Cleveland Browns studs and duds from first win of the season

Dud: Freddie Kitchens

Freddie Kitchens was awarded the head coaching job after a strong run in eight games as the interim offensive coordinator. One of the best attributes he displayed was a strong understanding of what Baker Mayfield did well and he called plays that took advantage of that.

So far in 2019, that hasn’t been the case. Mayfield hasn’t looked anywhere near as impressive as he was last season but that’s not all on him. Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken don’t seem to have a true game plan in place, or at least they didn’t in Week 1 or 2.

There was no offensive rhythm for the Browns throughout the first half. They would make a play or two, and then they would just stall. There were still too many plays trying to go deep downfield rather than trying to take shorter passes to get into a rhythm — they even did this while up 23-3 in the fourth which led to a pick. Not only that, but the plays seemed to come in late as Mayfield was snapping the ball with one second to go on nearly every single play in the first half.

Simply put, Kitchens got his first win as the head coach but the team made it harder on him than they should have. Looking forward to a Week 3 matchup against an undefeated Buffalo team, the Browns need their coach to dig deep and show why he was given this highly coveted position in the offseason.