Top Takeaways From Cleveland’s Wild Win Over The Colts
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
If I were to tell NFL fans coming into this week’s games that we’d get a matchup of Gardner Minshew vs P.J. Walker, 90% of them would groan and elect not to watch. If I were to add that Minshew would be facing a defense that has allowed 15.4 points per game and that the P.J Walker-led Browns have scored just 19.0 points per game, those same fans would race to bet the under on total points scored. Yet those fans would have lost their money and missed one of the season’s most entertaining games. In a game that saw seven lead changes, six turnovers, 77 points, and a game-winning drive, the Cleveland Browns outlasted the Indianapolis Colts, 39-38, and advanced to 4-2 on the season.
Here are the top takeaways from the Cleveland’s victory over the Indianapolis.
Myles Garrett is the DPOY Front Runner
If you haven’t already heard, Myles Garrett is pretty good. Coming into week 6 Garrett was building himself a respectable case for DPOY with 9 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble on the season all while spearheading the best defense in the league.
After week 6 he has cemented himself as the front runner.
Against the Colts. Garrett got home for 2 strip sacks, one resulting in a defensive recovery for a touchdown. For any normal defensive player that could be the highlight of a year. For Garret it wasn’t even the best moment of the day. At 10:09 of the 2nd Quarter, the Colts lined up for a field goal that would put them up 17-14. After the ball was snapped, Garrett leapt over the offensive line to block the field goal, flipping the field and keeping the Colts from taking the lead. After all was said and done, the forced fumbles and blocked FG resulted in 17 points for the Browns. And oh yeah, he was also in on 9 tackles, 7 of them solo.
MYLES GARRETT LEAPS THE LINE FOR THE BLOCKED FG !!! pic.twitter.com/HYRhd0DkJY
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) October 22, 2023
Ugly Is Okay
A win is a win in the NFL, but this one was ugly. It’s hard to point at exactly what went wrong for the Browns on Sunday. You could blame the defense’s inability to stop the Colts’ sustained drives but you’d be pointing the finger at a group that produced 4 turnovers resulting in 17 points. You could blame the inconsistency and stagnation of the offense but you’d be attacking a unit that scored on 8/13 possessions.
The truth is any good football team in the history of the NFL has won games that they’re not overly proud of. It’s the nature of the league. The true separator is the groups that win those games as opposed to losing them. Although there is a lot to learn from in this one, fans should be very happy with an ugly win in a big letdown following the NFL’s biggest upset of the year last week.
The Browns Need to Figure Out The QB… Fast
Deshaun Watson’s return after missing two weeks didn’t last long. With 3:03 left in the 1st quarter, Watson hit his head hard on the turf after throwing an interception. Watson was taken into the blue tent where he was evaluated for a concussion and cleared concussion protocol.
But Watson was never put back into the game. Afterwards Kevin Stefanksi said his reasoning was wanting to “protect our franchise quarterback.” This might be the case, but Watson’s play before the injury, and thus far this season didn’t give Stefanski any more reason to put the “franchise quarterback” back out on the field.
Stefanksi has already announced Watson as the week 8 starter but there are still questions to be asked. Watson has been flat-out bad this season, throwing interceptions directly to defenders, missing wide-open receivers, and being very antsy in the pocket. His uncomfortability can’t be a byproduct of the team around him, as by all accounts he is in a near-perfect situation.
Fortunately, P.J. Walker has proven he can win. Walker wasn’t stellar in the 49ers game or the Colts game, but he won and he found ways to convert. Against the Coplts he showed he was capable of taking the team down the field in sync with Stefanski. It’s highly unlikely that the Browns would be willing to take the ball out of the hands of the guy they gave $230 million guaranteed dollars to, but he’ll need to step it up before winning becomes more important than the sunk cost that comes with him.
“Run the Damn Ball”
The run game continues to gash opposing defenses even without superstar RB Nick Chubb. The committee in the backfield combined for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns with an average of 4.5 yards per carry headlined by Jerome Ford’s 69-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive.
But despite the numbers success the running game could’ve played a larger role in controlling the situation.
When the Browns have been successful in years past it has started with the ground game and then worked through play action. There is no reason that P.J. Walker should come out and have 32 and 34 pass attempts in 2 games no matter the game script. Yes they got two wins at that rate, but that is not something you can, nor should, count on. The Browns need to establish the run and not forget it when things get dicey, especially if the quarterback is gonna be as big of a question mark as it has been so far this season.
The Browns currently sit at 4-2 and tied for 2nd place in the AFC North. They travel to Seattle on a 2 game-win streak looking to extend it against a team coming off a win themselves. Beyond that, their schedule looks favorable but feisty. If the Browns want to get back to the playoffs and make a run at something bigger they need to find their way at QB and let that QB work off of the elite run game.
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