Baker Mayfield threw for over 300 yards, Nick Chubb ran for 62 yards including a 19-yard touchdown and Odell Beckham finished the night with six catches for 161 yards to pace the Browns offense.
Cleveland will host the St.Louis Rams on Sunday night on national television.
Brownie Bits
1) Myles Garrett just destroyed the New Jets quarterbacks with three sacks and two other hits to clearly be the most dominant player on the field.
Garrett's physical ability may be unmatched by any defensive lineman in football and few are in his class as a pass rusher.
Any offense that has the Browns on their schedule had better scheme to figure out how to at least try to keep their quarterback away from Myles Garrett.
2) However, Garrett knocked Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian from the game with one of two roughing the passer penalties and two other offsides calls (one was declined), so it's not like Garrett doesn't have some things to work on.
The question isn't that Garrett needs to work avoiding late hits- he does.
The question is with the constantly evolving standard on what roughing is and isn't, how can any player know what is and isn't and how does it affect their play?
Garrett doesn't seem to be a dirty player, he isn't a Suh-type player, but eventually, he's going to slow a step to avoid a penalty possibility and that will come at a cost of effectiveness.
Look at the difference in the career slope of Clay Matthews Jr, who became a different player after these rule changes, moving from a player that could have potentially received Hall of Fame consideration to one that is now a completely different level of player.
3) Odell Beckham showed just what he can bring to an offense.
Beckham's one-handed catch in the first quarter was the type of catch that just amazes me and his ability to take a ten-yard pass and go 89 yards with the acceleration shown usually by track stars in shorter distance races.
Odell Beckham will always bring difficulties (off the field issues and constantly worries about his health), but what talent and what he brings to an offense when he is on the field.
4) I know the NFL has their rules on uniforms, helmets, visors etc, but removing a player from the field on a third and goal play because his visor was the wrong color is ridiculous.
In those situations, the proper move should be to tell the player that it needs to be changed during the next change of possession and the player would not be allowed to play after that until the equipment was changed.
Forcing Odell Beckham to leave at that point in the possession was ridiculous and needs to be addressed with the league's policy.
5) It was nice to see Austin Seibert connect on all three of his field goal attempts with two of them over forty yards.
The rookie missed an extra point in the loss to Tennessee and the Browns kicking situation has had its share of questions over the last few seasons.
Seibert took a small step forward with his performance in New York.
6) Baker Mayfield was OK in the win.
Mayfield is still learning and dealing with the adjustments that defenses make for a young quarterback and did make some nice throws.
However, he's beginning to show a disturbing tendency to hang some of his throws high and leaving his receivers very vulnerable.
David Njoku took a hit that resulted in a concussion that finished his evening on a high Mayfield throw and both Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham took unneeded shots as they leaped to catch Mayfield passes that were less than accurate.
I'm not saying that it is a problem yet, but it is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
7) Some of the inaccurate tosses weren't Mayfield's fault as he was often forced out of the pocket and was sacked three times by the Jets front, which won't make you recall any great pass rushes of the past.
The offensive line is a major concern other than Joel Bitonio and J.C. Tretter and I wonder if the Browns would be willing to send a 1 to Washington for Trent Williams, who would instantly upgrade the line, but would mean the Browns would have sent two first-rounders in a row away.
If I could get Washington down to a 2 and maybe another pick, I would think John Dorsey would almost have to do it.
8) Morgan Burnett left the game early with an injury and no word on its seriousness.
With Demetrius Randall missing this game and uncertain for the Rams game, the loss of Burnett would leave the Browns very vulnerable against the Rams passing game down the middle.
9) The Browns could have had some of their offensive struggles against Gregg Williams' defense because he knows most of the Cleveland personnel so well.
The Browns certainly had their successes, but Williams managed to keep an overmatched team in a game that with average quarterbacking could have been won.
Give Williams his share of credit for keeping it this close.
10) The enigmatic David Njoku hasn't been proven to be able to be counted on, but if his concussion causes him to miss time, the Browns will lose an element of their offense that the backups cannot provide- the pass-catching threat.
None of the current three backups are more than blocking tight end and the only player that could have filled the role as a receiving tight end was released in the final cutdown in Seth DeValve.
I'm not sure how this can be plugged if Njoku misses serious time.
11) A win is a win and even though it was the hapless Jets using their third-string. quarterback for most of the game, they do all count the same.
Was this a great performance? No, and the Browns will have to improve with the tougher stretch coming next over the next month (Rams, Ravens, 49ers, and Seahawks).
However, they did what they needed to do against a bad team- a small step forward.
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