Browns winners, losers in Week 3 vs Packers – Cleveland shocks Green Bay late

The Cleveland Browns are currently in the worst portion of their schedule, having played the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, and now the NFC powerhouse Green Bay Packers. The next three games are also against very good teams until the schedule loosens up a bit. The Browns want to end their losing streak despite playing one of the best teams in the league. Several media outlets had Green Bay rated #2 in NFL power rankings.

There are several bright spots on this Cleveland team. The Browns are ranked #1 in pass attempts and #1 in pass completions. This is basically because they have almost no run game to speak of, so the offense is forced to air it out. Punter Corey Bojorquez is having another tremendous year and is ranked fourth with punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

And the defense is playing lights out with a #1 overall ranking through the first two weeks of play. They possess the #1 run defense and are #3 against the pass. And the defense played extremely well against the Packers as did special teams.

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Against the Packers, Cleveland’s offense was horrible for three quarters, but gained yardage at the end of the contest when it mattered as the Browns surprised one of the best teams in the league 13-10 as time expired.

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

BROWNIES

Special teams – For the first two games, the special teams had plenty of issues. Against the Packers, they came to play. The punt coverage team was spectacular with tacklers such as Rayshawn Jenkins, Carson Schwesinger, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Blake Whiteheart. Green Bay only had eight return yards on punts for the game.

The blocked 43-yard field goal was the most pivotal play of the game, as Green Bay essentially wins the game if that kick is made. Shelby Harris got a big paw up in the air, and the ball was struck a bit low. Then, not only did it hit Harris’ mitt, but it also had a huge ricochet that gave Cleveland additional yardage. Most folks thought Denzel Ward, coming off the right corner and diving attempt was who blocked the attempt. P Corey Bojorquez averaged 48.5 yards per kick, including rolling one to the two-yard line. K Andre Szymt nailed both of his field goal attempts, one being the 55-yard game-winner.

LB Carson Schwesinger – Better get used to this stat: Schwesinger was the Browns’ leading tackler with 10 total tackles. This young man makes up his mind instantly when he recognizes the running play. On a third-and-15 in the second quarter, Schwesinger nailed RB Josh Jacobs for a short three-yard gain before he could head up field. As the third quarter clicked off its last second, the Packers snapped the ball then QB Jordan Love rolled out to his right as Schwesinger gave chase. Love pump faked, but to no avail, as Schwesinger blasted him instead of taking the pass fake for the sack that ended the drive. Then, in Quarter 4, after Szmyt’s first field goal, it was Schwesinger who planted the kickoff returner as he dodged several tacklers.

Defense! Defense! Defense! – While the offense struggled for the majority of the game, the defense never wavered against a very good offense. Green Bay has a very good running game, yet had only four rushing first downs all game and just 81 yards gained on the ground on 31 rushing attempts. The Browns’ “D” secured five sacks and missed three others. And the Packers had the ball more than nine minutes longer than Cleveland’s offense. Grant Delpit’s interception with 3:18 remaining finally gave the Browns offense some decent field position, which then became their only touchdown. LB Devin Bush made a great play with the punch out of the ball right before the blocked field goal, which was ruled down by contact, but replays showed a different story. Six tackles for loss and seven QB hits are only part of the pressure the passing attack saw coming.

RB Quinshon Judkins – This kid looks good, but it took him forever to get going. He was able to convert the fourth-and-one early in the fourth quarter right off of RG Wyatt Teller’s butt. With 8:49 left in the game, he was able to gain 14 yards around left end, then the following play, he found a small opening between C Ethan Pocic and Teller and scooted 38 yards like it was nothing. Found another small gap on the touchdown run behind a crushing block by then-inserted fullback Maliek Collins. 18 carries for 94 yards with a 5.2 yards per carry average.

S Grant Delpit – Had a strong game in the tackling department and finished with nine total tackles. His interception at Green Bay’s own 29-yard line completely changed the narrative of the game.

Final offensive drive – The Browns took possession after the blocked field goal with 21 ticks left in the game on their own 47-yard line. A neutral zone infraction by Parsons placed it at Green Bay’s 48 with a first-and-five. QB Joe Flacco hit WR Jamari Thrash with a three-yard pass. Now, 17 seconds left. An incompletion to WR Jerry Jeudy, followed by one of the best plays of the day: TE David Njoku caught a pass over the middle for eight yards as the clock was winding down, and then immediately, the Browns went into “fire drill” mode, got set, then Flacco spiked the ball to stop the clock. Time left: three seconds. Then Szmyt drilled the 55-yard game-winner. Amazing, amazing, amazing offensive drive, hustle, with field and clock awareness by every offensive player on the field. And no quit.

FROWNIES

RT Cornelius Lucas – Backup tackle also had problems for the majority of the game, dealing with LDE Rashan Gary. His #52 jersey got a lot of TV time as he was in the backfield quite a bit and had two sacks, three QB hits, and three tackles, two of which were for a loss. Lucas had no answer for Gary and was called for holding penalty at the worst time on one of the few good offensive drives.

LT KT Leveston – We get it. KT had to contain Micah Parsons. He needed a bear trap or a taser, which he had neither and probably wouldn’t fit in his uniform. Parsons gave Packer fans a highlight reel at Leveston’s expense as KT came into the game early in the first quarter when Dawand Jones was injured with a knee issue. Not taking first team reps all week, then thrown in against a beast. None of us wants that job either. But as the game rolled along in the second half, KT settled in a bit. Parsons did not register a single sack, although he came close many, many times.

Offense – First drives of the game: punt, punt, punt, interception thrown, halftime, punt, punt, punt, then 9:26 left in the game began a 12-play drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal. In the first half, the furthest the offense got was Green Bay’s 41-yard line. In the second half, Judkins’ 38-yard run placed the offense on Green Bay’s 28 with 8:50 left in the contest, which became the deepest penetration all game.

DE Isaiah McGuire – Had only one tackle, but his contain responsibilities in the game were horrible. He had too many snaps where he took the fake where the ball was going to the other side, and he went into the middle in order to trail, only to find out the ballcarrier was headed to his side. Jacobs galloped for seven yards and a first down with 5:24 left in the first quarter with nobody home. Facing a third-and-two with just over five minutes left in the half, Love faked a handoff going left, then ran for 10 yards into the wide open right flats for a key first down.

K Andre Szmyt – No, not the player. Us. All of us in the media were hell-bent on booting this kid to the curb after missing a PAT plus a field goal in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland losing by one point. The coaching staff said they were going to be patient. We were wrong. Our bad.

Milk Bones – Watching the Browns is all about day drinking

DE Myles Garrett and DE Cameron Thomas – Garrett was incredible in the first two quarters, then had a quiet second half. Thomas placed constant pressure on his defensive reps, especially on passing downs. Garrett combined with Adin Huntington to collapse the pocket and take the sack of Love in the second quarter. On that sack, Green Bay TE Luke Musgrave hit Garrett as LT Rasheed Walker was taking an outside stance, but Garrett shoved both men and found Love instead. The Packers had first-and-goal with just over four minutes left in the third quarter when Garrett plowed through and decked Jacobs for no gain. Later in the fourth stanza, Garrett was able to hit Jacobs behind the line for a loss.

LB Devin Bush – Bush is quietly having a very good season and made several good tackles. His punch-out should have counted, but showed his awareness during play. Finished with six tackles. With him, this linebacker group is finally starting to gel.

New unies, new helmet, helluva orientation – Seems like every NFL club wants a black uniform, and the Browns did not give in, but instead offered up the darkest unies they could. And what an audition! The “Alpha Dawg” look is 1-0.

Realization – If the Browns could have beaten the Bengals like they should have, this team would be 2-1-0 against three good clubs. Just sayin…..