DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2023 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 27 Titans 3 Postgame Thoughts

- The fans, the city, the players and the coaches needed this win. It was becoming a powder keg.

- Cautiously optimistic on Watson. He and Stefanski needed this game. Continue building the confidence. Watson through some beautiful balls today.

- Myles Garrett had an absolute monster game.

- I cannot say enough about this defense. Schwartz has these guys playing out of their minds.

- Alex Wright had a nice game.

- Ward is having a great year.

- Cooper and Watson are developing great chemistry.

- Dusty Hopkins has been great.

- Bojorquez punted well.

- Browns must build off this and beat a very beatable Baltimore team next week.

This was great.

This is the type of performance needed in the NFL. Every player showed up focused and intense on the job. The bench was ready to contribute at any given moment; their heads were in the game.

D Line - was stifling.
Line backers were quick to smother and great tackling
Corners were good - Emerson needs to play it a bit better.

Offense looked organized and executed well.
RB by committed netted about 170 yards.
Cooper is looking so much better - he and D-Wat are starting to click.
Ford doing very well today in #24's absence.

As dark as last week felt, today the sun broke through the clouds.

probably the most complete win I've seen in a long time, even without our normal running attack they had no answer for coop

I was impressed by how much our offense improved in a weeks time.

Dominated in all aspects!

DW finally had a great game. Other than the one WTH backwards pass, he was on target and reading the field better.

Defense….smh, I swear our D has Schwartz feeling like he’s Darth Vader or something. Straight villain smirk on his face the entire game. And I don’t blame him, cause the way our defense is playing, they might get charged with terrorism.

OMG - INDY WINS IN OT!!!! YESSSSSS!

And the Browns looked great today (just to stay on topic).

Hopefully their carry this to next week and put those demons to bed. A win next week would do alot for confidence (and put us in first)

Ditto.

I'll add -

Schwartz and Hopkins for president.

Now stack them. Two seasons ago we were 3-1 and missed the playoffs. Start stacking wins. This win means nothing if you don't make the playoffs.

Playing for first place next week at home. It's time for a signature win.

Yesterday I read Zay Flowers had sixteen catches all other balt Wr had sixteen, or one less
today Zay Flower had 8 catches.
so stopping him next week will be a key.

This was an excellent win and much needed after Monday night's disaster. DW looked great and I hope he now has turned the corner. Great, great effort in all phases of the game!!!

Yeah man, what you said. I can’t think of one thing to complain about. The smothering ass-kicking D, Watson was throwing darts and making quick decisions, receivers caught the damn ball, Ford and Kareem didn’t run for a lot of yards but each made a few key plays.
Our kicker, like, kicks them right down the middle, 19 times out of 20.

I didn't see the game. How did our O-line do particularly Wills?

we needed this game badly ... not just a win, but also the whole performance. Great defense, improved offense, balanced attack.

Titans basically gave up in the 3rd quarter

The defense was impressive.

Ultimately the Browns offense wore out the Titans defense.

That Garrett sack just before the half was the changing point of the game. Took point off the board.

Aside from the Moore fumble in Cleveland territory, the Titans were stifled. Would have been a shutout otherwise…

Our D only allowed 94 total yards!

We are looking like the 85 Bears on D!

Watson looked like the $230 million QB minus that bonehead backwards pass.

The run game worries me. Tennessee had it's way with our running backs.

We have to beat the Rats next week!

Go Browns!

Loved the game. Great all around performance. Of topic a bit, has anyone else looked at scores from today. I think the NFL is drunk.

We have to realize that a lot of Moore’s touches are glorified run plays. Meant to get some yards and keep the clock moving.

Watson played well, aside from that inexplicable pitch/fumble thing. With this defense, we have time to figure things out on offense. Alex Wright looked good, which was a bit of a surprise. And we played without Newsome. A lot to like!

Defense looked elite. The players on Defense that were picked up were outstanding. JOK is playing really well. It is incredibly evident that Woods and his schemes held the Defense back. Night and day difference from the last few years.

Watson looked much better amd had a great game. Still holds onto the ball too long and /or gets happy feet. Hopefully will continue to improve.

Stefanski called a much better game but we still need more quick hitting slants and draws to keep the pressure off the o-Line and Watson. We need to get Njoku way more involved in the passing game. Scrap Moore coming out of the backfield except for Jet sweeps.

Dustin Hopkins has been money. His kicks are high and go end over like they should.

I absolutely love the way the Defense is playing and the fun they are having in doing so.

Sure but there were a couple run plays today when he was a bit slow in decision-making, just a fraction but that’s all it takes. He can catch the call and has good feet

Nice post. I agree about Njoku, he can be a weapon when we get him more involved.

I agree. I feel that next week's game is a gut check for us and a trap game for the Ratburdz. We need to pound out a win. Good win today; better win next week!

Hopkins was a great addition. There is never going to be a kicker just out of college who will be better than one of these 30-year-old dudes who has bounced around while working on his craft. It is the one position where someone you’d think of as a “journeyman” is exact what you want.

This is the first legit defense since the return and the best since '94.

We have a chance every week just because of the defense. Love it.

j/c:

Remember when Watson through that TD pass to Ford and the CBS graphic showed Takitaki's name and face for the TD?

lol I saw it also

They did that.

They also showed a graphic that Cooper hadn't caught a td pass since September of last year and that the Browns lost in the wild card round a few years ago.

Pretty crappy production minus Spero and Adam who were pretty good.

Just a small suggestion to Stefanski. If the game is won and you put your backup QB in, please put your backup O-Linemen in too. No need for freak injuries.

- We arguably have the best D in the NFL.

- Great bounce back game for Watson. I liked how Stefanski called plays again this week. Knowing Watson was probably a little rattled, you saw short and intermediate thrown early on and that led to some confidence and deeper throws in the second half. He should have had a 300+ yard passing day if not for that garbage call on that Cooper catch. 27 of 33.....nice.

- JOK showed up a ton has seemed to be a big player in shutting down Henry.

- OL played much better than last game in pass pro and run blocking. Tennessees OL was terrible....kinda felt bad for Tannehill as he had zero time to throw all day.

- Pretty even distribution of yards in the running back corp. I expect to see more of that but Ford held his own and Hunt made some conversions.

- Sorry to the posters on here that were hoping for Watson to play poorly. Hope your week isn't ruined too much.

Forgot one thing...I think Garrett was held on every single sack with no calls.

They don’t want him wrecking a game

Another guy who played well: Ford ran for a TD and the celebration was low-key.
Chubb influence. He had two TDs today, in case you people hadn’t noticed. 😎

This defense is going to keep this team in games all season long. Teams have a hard time playing against a very vanilla defense. Easily the most impressive defensive line I've ever seen in browns unis. Imagine if the Offense figures it out.

I don't think LaMar is going to be able to run away from the front 4 as well as he had in the past.

Yea Ford is really getting putting in that work. Even though the Titans sold to stop the run, we still got valuable yards on the ground, and Ford is starting to look faster and more confident in his game speed and agility.

Every play, every game.

How about the catch for a TD the zebras blew dead?

Great game. Complete game.
I don't know if the Titans D was just incompetent or if our O was so good there was nothing they could do. Either way, Our O looked like they are supposed to look. Watson kinda looked like a $230 Million QB

Our D is Legit.. No way around it. They are for real!

What the hell was that backward pass by Watson.. .Geez...

And the Ref, standing right there next to Cooper when he hauled that pass in and ran up the sideline. Could he not tell that Cooper didn't go out of bounds?


For not being with the team for 5 or 6 months, Hunt sure looked like himself.

All in all, this was a great win. Good job

I also say that you could subtly tell that we were missing Newsome. We were one CB short of full strength ... hopefully he's back

I feel like I mist the play, but not the intent of your post. 🤣

Defense has only given up 18 points through three games!

we have two big tests the next two games ... BAL and SF. Then a trip to Indy and Seattle, which are decent offensive teams at home. Big upcoming schedule

j/c...

Great article and breakdown by Jake Burns on Ford's TD reception...



https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland...-ford-touchdown-catch-216856323/#2251973

love that stuff

I saw on holding call on him.


None the less, a good game.

The O looked like it had some life and the D played great.

The cautionary note is Tennessee isn't very good this year. Basically they have DT Jeffery Simmons on D and Derrick Henry on O. Simmons caused some problems. Henry was bottled up for the most part. I think he broke 1 run for about 20 yards. That isn't bad against that guy, but his line isn't very good.

It was exciting at the stadium. The crowd was in to the game and the team did what it was supposed to do.

Watson played a good game. Some may say wait and see, and I get it, but credit due where deserved.

Big game next week, especially after the Ravens loss.

24th of September, Browns win by 24 for Number 24, Chubb

I don't think that was the plan, but interesting none the less.

Henry had a long run of 9 yards today. Finished today with 11 carries for 20 yards.

That Browns defense had to be a lot of fun to watch in person today.

We have given up 32 points. 20 of those either our D wasn't even on the field or they scored without giving up a first down.

Our defense is responsible for giving up 12 points in 3 games.

Cool. I wasn't looking at the stats. Just game recollection, and when in person you don't always get the correct player or excact yardage.

No matter, it was an impressive performance.

Our Defense has beaten 2 of 3 teams into submission so bad that one Team's backup QB was playing in the 4th quarter.

Cheers: Love Wyatt Teller's reaction when discussing the defense's performance.

Jeers: JDubs bringing his rugrats into the locker room for the postgame celebration.

It wasn't the plan but it definitely was the final result.

Weird first 3 games.
Losing Nick is devastating, and for the first time I feel for the player more than the season, as a fan.
It's the Browns. And Browns gonna brown. But for now, damn.
Can't believe the D and I kinda knew Watson had this kinda performance in him.

...and today, OUR backup QB finished the game for the home team.

I said to My Wife: "Honey- look at the stands. When we watch a Browns home game that looks this empty in the 4th qtr, the score is usually reversed."


____________________

Clemdawg's 3 & out:

1. Watson is still most comfortable when he runs the O from the shotgun. He needs to see the play develop at the snap. His reads and anticipation are much better when he doesn't turn his back to the field of play. Play-action will only work if he's playing with the lead, and the oppo D has been softened with the quick-hit short passing game.

2. Schwartz's D: you can't run on us, you can't pass on us, and you can't score points on us. (I told Dawgs pre-season that this D would be fun to watch.)



3. This team can win any/every game on its schedule this year. Yes, even without Nick Chubb. Fans should expect/demand it. And more importantly, this team should expect/demand it of themselves- and play like it. They are 1-1 within the division, with a chance to go 2-1 next week, v. BAL. They are now 1-0 v. Every one knew that this first qtr of the season was going to be a gauntlet slapped across CLE's face. We all knew that CLE's future hung upon how well they weathered this early schedule. These Dawgs actually have a chance to set the AFCN power dynamics with a win v. BAL. Elves are >.500 after 3 games, and exactly .500 in the division. A win over BAL would be huge, going forward.

Elves can establish themselves as True Contenders, but they must do it every single week. No weeks are more important than divisional weeks.

Great and fun game to watch - probably the most complete win I can remember.

The team was coached well on both sides of the ball and executed.
QB play was stellar.
Running game without Chubb was working against a good D - even if it took a little while to get going.
I said week 1 that Ford impressed me with some of the things he did - he might not be the work horse and I might not want to give him 25 touches a game but he's good enough. Probably better than that. Hunt showed some of that drive and fight. I think we can run with that pair for the season. Strong was decent as well.
Cooper is a consumate WR - I love watching him. He is the WR version of Nich Chubb: Shows up every game, has a phenominal work ethic, great at his craft and no ego.
Moore is a play maker and I understnad getting him touches - I think against lesser defenses he's going to break out in a game soon.

There's not much to say about the defense and about Schwarz. Depphit is playing the best of his career. JOK also. MG with a monster game. Smith is a force the inside guys also. It's a joy to watch. It highlights the difference coaching and scheme makes. Clearly everyone is on the same page - no-one is talking about who is communicating with the sidelines - they are having fun and they are exceptional. From a tweet I saw - thru 3 games: 3.2 yards a play. Best since 2000. Forcing 3 and out on 61.5% of drives - again best in the NFL since 2000 thru 3 games. I hope they stay healthy. I hope we keep Schwartz...... What's a Derick Henry?? Just Wow.

On to Baltimore - lets see what Lamar can do. A completely different offense to deal with than TN. Let's see Stefanski continue to call good games and Watson continue to execute. As Brown's fans we deserve to see something special, if this actally continues, this might be it.

It is still very early and other teams will begin to study our game film, However our Defense so far this year is year is the most impressive / dangerous as I personally have seen in decades. Through 3 games against very sound football teams, I have seen our defense completely confuse and force opposing offenses to adjust on the fly which has not fared well for them. Burrow, Pickett and Tannehill were hit and pressured early and often which changed the trajectory of the game. Great job Jim Schwartz.
I am still not a fan of Stefanski play calling, but We were pretty good against a rock solid Tennessee D.
Waiting to see David Nojoku beak out.
Wondering if a swapping Jones to Left Tackle and Wills to Right Tackle is in the planning for bye week adjustment. Wills still doesn’t look comfortable and is a tick slow in pass pro. RT is his natural fit, just don’t know if Jones would be comfortable at LT .
We still need to find a legit punt returner, DPJ is Not the answer. With our defense playing this well, we need to get legit yardage on punt returns, special teams matter and we are leaving a LOT of field position yardage out there because we ain’t really doing anything there.
Go Browns

OMG.... Haha.

Threw...threw....threw.

jc -

I've never seen this before in a professional game against the Browns, but I've now seen it twice in three games...the defense caused the other team to quit, just give up at a point in the game when a scoring drive would have still provided hope. Instead they turned to backup QBs and elected to run the clock out. The losing teams elected to run the clock out and call it a day.


On a crappy note...

I know JDubbs is basically an owner but bringing your kids onto the sideline and into the lockerroom is so cringe.

I noticed that too ... when the one kid blurted something out during Stefanski's speech. So cringe lol

The 1994 Defense with Nick Saban as Defensive Coordinator was a very good defense giving up less than 200 points in a 16-game season. That was the best defense I remember in a Browns team. I just don't remember this kind of domination. More of bend but don't break. This defense so far breaks the other team.

I agree ... we are like on offense on defense .. and thus far it has worked

Agree, the defense was outstanding. Watson had me nervous that first QTR. but settled in and played much better.
They really tried to get Moore involved early. He has decent hands but just can't shake that first defender and secure the ball.
They need to find another way to use his speed as suggested because so far, and it's still early, I just expected better things out of him.

the more weeks pass and the more the stats remain the same ... this defense is legit

we just need our offense to continue to round into shape

A Sunday worth Celebrating!

DW had a great performance! I was hoping things would begin to turn around on O but I certainly wasn't expecting to see such a huge swing in the right direction happen all in one week. DW looked crisp, decisive and made quick decisions all while being very accurate with the ball. Obviously the running game didn't look great but I think we all saw that coming at least to some extent. That's why for me, at least as it stands as of yesterday, DW knew the pressure was on him to come through and he did so with flying colors. I don't think any of us could have asked for anything more. I could complain about the backward pass that left me scratching my head. But if I were looking for perfection I would have to find something other than a human being to play the game at QB. Humans by the very definition of the word are not perfect. They are going to have to make that running game work better moving forward however.

The D did a fantastic job as per usual. They had Tannehill rattled and pressured the entire game. They made the Titans running game virtually non existent. What I have to remember to do as the season moves on is appreciate that D each and every week and not begin to take their contribution for granted.

If people seriously wish to discuss an actual bad call by the refs, the one where they called Coop out of bounds is it. It wasn't even close! Thankfully the the Browns, on both sides of the ball they made sure that had no impact on the outcome of the game. I have the game on DVR. I did the same last week but simply deleted it because I mean, who would want to watch a replay of that? But this one is one I will certainly watch again at some point this week.

I told my wife about the "Joe Woods is a football terrorist" thing and she died laughing.

Honestly, I'm ok with it. Get/keep him involved with touches and keep developing that chemistry until you feel comfy opening up the playbook. He can be a weapon.

On the other hand, to me, it looked like they could use the work. OL was leaky all game, especially early/before the Titans essentially gave up. Watson pulled off some Houdini-like escapes and kept getting up after taking a pounding.

Teller is really struggling to start the season.

I agree the Titans aren't very good right now. I think you might be selling the D a bit short, though. That entire DL is pretty good. If Watson weren't so shifty, we may have been in trouble. They also have Byard on the backend.

On O, they might be worse than you hinted at. They do have Henry on O, but he might be more of an impediment than what is good about them now. He definitely looks like time and the hits are catching up to him. It wouldn't have been surprising to look down and see that his feet were encased in cement on some of his runs. It may be time to phase him out of the O, and it looks like the Titans may be trying to do so. I think I saw that he was out touched almost 2:1.

I do agree that OL got worked over. Watching the two TEs follow Myles around almost made me feel bad for them.

I agree w/Teller. He's lost a step, especially in pass pro

I don't know if he's actually lost a step or if he just looks like he has. Instead of being the guy that Conklin helps out, he has to be the guy helping out Jones. Not so much in a physical sense, but calling things out, predicting what is coming, and communicating how to respond to what is happening during the play. Trying to keep an eye on the rookie may be slowing him down.

I do agree with you about Henry as it pertains to losing a step. He's always been a more straight ahead physical runner and that has taken its toll over time as it usually does. But when it comes to rushing the football the titans still rely on him as the main back. Even though they didn't rush the ball much yesterday after falling behind, Henry had 11 rushes for a total of 20 yards and Spears only had 4 carries for 6 yards.

Thats more of stefanski playing to Watson's strengths.. Not "inmates running the prison" thats a pretty tone deaf statement

Especially considering how they still actually did a lot of the same formations we've seen in the past, and they didn't work as well.

I'm still waiting to see what a bunch of the numbers actually were. Haven't even seen snap counts yet.

It was also great to see Watson have those Houdini moments again, getting out of sacks and such

Hmmmmmm, not sure where the 2:1 came from. Maybe the week 2 yards per carry.

Not sure what I would do if I were the Titans OC. That offense doesn't look like it is going anywhere.

Good pass blockers are hard to find. It's not easy to beat someone when you're going backwards and they're going forwards. Between inertia and just the way the human body is put together, OL are at a disadvantage from the jump.

It's just an example of trying to manufacture a problem out of thin air. There are enough potential concerns as it is.

MoreForYouCleveland
@MoreForYou_CLE
·
21m
#Browns top 5 performers on defense in Week 3, per PFF: (min. 15 snaps)

1.) Myles Garrett (93.3)
2.) Alex Wright (90.5)
3.) Mo Hurst (89.6)
4.) JOK (87.1)
5.) Anthony Walker (84.9)

MoreForYouCleveland
@MoreForYou_CLE
·
4m
Let's take a look at the pass blocking grade of the 3 LT's tasked with blocking Myles Garrett so far this season.

Orlando Brown Jr. - 57.0
Dan Moore Jr - 3.5
Andre Dillard - 26.2

Lets no forget to thank The Titans DBs they helped us out a bit on offense. Holding etc...

Cooper drew 3 DPI/holding calls (and maybe 4, but 3 for first downs) ... in addition to his 100 yards and a TD ... that's crazy production

Dov Kleiman
@NFL_DovKleiman
·
27m
#Browns Myles Garrett was a monster against the #Titans on Sunday:

🏈 3.5 sacks (1st)
🏈 9 pressures (T-1st)
🏈 93.2 Pass-Rushing Grade (1st)
🏈 34.6% win percentage (1st)

The #Browns only allowed 3 points against the #Bengals and #Titans in their two wins this season.