Baker Mayfield continued his high-efficiency rate outside the state of Texas in completing 18 of 22 passes for over 200 yards and one score, while Jarvis Landry was the star of the day with fifty-plus yards both rushing and receiving as well as a touchdown via both avenues.
The Browns improved to 5-7-1 and kept their small playoff wishes alive with the victory.
Cleveland travels to Denver next Saturday night against the Broncos, another team with narrow hopes for the postseason.
Brownie Bits
1) Baker Mayfield once again was smart with the football, accurate and showed beautiful touch on deep passes to Breshad Perriman and Jarvis Landry.
I'm starting to come around...
2) Mayfield wasn't perfect though, he missed four passes, although one could claim with a little help, he might have completed them all.
3) Mayfield was only sacked once on a blitz off the corner by Captain Munnerlyn, but he was rushed often and used his feet to avoid the Panther rushers, but
4) Mayfield might have been sacked several times, but the Browns lineman grabbed Panther rushers rather than see Mayfield popped.
Kevin Zeitler and Greg Robinson were each called for holding twice and even though it's good to avoid your young quarterback getting whacked, I'd rather you block your man, especially in the case of Zeitler, who's very highly paid to avoid such matters.
5) Jarvis Landry was the player of the day, catching a 51-yard score, running three yards for another touchdown and running 51 yards on another play.
Landry also almost threw for a score, but his pass for Nick Chubb was broken up at the last second by a Carolina defender.
6) Give Mayfield and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens credit for setting the go for broke feel for the game by throwing deep to Breshad Perriman for a 66 yard gain on their first offensive play.Considering that Carolina had taken the kickoff and drove down the field for a touchdown to start the game, the Browns offense established that they weren't going to start slow and allow the Panthers to build a lead.
7) As for Breshad Perriman, a talented player signed off waivers, the former first-rounder
struggled with injuries with Baltimore and never made an impact there.
Sometimes, players need a change of scenery and Perriman may have been one of those players that needed another chance.
8) It was cold (28 degrees) but not especially windy, but Baker Mayfield passed his first weather test.
Southern passers generally have to prove themselves in the cold, Mayfield will still have to deal with the heavy winds off the lake, but yesterday was a great start with his passes not being handicapped by the weather.
9) The receivers weren't perfect as both Jarvis Landry and Rashad Higgins lost fumbles by not securing the football and Higgins dropped an almost certain score on another play
If the Browns are receiving the type of play with these receivers from Baker Mayfield, imagine what could be with one or two upgrades for 2019.
10) The defense still tackled terribly, but held the Panthers inside the three on downs in the fourth quarter and ended the game when Cam Newton missed Devin Funchess and instead drilled a wide-open Damarious Randall for the interception that ended the game.
Much still needs to be done, but Randall, who Ryan reports was a huge disappointment in Green Bay as a cornerback, has been outstanding in his first season as a Brown at safety.
11) At 5-7-1. the Browns still need to run the table for a winning season and the playoffs even at 8-7-1 would be a remote possibility at most, but next week in Denver against the 6-7 Broncos is winnable.
Denver was beaten at San Francisco (3-10) yesterday, but has been very strong at home and should be an interesting test for the Browns.
12) The victory clinched a winning season at home ( 4-2-1) with the ailing Bengals and Hue Jackson to go.
Developing the ability to defend your home turf is the first step in building a winning program and no matter the final record (although a Bengal win is expected now without Andy Dalton), this is something to feel good about!
13) Finally, no matter the future of Gregg Williams as the eventual head coach. he's been doing a fine job keeping this team interested, playing hard and building the culture as the catchphrase goes.
I'm not sure if I want Williams as the permanent head coach (although when I hear some of the names, I would keep Williams before them), but I certainly want him as part of the staff, if it can be worked out.
Back later with a look at some of the many passings since the last passings post.
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