The Cleveland Browns brought the fight to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.
Cleveland’s defense bounced back from last week’s dismal showing, Deshaun Watson led a much more efficient offense in the second half, and the Browns stunned the Buccaneers, 23-19, to improve to 1-1 on the season.
Mayfield and his Bucs dropped to 0-2.
Pre-game chatter around the Browns potentially making the move to Shedeur Sanders for their Week 3 home opener against the Carolina Panthers was silenced by Watson, who was in full command as the Browns fought their way back from a 10-point deficit early in the third quarter.
Watson passed for two touchdowns, posted a 121.9 passer rating, and helped the Browns turn the tables on Mayfield, whose so-called revenge game was anything but.
Mayfield's potential game-winning drive was interrupted by a more than two-hour weather delay. By the time the drive resumed, the stadium was mostly empty with rain and whipping winds.
Here are 10 immediate reactions from Cleveland’s first win of the Todd Monken era.
Deshaun Watson and the Browns flipped the script in a statement Week 2 win
- Deshaun Watson thoroughly outplayed Baker Mayfield in this one. It wasn’t trending that way early, as Watson averaged just 2.5 air yards per attempt in the first half, but he settled into the game and led the Browns to a big road win. Mayfield, meanwhile, threw a key interception in the first half that allowed Cleveland to win the turnover battle. That was always the Browns' clearest path to stealing this one on the road.
- By the midpoint of the second quarter, the Browns had committed six penalties for 50 yards, bringing their total for the season up to 17 accepted penalties. Cleveland played a much cleaner game against the Bucs from that point forward and the result speaks for itself.
- It’s no coincidence that the offense got rolling as soon as Harold Fannin Jr. became the focal point of the passing game. He caught two passes on the Browns' go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, including a key conversion on third and short. Cleveland clearly wants to get rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion going, but Fannin remains a matchup nightmare and needs targets.
- Denzel Boston now owns the Browns’ two biggest plays of the season, and both resulted in long touchdowns. He broke three tackles on his way to the end zone for his 55-yard score against the Bucs. According to ESPN research, it was Cleveland's longest touchdown by a rookie wide receiver since Donovan Peoples-Jones in 2020. Boston more than looks the part of a future star — and he's only 22 years old.
- Cleveland’s rushing attack remains stuck in neutral. Quinshon Judkins finished with 12 carries for 21 scoreless yards, and the Browns completely bailed on the run game in the second half. Monken’s offense depends heavily on establishing the run, and right now defenses have nothing to fear or bite on in the play-action game.
- The Browns’ defense responded in this game, but the tackling remains a concern. The Bucs ran a lot of quick-game with horizontal passes, and they often got way more yards than were actually there. Linebacker Quincy Williams and edge defender Sam Williams were two of the more glaring culprits, but the open-field tackling remains poor overall.
- The Mason Graham breakout might be upon us. The second-year defensive tackle recorded a sack for the second straight game. He’s been the team’s best pass rusher through two games, and he’s been working solely along the interior.
- Along those same lines, Jared Verse’s slow start continued on Sunday. He recorded one pressure in the game, per Pro Football Focus’ live tracking. He’s seeing a lot of extra attention and these have been tough early-season assignments in the Florida heat. But fans haven’t exactly seen the young game-wrecker they were expecting after the Myles Garrett trade.
- It might be time for Todd Monken to change his pre-game strategy. The Browns have now won the coin toss in back-to-back weeks, and both times Monken has elected to receive. The Browns have netted an interception and three-and-out on those two opening drives. While the offense came alive late, Cleveland’s defense won Sunday’s game and remains the strength of the team.
- Monken also doesn’t seem to believe in the analytical advantage of the double score. By taking the ball to start the second half when possible, you give your team a chance to end the first half with points, and then start the second half with the ball. Monken not only declined that opportunity on Sunday, but he went for it on a fourth-and-1 play at his own 34 that was stuffed late in the second quarter. Tampa Bay converted a field goal and then scored a touchdown to open the third quarter for a 10-point swing. More often than not, that type of swing decides a game.
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