DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2018 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 26 Panthers 20 Postgame Thoughts

good point

Squeelers just lost to Oakland!

Pretty awesome.

Really liking the thought of Williams as HC, Kitchens as OC, Bowles or Quinn as DC.

It is rare that a failed HC gets another gig as a HC, so Bowles or Quinn may be receptive to working as DC under Williams.

No, it was just you used one of Hue's favorite lines..get's it.

Think about the draft. How close all the qbs were rated as best in draft and how it seemed any of them could have been the first pick, and somehow we got the right one despite most saying he wasnt

lol, okay. Although you may have misread. I was referring to the thought that he has the "it" factor, that undefinable quality that makes him special.

I think that's what made him think of Hue ...

I think the team has finally learned how to win.

Watching Tarik Cohen ... we need someone like that to use IMO. Somene that versaitle and quick

Duke has disappeared and isn't the same for some reason

Pretty sure Arians would keep Kitchens as OC

If we make Williams permanent HC, I would really like him to hire a DC other than his son. His son may be an up and comer (I don't know) but he clearly isn't ready to be a DC yet.

I've noticed our defense hasn't been the same the past few weeks .. his son might be the reason

Baker seemed pissed in his presser that the stadium was half Panther fans. Even went so far as to implore fans to come our even though it's cold. Bad look by the fans.

I also have this impression that Baker and Landry aren't the best of buds. I don't think Landry likes being asked about Baker all the time. I don't blame him. Every question out of MKC's mouth no matter who she's asking is basically "tell us why Baker is so great". I swear she is the worst at her job. I also don't see Baker as chummy with Landry as the other guys. He was nowhere near the TD celebration today.

They don't have to be best buds to make it work. Just something I've been noticing.

We are the only team in the AFC North to win today!
First time in over 5 years!
MAN!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/afc...k-14/ar-BBQJywu

- Fun game to be at. Not too cold, but chilly.

- Baker throws a beautiful deep ball.

- Tough game for Hollywood. This game should not have been as close as it was.

- Hat tip to Freddie Kitchens and his use of Landry as well as his play calling all together.

- Now that we have a QB, we can finally comeback and win games.

- Terrance Mitchell, welcome back.

- Love having Damarious Randall on the team. He's a player.

- Myles Garrett made some plays.

- Christian McCaffrey is the entire Panthers offense and he's really good.

- Duke Johnson was conspicuously absent from the game plan.

- I can't believe Mike "Pops" Adams is still playing.

- Browns won a meaningful game in December. Progress.

- Can't wait for the game in Mile High on Saturday night.

I honestly got the impression on the missed PA that it was a bad hold. It looked to me as if the ball had quite a bit of angle to it just b fore he kicked and it went wobbly from m the start.

Ill say it everytime i see his name, we literally traded Kizer for Randall. lol

That’s a Landslide victory in my book. I bet Kizer laughed knowing he got the better deal at first too.

Duke Johnson didn’t practice all week.

I didn't notice, but maybe you're right.

Ah, that's right. I do recall Zegura mentioning something about him being out for personal reasons.

Notes: Defense toughens in 2nd half with better tackling, goal-line stand

CLEVELAND — The Browns defense did little right in the first half.

The Panthers put up 17 points, 256 yards and 13 first downs, as quarterback Cam Newton was 15-for-20 for 185 yards, no sacks and a 103.1 rating.

The defense wrote a different script in the second half Sunday, playing a leading role in a 26-20 win at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Panthers managed just a field goal and 137 yards and gravity pulled Newton back down to earth.

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Interim coach and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had a simple explanation for the turnaround.

“Tackle. It comes down to that,” he said. “That was a big emphasis from the first quarter on, but really at halftime, I can’t repeat all of the words I said, but just about tackling. Our guys did a good job with that.”

The defense was stout enough in the second half to allow Baker Mayfield and Co. to take a 26-20 lead with 8:46 left. The game was hardly in the bag, and the critical moments came at the 3-yard line inside of four minutes.

Rookie linebacker Genard Avery and nickelback Briean Boddy-Calhoun stopped receiver DJ Moore for no gain after he took an option pitch from Newton. Then the powerful quarterback with the sore throwing shoulder missed receivers Curtis Samuel and Jarius Wright in the end zone on third and fourth downs.

The Browns didn’t have great coverage but they escaped.

“We’re pretty good at it,” defensive end Myles Garrett said of goal-line stands. “We’ve been doing it awhile now. Every time we get down there, we find a way to make a play.”

“We’ve been in a lot of close games,” free safety Damarious Randall said. “And when you done did that a lot this year, we just didn’t flinch at all.”

Garrett had a third-quarter sack to give him 12.5 on the year, third-most in a season in franchise history. His 19.5 in his first two seasons are the most in Browns history.

The sack came a series after he got up limping then drew a holding penalty on the following play. He had a half-sack and forced fumble erased in the second quarter when a replay review determined Newton threw the ball rather than fumbled as he was being taken down.

The defense sealed the victory when Randall got his team-high and career-high-tying fourth interception with 57 seconds left. It was the defense’s only takeaway in two weeks after 27 in the first 11 games.

“I feel like I had a couple good reads the whole, entire game, but I finally ended up getting one and just happy I can secure the win for my team,” he said.

SLIPPERY FINGERS

Receiver Rashard Higgins had a difficult day that drew a pep talk from Mayfield.

Higgins fumbled on the 17-yard line in the second quarter, setting up a Panthers touchdown. Then later in the half he dropped a ball down the seam that could’ve been a 31-yard touchdown.

“The thing is with receivers, they want to make all of those plays and, yeah, they are going to be very hard on themselves,” Mayfield said. “What I told him was, ‘Hey, I threw three picks in the last game in the first half. You have to bounce back and you have to forget it. It is not about what happened before. You have to make the next play.’

“Everybody has those days. It is nothing we are going to dwell on, and he is going to learn from it and we are going to move forward.”

Higgins caught two passes for 19 yards.

HELD IN CHECK

The Browns were committed to slowing down multitalented Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and did a solid job. He rushed 16 times for 63 yards, a 3.9 average and two touchdowns and caught six passes for 38 yards.

“Make everything tough for him,” Garrett said of the plan. “Always have somebody who is designated for him.”

Garrett said he’d either knock McCaffrey off his path in the backfield or linebackers Joe Schobert and Jamie Collins would try to run with him. McCaffrey, who has 12 touchdowns in the last seven games, got loose for a 25-yard run and 20-yard catch but didn’t wreck the game like he has been.

“We had to make sure that we put him in a box and make sure he didn’t get out in space,” defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said. “He’s one of those guys who is very special in space. Once we limited that and tried to get him before he got started, that really helped this win.”

NOT COMING

A pair of potential coaching candidates can be crossed off the list.

Jim Harbaugh told ESPN he’s staying at Michigan, and Iowa State’s athletic director announced a contract extension for Matt Campbell.

They had been connected to the Browns’ opening as possibilities.

EXTRA POINTS

Rookie Nick Chubb became the first Browns player since Greg Pruitt in 1975 to rush for a touchdown in five straight games. He scored the go-ahead 4-yarder in the fourth quarter.

** The Browns allowed a third-quarter sack, snapping a streak of 15 quarters without one, the team’s longest in 30 years.

** Ogunjobi played through an injured biceps and started for the 13th time in 13 games. He had four tackles.

** Cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion), offensive lineman Austin Corbett (foot), cornerback Phillip Gaines (knee), left tackle Desmond Harrison, third quarterback Drew Stanton, defensive end Chad Thomas and defensive tackle Carl Davis were inactive.

https://www.brownszone.com/2018/12/09/no...oal-line-stand/

Funny Baker was right there to give Juice a pat when he jumped back down outta the stands....Guess we watched a different celebration eh?

all landry does is rave about baker too. i dunno what he was seeing.

that one TD where the recievers were celebrating, they were all downfield and mayfield was still way near midfield.

I swore off Browns games and got rid of my season tickets during the Pat Shurmur era.

Well Baker Mayfield is bringing my spirit back, been to 3 games this year and they won all 3.

We're not going to make the playoffs but it is exciting to at least still be in the hunt. Just finish the year strong and carry this momentum into next year. At this point it's all about changing the culture and so far Dorsey has done a hell of a job doing it.

No need to get mad.

Just an observation and something to keep an eye on, IMO.

I could be wrong.

Wrong or right, doesn't mean they can't coexist on the same team and play well together.

And I'll also say that the Cleveland media is literally stupid. They ask dumb questions, they try to find controversy, they try to get under players skin...if I were a player it would drive me crazy.

I think you're reading too much into it. Baker and Landry were very complimentary of each other. MKC was obviously working a story angle, she asked Baker about Landry and Landry about Baker.

Mad? Nah. Just pointing out you didn't quite observe what you thought you did. Nothing more nothing less.

I think the problem is that Duke isn't utilized properly under Kitchen's offense. I saw him line up as a power back today and that's just not his best skill set. He'd be better used in the screen game or wingback style sets as a passing option/perimeter style back.

I wasn't talking about that part, which was well after the play was over. I'm not saying they never talk or interact. I'm saying I don't think they're best friends and that neither like being asked about the other.

Right or wrong, it likely means nothing. I was more interested in if anyone else has picked up on this in pressers and on field interactions. Looks like not.

I'm surprised no one has addressed the other part of my post about Mayfield not being happy with the fan turnout and expressing it in his presser. He seemed on edge after just getting a nice win.

Cleveland Media: Stir that drama pot and stir it hard.

What? No drama?

Let's invent some!

What did he say about the fan turnout in the presser? Not everybody watches/listens to them. They tend to be very boring and redundant, at least for me personally.

Didn't notice anything like that. He seemed keyed up, intense, hyped, whatever you want to call it, but it just seemed like a post win high.

You would think even the Cleveland media would be happy that the team seems to be looking up, but MKC and Pat Mac had totally been badgering Landry about his lack of targets for weeks essentially trying to get under his skin. I mean the questions were cringeworthy. They drive me crazy.

He kind of implored the fans to have a better turnout "even though it's cold".

On TV it seemed the stadium was half Browns, half Panthers.

Well watching videos on youtube and comments within them someone said that the stadium was 80% full?? I also noticed watching that there were quite a few Panther fans sitting in some good seats, alot of whatever shade of blue that is. I was suprised myself considering the Browns have played well at home this season.

I think Baker is a high level competitor and he has bought into the franchise and has gotten players around him to buy in so he expects the city and its fans to buy in as well. I see no problem with that and I would be rather disappointed if a 10 year vet or whomever the franchise QB was didn't give a bit of a nudge in that circumstance too.

I also noticed Baker seemed to carry a bit more defensive body language today but at the same time he still delivered a very solid message and positive vibes in his answers so I honestly didn't read much more than that out of it.

He said something about the stadium being a little on the empty side.

When they were talking about Bitonio’s holding call, they said you drive someone to the ground, isnt that called a pancake? That call pissed me off.

Baker had a really good game, without the drops could have called it a great game.

Everytime Mitchell had a tackle I was worried about him re-breaking his arm. Cant wait to see Ward and him together.

Thought Carrie had a good game, refs kinda screwed.

Was kinda hoping they would run that Landry run play again, but instead of Landry getting it, Baker handed it off to Perriman. Hope we re-sign him. Has really stepped his game, I dont think he has a drop with us yet.

I also thought the miss by Joseph was a bad hold.