The response was more than sufficient as the Browns pummelled the Tennessee Titans 27-3 by Lake Erie to improve to 2-1 on the season.
DeShaun Watson finished with 289 yards passing with two touchdowns with Amari Cooper catching seven passes for one hundred sixteen yards and one of the Watson touchdown passes.
Cleveland finished with five sacks with three and a half of those sacks from Myles Garrett alone.
Cleveland will host 2-1 Baltimore next Sunday before their off-week.
Brownie Bits
1) The game could have been even more lopsided after one of the worst calls that you will see made against the Browns in the first half.
DeShaun Watson hit Amari Cooper down the sideline for what would be a twenty-five-yard gain and Cooper avoided the tackle try of Kristian Fulton and raced to the end zone uncontested.
But the whistle had blown as Cooper was ruled out of bounds after the catch.
Replays showed Cooper not only didn't step out of bounds, he wasn't even close to stepping out of bounds.
2) While the terrible call didn't cost the Browns the game in a 27-3 win, Cleveland would not score a touchdown on the drive, settling for a Dustin Hopkins field goal but it did cost DeShaun Watson a third touchdown pass and a three hundred yard passing day.
Watson showed a few signs out of the pocket from his days in Houston and he avoided the mistakes that cost the Browns so badly in Pittsburgh.
3) Much of that was due to an improved performance from the offensive line, who did allow three sacks of Watson but was much better than in their defeat in Pittsburgh.
Dawand Jones virtually eliminated the Titans' best pass rusher, Harold Landry, from the game, not allowing Landry a sack and only one solo tackle.
They may not have been perfect but their effort allowed DeShaun Watson to relax and perhaps for the first time as a Brown, allow the game to come to him rather than act out of impatience.
4) Kareem Hunt did play after being signed earlier in the week, carrying five times for thirteen yards, and while Hunt's numbers were far from outstanding, simply having the faith of Kevin Stefanski to see the field after only a few days of practice is a good thing and shows that Hunt is entering the season in good shape despite missing training camp.
5) It didn't hurt the Browns but the reviews on the first game for a Nick Chubbless running back group were very mixed.
Jerome Ford did catch a touchdown pass and ran for another score but his rushing numbers were a tiny nineteen yards on ten carries, the most for any Brown.
Pierre Strong's twenty-seven yards on six carries led the Cleveland ground game.
6) And then there was the Cleveland defense, which notched its third dominant game in as many outings.
Cleveland held the Titans to 94 yards of total offense, sacked Ryan Tannehill five times, and Derrick Henry to only twenty rushing yards on eleven carries.
Dominance in the numbers and on the field.
7) The key play of the game was late in the first half, with the Browns leading 13-3 but Tennessee was in the Cleveland red zone without a timeout.
Ryan Tannehill has a shot at the end zone and knows he has to go to the end zone because anything in-bounds will end the half with Tennessee getting zero points for the drive.
Myles Garrett runs over his man, Tannehill doesn't have the slightest chance of getting rid of the ball and Mike Vrabel starts walking to the locker room, not even trying to get his field goal team on the field.
The game was only 13-3 but you could sense Tennessee had the life taken from them.
8) Tennessee's second-half possession is as follows; punt, punt, punt, punt, end of game.
Tennessee didn't gain more than nineteen yards on any possession in the second half and didn't run more than six plays on any of those possessions.
9) Myles Garrett must have heard the talk after the Steeler loss comparing him to T.J. Watt and not favorably so.
While Watt is a more consistent player, Garrett's peak games might be better than those of Watt but those don't appear every week.
Garrett had one of those games this week and he just wrecked every Titan in his wake.
At his best, Myles Garrett can be the best pass rusher in the league, he just needs to play that way more often.
10) Now the Browns will host Baltimore, who were upset in overtime at home by the Colts, who were playing Gardner Minshew at quarterback.
That's a really ugly loss and Baltimore will come to town ready for redemption.
Cleveland needs the win going into their bye week as they will be hosting San Francisco, who looks as strong as any team in the league through the three weeks following the off week.
Cleveland is the only team in the league with four home games in their first five games and at minimum need to be 3-2, so in order to have no pressure against San Francisco, a win against the Ravens is a must.
Baltimore hasn't dazzled in their wins over Houston and Cincinnati and today's loss to Indianapolis is a bad one but they will be ready as they always are for the Browns.
It should be a good one.
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