Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns — (Image: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
WELCOME TO THE FANS PERSPECTIVE
*Editor’s Note*
Anthony D. Stevenson is not only our latest addition to the Baseline Perspective team, he’s born and bred from the “HARDLAND OF AMERICA”, Cleveland, Ohio! Anthony’s passion for football has always been there as far back as he can remember and so has his love for the Cleveland Browns.
While in the U.S. Air Force, Anthony played cornerback for the Bitburg Barons CSC football team in Europe. He then played cornerback for the Tri-Country Gamecocks semi-pro football team, in South Carolina.
Anthony offers not only his insight, having played, but also his passion as a fan! It’s only right then that a “dawg pounder for life” gives you his weekly FANS PERSPECTIVE on the 2018-19 season for the Cleveland Browns. Here’s his latest:
The Browns treated the fans in Cleveland’s First Energy Stadium to its first complete win by margin of the season, with a convincing 28 -16 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons. The Browns were in complete control of the game from start to finish.
This was undoubtedly Baker Mayfield’s coming out party. He had played well in the last couple of games, albeit in losses. But in Sunday’s game he was on fire from the very first snap. So much so that at one point he was 12 of 12 passing in the 1st half.
The offensive line played as a unit and despite just a few penalties, they helped the Browns have 211 yards on the ground and 1 touchdown. They also allowed Mayfield to go 17 of 21 for 216 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. And get this Dawg Pound, no sacks! That’s right, no sacks. As a result, Baker cut up the Falcons defense with the precision of a surgeon.
Cleveland’s New Running Game, Featuring Nick Chubb
The Browns fans also witnessed first-hand why the team felt they could trade away Ohio-native Carlos Hyde. Running back Nick Chubb ran around, over and through the Falcons defense to the tune of 176 yards and 2 touchdowns. His first touchdown came on a 13-yard screen pass. The second touchdown came in a much more dramatic form. It was the result of a record-breaking 92-yard run, which was the longest touchdown run in Browns history and the longest touchdown run by a rookie running back in NFL history.
There was also a Duke Johnson sighting, as he scored a touchdown, making it 3 scores in the last 2 games. I don’t know why, but it seems that Interim Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has the offensive operating much more efficiently and the Browns are 3rd in the league in rushing offense. We are starting to see the young players start to play big. This is what Browns fans thought they were going to see at the beginning of the season.But for whatever reason, the offense just was not functioning at the level needed to win games convincingly.
Maybe it was the stagnate play-calling of Todd Haley, or the lack of accountability of Hue Jackson. What ever it was, interim Head Coach Greg Williams has this team playing hard and believing that they can win football games.
Defense Showed Up And Showed Out!
Let’s face it Dawg Pound! The Browns defense has been the bright spot of the team so far this season. While it has had it’s struggles and a slew of injuries to overcome, the Browns defense leads the league with 23 takeaways. They had 2 more in Sunday’s game. They harassed Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan all day. He never could get into a rhythm throwing the football. Statistically the Falcons had a good game. With Wide Receivers like Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, you’re going to be hard pressed to shut them down completely. But the Browns secondary did a great job limiting their impact on the game. The defense also held Falcons Running back Tevin Coleman to just 44-yards rushing.
The icing on the proverbial cake for the Browns defense was a goal line stand in the 4th quarter. A big hit at the goal line by Jabril Peppers and 2 big plays by Middle Linebacker Joe Schobert kept the Falcons out of the end zone and was a huge factor in the Browns beating the Falcons.
Stay the Course
As great as this win was, Browns fans are trying to temper their enthusiasm. You see, we’ve been here before. Just when we think the tide is turning, the rug gets snatched from underneath us.
As much as we want to go insane and feel like we have arrived, the reality is that it’s just one game. But the good news is that every dynasty started with just one game.One thing for sure, if Baker Mayfield and the rest of that young Browns team has anything to say about it, a dynasty in Cleveland could very well be born.
