under Dorsey today, Cleveland went 2-5 in the first half and 8-15 for the game. We are pretty sure this isn’t a misprint. The Browns had 22 first downs. No, really. 16 were from the passing game.

WR Cedric Tillman – All it takes is for a quarterback to realize that you can catch the ball and suddenly the youngster was making not only first downs but caught two touchdown catches including the game-winner. No longer playing in Amari Cooper’s shadow, Tillman may have shown that he is ready for the WR2 position on the outside. He had nine targets of which he caught seven for a team-high 99 yards with a 14.1 yards per catch average. But his ability to get separation is what showed against Baltimore. With 5:24 left in the first half on a third-and-nine, Till went 10 yards on his route which got the first down instead of being short. Keeping the sticks moving provided three points on this drive. Another third down in the third quarter ended up a 22-yard score as the period was winding down as Tillman beat CB Jalyn Armour-Davis easily to give the Browns their first lead at 20-17. On that play, Tillman caught the ball at the 14, then juked a defender before rumbling into the end zone with two players hanging all over him.

His second touchdown catch with 59 ticks left in the game began in the slot. Tillman made a shimmy move that fooled FS Eddie Jackson to give Tillman four steps of separation and the lead for good.

LB Mohamoud Diabate – This kid was everywhere today. Early in the second quarter, he batted down a pass that would have been a first down. On a third-and-five, Henry was given the ball to which Diabate stuffed him for no gain with 8:40 left in the third stanza. He did have the face mask call late this quarter after stopping WR Zay Flowers for no gain which gave Baltimore even better field position. But on the very next play, he forced QB Lamar Jackson to switch directions into the waiting arms of DE Za’Darius Smith for the sack. Tackled Jackson in the open field in the fourth quarter after a nine-yard gain that could have been daylight. Led all tacklers with nine with one batted pass and one tackle for loss.

K Dustin Hopkins – Unlike what is supposed to be the league’s best kicker on the other side of the field, Hopkins converted all of his field goal attempts: 28 yards, 33 yards, and 48 yards. Plus, he made 2-2 on PATs and his kickoffs were in the plus-7 range which forced the Ravens to run it out with six kickoff returns for an average starting point at the 22-yard line.

QB Jameis Winston – A really good game that was much more than expected against a really good defense. Winston remained cool in the pocket and his offensive line kept him upright for most of the contest giving him time to survey the field. He doesn’t use his flame thrower on shorter passes making them easier to cradle, but he can really heave it long with a tight spiral. Used eight different receivers and was sacked just twice, one of which was after he had plenty of time to throw and just ran into the defender. Threw an absolute dart to Njoku on the touchdown that actually grazed the defender. Where has this guy been all season? Hey, a Browns passer with over 300 yards? 27 completions on 41 attempts for 334 yards, three TD passes with zero picks, and a 115.3 QB rating.

DE Ogbo Okoronkwo – Despite limited playing time, Ogbo was constantly in the offensive backfield. He had a sack early in the game when he just leaned on the outside shoulder of OT Ronnie Stanley, slid off and laid Jackson out. Tackled Henry for a loss in the third quarter. Held his contain all game when runners attempted to bounce outside. Five tackles, one QB hit, one sack, and one tackle for loss.

---

FROWNIES

OT Dawand Jones – Had issues on passing downs with keeping the edge clean as he was slow sealing the outside corner. With 1:08 left in the second quarter, S Kyle Hamilton lined up right next to DE Tavius Washington from the get-go. Instead of stepping out, Jones blocked down on Washington who had also been taken by LG Joel Bitonio. The result was Hamilton was completely free and slammed into Winston who fumbled on his own 25-yard line. It took Baltimore two plays to score a touchdown. Washington had several tackles against the run plus three QB hits, a half-sack and one tackle for loss against Jones.

CB Greg Newsome – At no time should Newsome be required to cover a tight end, yet that was the case in the third quarter when he was matched up against Mark Andrews, who is an exceptional tight end. On the seven-yard line, although Jackson did was spot Andrews who outmuscled Newsome easily for the touchdown catch. Newsome was called for a pass inference call earlier in the same period when he slammed his body into Andrews clearly before the ball arrived without any play on the ball. With 2:49 left in the game, Newsome allowed Flowers to get wide open who caught the pass and gained 23 yards to Cleveland’s two-yard line. The next play the Ravens went ahead 24-23. His total stats included two tackles.

Return game – The Browns just don’t have anyone who can bust any kick at any time. While using Jaelon Darden at punt returns, he fielded three kicks for an average of 12 yards per return. He has speed, but no moves and is not going to break any tackles. Ever. On kickoffs, RB Pierre Strong is a shifty runner and had three kickoffs for 59 yards with a long of 23 yards and a 19.7 yards per return average. The only good part of the return game is no reports of fumbles.

---

Milk Bones – Pumpkins are stupid. You would be too if you had all your brains scooped out.

DE Za’Darius Smith – Was very quiet in the first half, then exploded in the final two quarters. His sack in the fourth quarter was a matter of LB Diabate forcing Jackson to move in the opposite direction to which ZDS went inside his man for the takedown on a third-and-14. With 14 seconds left in the game, his pressure on Jackson forced an overthrow that sent a third-and-10 into a desperation fourth-and-10. Four tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one QB hit.

TE David Njoku – Had several good catches and a very good blocking game. He beat S Eddie Jackson and kept his focus on the ball despite it grazing off Jackson’s mid-section for the touchdown that made the home crowd erupt. Caught five of seven targets for 61 yards.

OT Jack Conklin – When Conklin is healthy, there may be no one better on the field. His man DE Nnamdi Madubuike had just two tackles and very little pressure all game. Conklin’s pass blocking was solid with a quiet game for four quarters.

Ravens S Kyle Hamilton – Not misplaced. With 1:08 left in the game, Winston’s pass to Moore went deeper than expected. In fact, the ball sailed into the hands of Hamilton for the sure pick with Baltimore holding a 24-23 advantage. Only Hamilton dropped it. He lay prone on the ground for several moments in disbelief as the entire stadium let out a unified “Whew!” knowing that a bullet had been majorly dodged. On the very next play, Winston found Tillman for the game-winning touchdown. Whew!

Kickoff coverage – While the Browns kickoff return game is anemic, the coverage teams are excellent: Winston Reid, Rodney McLeod, Grant Delpit, Mike Ford, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Tony Brown, and Michael Hall were all actively involved in most kicks.