The Browns Continue To Progress Through Ridiculous Adversity
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
This week it was Dorian Thompson-Robinson‘s turn to lead the Cleveland Browns on a game-winning drive. With under two minutes left in the game, the backup helped secure a gritty win against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. DTR had moments of good and bad in his second NFL start, but the end result helped overshadow some of the bad.
It was a defensive battle to be sure, as both teams struggled to move the ball, but the leg of Dustin Hopkins sealed another victory after DTR put together a 48-yard drive to set up the 34-yard chip-shot field goal.
The team now sits at 7-3 and despite the ridiculous adversity they are showing signs of potential in a season that would likely be dead for any other team that experienced the same difficulties.
DTR Progresses
The biggest positive was DTR’s growth. Yes, he still made a few bad decisions, but it was not even close to the confusion we saw from him in his debut start against the Baltimore Ravens.
DTR was forced to sling it 43 times because the Steelers were so stout against the run, but many of his passes were behind the line of scrimmage. Even with 24 completions, he only ended the day with 165 yards.
I was hoping to see a bit more from the rookie after how much we heard from the coaching staff about his improvement, but Kevin Stefanski was clearly doing just enough to win the game, which is probably a very solid strategy.
I’m nowhere near saying that DTR is ready to take QB1 snaps from Deshaun Watson or that the Watson trade was a mistake, but after one week I still think that he can lead this team to the playoffs. Between the strength of the defense and the Browns’ ability to run the ball, they still should have a shot to beat anyone they play.
The Defense Remains Elite
The Browns’ defense is unambiguously impressive — no caveats necessary. If you take away one big run, the Steelers would have had less than 200 yards of total offense and were grasping for straws all day.
The run defense was soft at times, but the coverage was suffocating, and Myles Garrett continues to be a one-man wrecking crew as he registered another two sacks.
This defense will continue to shoulder the load for the remainder of the season as the offense will remain at best somewhat limited with a rookie under center. But if they can keep a lid on big plays, force turnovers, and get off the field at the same rate they have the rest of the season, they can put their mid-round rookie backup QB in a position to succeed.
If you’ve been a Browns fan for longer than a day, you know that it feels like things never quite seem to go Cleveland’s way. And even though they have strung together a batch of wins that required fourth-quarter comebacks, there are still a few major areas of concern beyond an injured QB1.
Injuries
You could reasonably add offensive line play to the list of positives for the Browns this week, but unfortunately injuries still have me extremely concerned.
The Browns have already lost Jack Conklin for the season, and Jedrick Wills has been on injured reserve for two weeks, which means he can’t return for at least another two games. Ethan Pocic has also missed some time at center as the team has constantly been shifting around starters.
The sixth-year tackle from Louisville, Geron Christian, who I don’t think anyone had heard of before last week, has filled in phenomenally. As a left tackle, your goal is for fans to not notice your play on the field, and has been beautifully invisible in the last two weeks.
Dawand Jones has also been fantastic. He was originally the third tackle, but he has also been nursing an injury for the last two weeks. Jones was banged up enough that he split reps with James Hudson last week, and it was extremely noticeable when Jones wasn’t on the field.
When Jones and Christian were on the field together, it felt like DTR had time and was able to move around the pocket. Hudson, who has played well in the past, really struggled with T.J. Watt. The potential Defensive Player Of the Year run around Hudson a couple of times and then plowed through when Hudson just couldn’t get his footing.
The Browns are in a good position moving forward with Christian and Jones, but there is zero depth beyond that. Hudson will likely be moving to guard over the next season if he wants his career to continue, and a guy like Michael Dunn is less than qualified to be an NFL tackle.
The injuries aren’t only hitting the offensive line now, as Anthony Walker and Rodney McLeod are also both banged up. Walker appears to be week to week, but McLeod was ruled out for the season.
That means we will see much more Ronnie Hickman and D’Anthony Bell, who are both young guys without much experience at safety. McLeod was already the third safety on the roster, but once again it just depletes any depth that you had.
Walker is greatly missed, as he is the green dot of the defense, but I feel confident with Tony Fields and Mohamoud Diabate stepping in. Walker is a better run defender, but both are extremely athletic and not afraid of contact. If Walker misses a few weeks, the big call will be on Sione Takitaki, who will likely take over the green dot and be needed heavily in run defense.
Even though the defense played extremely well in yesterday’s win, if there was one glaring weakness it was stopping the ground game. Jaylen Warren ran for 129 yards, including a 74-yard home run to open the third quarter.
Yes, a win is a win, and, no, I won’t say DTR’s performance blew me away. I also realized that this season is far from over. If the Browns can fight through all the injuries, they are in good shape to make the playoffs.
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