Who stood out as studs and duds for the Cleveland Browns in Week 1?
The Cleveland Browns faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, a rematch of the AFC Divisional round matchup in 2020 that saw the Browns narrowly lose. In this rematch, while the Browns held a lead for most of the first half, in the end, they squandered their lead and let the defending AFC Champions off the hook with a 33-29 come from behind victory.
During the game, there were many ups and downs for the team. While there are rarely moral victories in the NFL, the Browns still proved why many are calling them a Super Bowl contender this season.
With that being said, here are the players whose play stood out on Sunday afternoon, and those whose play is more likely to blame for this loss.
Cleveland Browns Stud: Baker Mayfield
On Sunday afternoon, Baker Mayfield picked up exactly where he left off in 2020, where he played incredibly efficiently during the second half of the season. Mayfield led the Browns to scores on each of their first three drives and finished the game completing 21 of his 28 pass attempts for 321 yards.
Mayfield didn’t find the end zone, but time and time again found players in space, connecting several times with rookie wide receiver Anthony Schwartz and tight end David Njoku to open up the offense. His great play throughout the game set up chances for running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to execute and made himself look every bit the first overall selection that he was a few years ago.
While Mayfield did have the one huge mistake that ended any chances of the Browns completing a fourth-quarter comeback, throwing an interception while being dragged to the ground and just trying to throw the ball away, he played an overall exceptional game. It’s clear that his understanding of the offense has improved even more during the offseason, and that means big things for the Browns and all of their faithful fans.
Cleveland Browns Dud: Ronnie Harrison
Ronnie Harrison had the entire football world talking about him on Sunday afternoon, but not for the reasons that you would want to be talked about. Harrison was penalized in the first half after shoving a Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach on the sideline, resulting in him being ejected.
While his shove came as retaliation, after the Chiefs assistant coach initially pushed him on the sideline at the end of a play, it’s an almost time-proven fact that the retaliation gets the penalty, not the initial blow.
With the Browns already thin at the safety position due to the injury to Grant Delpit, Harrison put himself and the team in a bad position. While the referee’s missed the call and he probably shouldn’t have been ejected, he has to be the smarter man at that moment and step away from the incident with a level head.
In the second half, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to do just about anything they wanted against the secondary. If Harrison remains out there, he’s likely able to provide enough to help slow down the Chiefs’ second-half scoring run, and perhaps put the Browns on the other side of the win and loss column.
Cleveland Browns Stud: Running backs
The Cleveland Browns running backs, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, both started the 2021 season off with a bang. While Chubb gained 83 yards and rushed for two touchdowns, Hunt saw only 33 yards rushing for a touchdown, but also added three catches for 28 yards, including a long screen pass that helped get the Browns in good field position to win the game late.
While Hunt’s run after the catch wasn’t enough to help the Browns get the victory, he and his backfield mate both still excelled against the Chiefs, showing that the strength of the 2020 team, running the ball, wasn’t a fluke.
Not only did both running backs both record a touchdown, but they both were well above the NFL average in yards per attempt, both gaining 5.5 yards per rush in this game. With the NFL average being closer to four yards per rush, it’s clear that the Browns, their offensive line, and their running backs still know how to run the ball, and how to do it effectively.
While Nick Chubb had the fumble in the second half, and that appeared to be the turning point of the game that did the Browns in, his overall play in this game is still to be lauded. He would be the first to tell you that he messed up and has to play better for this team to win these kinds of games, but in the end, fans should be proud of both of their running backs in this Week 1 game, regardless of the outcome.
Cleveland Browns Dud: Cleveland Browns second-half defense
The Cleveland Browns defense played about as well as you could against Patrick Mahomes. Well, they did for the first half, at least.
In the second half, on their very first possession, the Kansas City Chiefs drove 75 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown, and following a Nick Chubb fumble, followed that up with a 10 play drive that ended in a field goal. In what felt like just a few minutes, the entire momentum of the game had changed from the Browns, who led 22-10 at halftime, to the Chiefs, who cut that lead to just two points.
While the Browns initially were able to hold Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offense in relative check in the first half, they just weren’t able to contain him for the final 30 minutes of game time. They shouldn’t hang their head too much, as nearly nobody has been able to do so since Mahomes arrived in the NFL, but after the great defensive play in the first half, things began to just fall apart in the second half.
Many have already taken to finger-pointing at defensive coordinator Joe Woods, with some even calling for him to be fired already, but the true finger-pointing goes to those on the field. The players time and time again made senseless mistakes, including letting wide receiver Tyreek Hill streak right down the middle of the field and end up in one-on-one coverage with a safety.
Woods does deserve some blame for his inabilities to find a way to limit Travis Kelce’s impact and for a few personnel decisions that don’t make complete sense, like playing Mack Wilson more snaps than rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, not all belongs on him.
The second-half defense of the Browns was the reason they lost this game. A few different decisions and breaks that go their way mean they leave Arrowhead Stadium with one of the biggest wins in franchise history. Now, they’ll just head home and look for a way to improve on the minor moral victory that means next to nothing in the NFL.
Cleveland Browns Stud: Kevin Stefanski playcalling
When the Cleveland Browns hired head coach Kevin Stefanski after the 2019 season, they said it was because of his great playcalling and vision. Many in the media, both locally and nationally, didn’t like the hire, especially after Stefanski’s Minnesota Vikings offense was outmatched in the 2019 playoffs by the San Francisco 49er’s defense.
However, after 18 games in 2020 and the first week in 2021, if you aren’t convinced Stefanski is an elite offensive play-caller, there will never be anything he does that changes your mind.
Time and again in the Browns’ Week 1 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Stefanski found a matchup that he was able to exploit. First, it was attacking the secondary with speedy rookie wide receiver Anthony Schwartz. Next, it was rushing right at the defense over and over with the beasts in the backfield, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
He was able to also use his offense’s versatility, lining up in several different formations with the same personnel, often on the same drive, to keep the defense off-balance.
While this wasn’t enough to ultimately win the game against the Chiefs this time, it was enough to force them to come from behind in the second half. It also kept the ball out of Patrick Mahomes’ hands, with several sustained drives in the first half that led to scores.
Stefanski was also unafraid of any situation on Sunday afternoon, as he started off the game by going for two after the first touchdown, while also going three for four on fourth down conversions in the game.
As long as the Browns keep him around, Stefanski will help the Browns remain competitive in these kinds of games, and in time, win them.
There are still things that need to be cleaned up, and nothing is a finished product, but his offense should lead to many good things in the years to come for the Cleveland Browns.