3 Positives from Cleveland Browns Week 1 defeat

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CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 08: Defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns watches the final minutes against the Tennessee Titans from the bench at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Titans defeated the Browns 43-13. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

3. Garrett had two sacks despite the struggles

With five tackles and two sacks, it seems as though Myles Garrett had a great game — and as far as that goes, he did. However, he had a pretty big gaffe as well, which ended up drawing some criticism from Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com.

"“But the former No. 1 pick needs to be a leader and a game changer. Instead, on a day when the Browns ruined their own chances, Garrett led the lack of discipline. His head-high shove of Walker occurred early in the second quarter, after Dion Lewis was stopped on second-and-4 for no gain. Instead of setting up third-and-4 at the 19-yard line, Garrett set up a first-and-10 from the 34. The defense committed three more penalties on what would be an 87-yard touchdown drive for a 10-6 lead. Remember, as bad as that game was, the Browns didn’t trail until 20 minutes were gone.” — Lesmerises, Cleveland.com"

Lesmerises is right that a leader needs to take over when the team is struggling but it’s not as if Garrett was the only player to have a mental mistake in this one. In fact, the team as a whole was completely off their mental game which was evident in their 18 penalties on the day.

Still, Garrett was great in this one and took advantage of the Titans having a backup left tackle in the game. The quick start could mean that this will be a huge year for the former No. 1 overall pick who has hopes for an NFL Defensive Player of the Year bid.

He should head into Monday Night Football ready to put this week behind him and make more strides toward winning that award.

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