Cleveland Browns: Studs and Duds from thrilling Week 7 victory

Stud: Rashard Higgins, Wide Receiver

For the last two years, fans have wondered what happened to Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins after a breakout year in 2018 with Mayfield as a rookie. For much of 2019, it appeared that Higgins was in the Freddie Kitchens doghouse, and after a surprising one-year deal with the Browns before the 2020 season, he still struggled to get on the field the first six weeks.

Many expected Higgins to be the third wide receiver, which wouldn’t be highly utilized in the Stefanski system, but to begin the season Hodge beat him out for the position. Higgins came into this week with 5 catches and 53 yards, however, two of those catches were for touchdowns.

But with the Beckham injury in the first quarter, Higgins stepped up in a huge way to help the Browns get the victory. Although he didn’t have any of Mayfield’s five touchdown passes, he had 6 targets and 6 catches for 110 yards and a long of 30 yards.

While People-Jones had the flashy touchdown catch to win the game, Higgins had the incredible 30-yard catch the play before to get the Browns down to the 24-yard line. Higgins was in single coverage and Mayfield dropped it just over the defender and Higgins went up high to grab it.

I’m not going to lie, I was just expecting overtime at that point. Look for Higgins to have a major role the rest of the season with fears of a serious injury to Beckham. It’s so tough to lose a talent like that, but the Browns offense may be smoother without him.