An ugly win is better than a pretty loss

By STEVE KING

First W in front of our fans!#HOUvsCLE pic.twitter.com/xmmGay9WyI

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 19, 2021

If you watch these NFL games year in and year out, then you know that there are very few pretty ones — and almost none that are nearly perfect.

They are close, tough, street brawls that go right down to the wire because the teams are so evenly matched from top to bottom.

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We hold up as evidence the Browns’ 31-21 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium in their home opener.

The Browns actually played a little better offensively, at least statistically, in their 33-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. And the loss to the Chiefs was, from a pure excitement factor, more appealing overall. Defensively, the Browns didn’t do much in either game.

But none of that matters, really. All anybody asksou is, “Did you win or lose?”

And the Browns won to even their record at 1-1, much to the delight of a full house of fans whose noise kept the team going throughout, even when things weren’t going well, such as when Cleveland trailed 14-7 in the second quarter and had just lost quarterback Baker Mayfield to a left shoulder injury.

But tough-guy Mayfield came right back without missing a play to run for a touchdown to tie the game and then performed almost flawlessly afterward. And when the Texans hung in there until the very end, the Browns just hung in themselves even more. They ran the ball with Nick Chubb, who was outstanding, and Kareem Hunt, who was pretty good, too, got a nice spark from rookie running back/wide receiver Demetric Felton and made plays — on both sides of the ball — when they had to, even without left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle) and wide receiver Jarvis Landry (knee), both of whom exited erly with injuries.

It wasn’t always or even often pretty — again, if you want finesse, gliding and sashaying, then go watch a fashion show — but it was winning.

Once more, that’s all that counts.

Now, from a broader perspective, the defense concerns me and borderline worries me and perhaps even scares me. Is defensive coordinator Joe Woods the right man for the job? Is he overmatched? It might be too early to make a move, but, at least from some corners, he was already on the hot seat a little bit coming into the year, and the defense has, as mentioned, struggled over two games. If things don’t improve, and soon, then it come down to Woods getting the Kerry Coombs treatment. Coombs is the second-year Ohio State defensive coordinator who was stripped of his play-calling duties last week after the Buckeyes struggled in 2020 and in their first two games this season.

There is very short leash on coordinators in both the NFL and college, and they know it. So, then, stay tuned.

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