Browns, Buckeyes in Lockstep
Some more thoughts on the Browns’ 27-3 rout of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium:
HOME SWEET HOME: One of the best ways to have a good season is to be good at home, and the Browns are doing that thus far this season — and then some — at Cleveland Browns Stadium. They are 2-0 there, having outscored their opponents by a combined 51-6. That’s one of the best home starts in team history. But that dominance will be severely challenged on Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens, who are 2-1 and tied for first place in the AFC North with the Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, come to town. Beating the Ravens would be huge, for it would put the Browns at 2-0 in home games in the division.
DEJA VU: Less than 24 hours after Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord grew up a lot and had the best game — by far — of his young career, in terms of importance, on Saturday night in a 17-14 come-from-behind win at Notre Dame, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson the next day progressed a lot and had the best game — by far — of his short time in Cleveland in the lopsided win over Tennessee. And just after Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day fired back at critics on the field immediately after the game, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, feeling the pressure of Watson’s struggles through the first two games and the need to turn it around immediately, chest-bumped the quarterback as he walked to the sideline following a big play. So, just as Day deserves credit for the way he has brought McCord along, so does Stefanski deserve praise for his guidance in helping Watson start to get his groove back.
KEEPING IN STEP: When Ohio State wins, it puts a pep in the step of everyone in Buckeyes Nation, just as Cleveland wins put a pep in the step of everyone in Browns Nation. When they both win in the same weekend, as they just did, there are a lot of people walking around with joy and a purpose. Mondays become a whole heckuva lot easier. Y’all know this already — you’ve lived it — so this is merely pointing it out.
HEAR, HEAR: I loved listening to Chris Rose when he filled in on Sunday as the Browns radio play-by-play announcer while Jim Donovan steps away for a time to concentrate on his battle against leukemia. Rose is a noted national sports media personality, but he was oh, so classy in his deference to the Voice of the Browns, referring to him constantly as “the great Jim Donovan.” That means a lot coming from the great Chris Rose.
BRRAKING EVEN, BREAKING INTO THE PLAYOFFS: The Browns obviously have higher goals than simply qualifying for the playoffs in this all-in season, in that they want to make a deep run and get to the team’s first Super Bowl. But with their good start, they can go just .500, 7-7, the rest of the way to finish 9-8, which would put them into playoff consideration.
KARMATIZED: Nobody in the NFL outside of Colorado is bemoaning the fact that the Miami Dolphins pole-axed the Denver Broncos 70-20 on Sunday. When Sean Payton was hired as head coach of Denver just after last season ended, he made some extremely disparaging remarks about former head coach Paul Hackett, the son of former Browns assistant coach Paul Hackett, saying he turned in one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history. That violated all of the rules of coaching profession etiquette and decorum. Has Payton done an even worse job so far for the 0–3 Broncos? Perhaps. Pro football teams just don’t lose by 50 points. Ever. When you are sleazy and crude, karma has a way of coming back and biting you, often times in a big way. Just ask Coach Payton. Incidentally, when the Washington Redskins set the NFL regular-season scoring record with 72 points on Nov. 27, 1966, it should be pointed out that the team they beat that day, the New York Giants, scored 41, and the 113 combined points is a league record. Incidentally, the week before, the Browns held Washington to just a field goal in a 14-3 win at Cleveland. Washington was also involved when the most points were scored in an NFL game, regular season or postseason, with a 73-0 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1940 league title contest.
By Steve King
