Cleveland Browns: Week 9 studs and duds from loss to Chiefs
By Dan Justik
Stud: Freddie Kitchens
In his first game calling plays for the Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens made a strong impression. Without his play-calling in the first half, this game would have been over at halftime.
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But the way that Kitchens was calling plays, he was controlling the clock and keeping the ball out of the hands of Patrick Mahomes. Kitchens relied on the run and forced the Chiefs to stop it. Once the Chiefs were able to slow down the run, Kitchens called for some easy, underneath passes for Mayfield. And when he dialed up a deep ball, he did not call plays that would have Mayfield sitting in the pocket forever.
The Chiefs defense is among the worst in the NFL, but it is apparent that Kitchens knows how to game-plan. He was able to take advantage of their weaknesses and put his offense in position for success.
For the first time this season, the Browns looked like a complete offense, except for having a reliable vertical threat. The run game showed success, and Mayfield was moving the ball around the field and hitting a variety of targets.
With Kitchens in charge, Mayfield may start to have the success that he showed in his first games. Having a full week to game-plan should help Kitchens have another good game of play-calling against the Falcons next week.