Facing a fork and the confident Texans

By STEVE KING

It didn’t take long for the Browns to hit the first of what could be a number of forks in the road that all NFL teams face in a season.

Try one game.

Yes, in Week 2, the Browns already find themselves squarely in that position as they take on the Houston Texans on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

So, then, can the Browns win — are they good enough from top to bottom on their roster to win — when they have the following working against them?

*They’re coming off the extremely disappointing –and draining — 33-29 opening-season loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday after they controlled much of the game but beat themselves with turnovers. Now they’re facing the eager-beaver Texans, who, after topping Urban Meyer’s Jacksonville Jaguars in the opener, are extremely confident, coming to town believing they’re much better than what they really are. They Browns must not let one loss turn into two, and they must establish the all-important home-field advantage in the home opener.

They’re all banged up at both offensive tackle spots, so much so that longtime Browns radio analyst Doug Dieken, who played 14 seasons at left tackle for the team, may be asked to check and see if he has any eligibility left, and to bring his cleats, just in case. Can what may well be a hodge-podge line open holes for the robust running game led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and give quarterback Baker Mayfield time to throw?

*They’re also hurting — literally and figuratively — at linebacker, a position area that, even when it’s fully healthy, may be the weakest on the team. Can the Browns find enough capable bodies there?

Good teams find ways to win when there are issues. They find enough within the culture in their locker room to pull together and get the job done.

The Browns consider themselves to be a good team. Most people around the country consider them to be a good team, too. Can they prove it by gutting out a victory?

We’ll see.

KICKING GILLEN’S CRITICISM TO THE CURB

Can we please — pretty please, with sugar, honey and a DQ strawberry milkshake on it — leave Browns punter Jamie Gillen the heck alone?

Can we please take him out of his maximum holding cell?

Can we please reduce his sin from serious to venial, giving the priest one less person from whom to hear confessions?

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”

His drop of a snap and subsequently his scurrying about like a chicken with his head cut off trying to find his way out of trouble when there was none to be found, resulting in his getting buried under an avalanche of Chiefs at the Cleveland 15 in the second half, setting them up perfectly for an easy touchdown, was not the main reason why the Browns lost 33-29 at Arrowhead Stadium last Sunday in the season opener.

Now, did it play a part in the loss? Well, yes, of course, it did. But Gillen was not the primary culprit — actually, far from it, despite his falling on the sword and blaming himself and that play as the reason for the disappointing defeat.

The main reason for the loss was the fumble by Nick Chubb when he was ripping off big runs on a drive that, if it had produced the touchdown that seemed inevitable, would have put the Browns up by two scores and would have made it awfully tough for the Chiefs to catch up.

But I’m not blaming Chubb, either, because he’s such a great player, You need to cut him some slack, just as you must do with Gillen.

Watch the tape of the Gillen play, and when you do, you’ll see that, at the last second, he looked up to see leakage from the right side. When he did, he let the ball hit his hands and fall to the ground. Before we persecute Gillen, let’s start blaming the locking — or the lack thereof, as it were — as the reason he took his eye off the ball.

OK? Are we all good now?

Thanks.

Browns place LB Anthony Walker on injured reserve

The Cleveland Browns have placed LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) on injured reserve.*

Walker joined the Browns as an unrestricted free agent this offseason and led the team with nine tackles in the season opener.

*Any player going on injured reserve at this point in the season with a major injury is allowed to return after missing only three games, and teams may return an unlimited number of players from injured reserve throughout the year.

Browns sign LB Elijah Lee to active roster

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have signed LB Elijah Lee to the active roster from the practice squad.

Lee is 6-3, 230 pounds and in his fifth NFL season out of Kansas State. Originally selected by Minnesota in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, Lee has appeared in 51 career games and logged 53 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one sack, while adding 14 special teams stops. He appeared in eight games with the Browns in 2020 and was elevated to the active roster last week for the season opener. A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Lee will wear No. 52.

Key dates ahead Sunday: Week 2 vs. Houston, 1 p.m.Sept. 26: Week 3 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.Oct. 3: Week 4 at Minnesota, 1 p.m.Oct. 10: Week 5 at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m.Nov. 2: NFL trade deadline, 4 p.m.