Cleveland Browns Preseason Week 2 studs and duds in win over Indianapolis

Dud: The kicking game

Cleveland left Lucas Oil Stadium with a 21-18 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, but it could have been a much more comfortable win — it also could have gone into overtime had Indy taken the field goal at the end of the game, but they went for the win because no one wants preseason overtime.

What kept the game this close was the two missed field goals by the Browns placekickers. And yes, that was plural as both Greg Joseph and Austin Seibert were unable to make their attempts.

First up was the second-year kicker Joseph, who missed on a 53-yard attempt just before the half. While it was a long kick, it’s hard to look past the miss especially when considering he had just whiffed on an extra point attempt in their first game.

Considering he had those misses, it seemed as though he was opening the door for rookie Austin Seibert. So far in camp, Joseph was outperforming the fifth-round pick but things were looking ready to shift into Seibert’s favor — then he got his shot to kick.

Seibert wasn’t able to kick a field goal in their first game but was 2-of-2 on extra points and 2-for-2 in this game. He then lined up for a 52-yard attempt which would have put him in control of the competition, but he too was unable to connect as his kick sailed wide to the left.

This miss was extra worrisome as the biggest knock on Seibert at Oklahoma was the fact that he wasn’t known for long kicks. His career-high was 51-yards and he was 1-of-3 from beyond 50 during his time with the Sooners. He was also just 4-for-9 on kicks between 40 and 49 yards over the past three seasons according to NFL.com.

After struggling mightily in the kicking game to start the 2018 season, the Browns hoped to have fixed their issues with the addition of Seibert. However, after two weeks of preseason football, it seems as though there are more questions than ever.