3 Most pleasant Cleveland Browns surprises through two weeks
By Greg Newland
Which players have been pleasant surprises for the Cleveland Browns?
From top to bottom the Cleveland Browns certainly have a top ten (possibly five) roster in the NFL. Unfortunate leadership and coaching have just made the transition from losing to winning extremely challenging. A losing culture is nearly impossible to correct, but through two weeks head coach Kevin Stefanski appears to have the ship going in the right direction.
In previous years when the Browns failed to get into the endzone from the one-yard line four plays in a row (like Thursday night), the defense would have come onto the field and allowed the team to go 99 yards in 12 plays and 9 minutes. Not only is that a 14-point swing, but it is also demoralizing to the offense and the defense.
What made me a believer in Stefanski is when Myles Garrett got a strip-sack the next series and gave the Browns the ball back near the one-yard line. Two plays later Nick Chubb and cast were able to punch it in and seemingly seal the win. It may seem like a small moment in time, but I believe could be a building block play to something great in Cleveland.
It’s hard to truly judge a team only two weeks in, but it’s certainly fun to try. Through two weeks the good news is most players you expect big things from are living up to expectations. Chubb and Garrett look like first-team all-pro players while Denzel Ward and Odell Beckham have been effective as well.
However, the most important players aren’t always the ones you expect to play well, they are the players that may surprise you and perform above expectations. No matter how loaded a roster is, you’re going to need a rookie or two to surprise you in order to compete for a Super Bowl. Let’s look at three early pleasant surprises for the Browns through two weeks in 2020.