Cleveland Browns studs and duds from Week 10 win over Texans

Dud: Kevin Stefanski, Head Coach

So far, Kevin Stefanski’s first season as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns has been very impressive. He’s won the respect of his players and has proven that, unlike his predecessor, he can handle the responsibilities of calling the plays on offense while still managing the game. Having said all that, he’s still a rookie coach and there are times where he does things that show this.

Sunday was an example of this as he wasn’t on top of his game when it comes to calling plays. In the first half, he continually tried to run into stacked boxes as he was telegraphing his plays. Sure, he has had success with some of the two tight end formations in the past but it wasn’t working against Houston.

In the first half, Cleveland had just 3.64 yards running gaining 62 yards on 17 carries. This was upsetting considering the Texans came in as the worst rush defense in the NFL. It also put Baker Mayfield in some tough third-down situations which played a part in him being just 8-of-14 for 89 yards in the first two quarters.

There was also some interesting clock management at the end of the first half. With the score 3-0, the Texans were willing to run the clock out but the Browns decided to suddenly start using their time outs. All that did was force the players to run back out and watch Deshaun Watson kneel it down. It didn’t affect the outcome, but it also made little sense.

What made even less sense was some of the calls such as running the ball on second-and-15 late in the third quarter. For some reason, Stefanski has been stubbornly running the ball in second and long situations far too often this year. It all worked out as the Browns won but it feels at times as though Stefanski runs the ball for the sake of staying balanced even when it isn’t working.