Joe Flacco threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns for Cleveland in the win as the Browns improved to 10-5 on the season.
Cleveland did not clinch a playoff position with the win but their playoff chances are ninety-six percent after the victory.
The Browns will host their final regular season home game on Thursday night against the Jets, with a win clinching a playoff spot.
Brownie Bits
1) The record-setting game by Amari Cooper broke the record previously held by Josh Gordon and the record-breaking catch came late in the game when the Browns discovered Cooper was only ten yards off the pace.
2) Amari Cooper entered himself into the record books in two other positions, one of which is a surprise.
Cooper became the first Browns receiver in history to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
That's a surprise considering some of the receivers in Browns history, a few of which are in Canton.
3) Cooper also joined Terrell Owens as the only receiver to post one thousand-yard receiving seasons with three teams.
Cooper with the Raiders, Cowboys, and now the Browns while Owens made his mark with the 49ers, Cowboys, and Bills.
4) Joe Flacco's day was excellent and while he threw two interceptions, one was excusable as the Browns were forced to go for it on a play near the end of the first half as an injury to Dustin Hopkins took a field goal attempt off the table.
5) I really liked the play call by Kevin Stefanski on the first drive that targeted Amari Cooper deep for a fifty-three-yard gain to the Houston six-yard line and set up the Browns first score.
Stefanski is at his best when he attacks but isn't overly clever in his playcalling. Starting the game aggressively downfield has lower risks than the gimmicky short-yardage plays he often used with DeShaun Watson.
6) Dustin Hopkins pulled a hamstring chasing Houston's Dameon Pierce on Pierce's kick return score.
This forced the Browns to eschew any field goal attempts and to try for two-point conversions after touchdowns, which the Browns were successful on two of three chances.
7) I'm still determining the status of Dustin Hopkins but with a short week to prepare for the Jets, I would be extremely surprised if Hopkins kicks on Thursday night.
The question then becomes- who will be the kicker for the Browns on such short notice and how much experience will he have?
Former Browns Cade York and Zane Gonzalez are available and the name often mentioned in the past has been veteran Robbie Gould, although Gould may not be in shape after not kicking all season.
I wonder if this could be a damaging blow to the Browns, depending on how long Hopkins could be out of the lineup when you consider how excellent he has kicked this season.
8) I worried about the Browns patchwork offensive line against a solid Houston pass rush but Cleveland caught a break with Will Anderson unable to play and Jonathan Greenard, the leader in sacks for Houston, left the game early with an injury.
The Browns line didn't allow a sack of the less-than-agile Joe Flacco, so they played well, even if they caught a break in personnel not being available for Houston.
9) The Browns defense gave up two late touchdowns with the game well in hand but had kept Houston off the board before that and despite it being Case Keenum rather than C.J. Stroud in another lucky pull for the Browns, the defense played well, sacking Keenum and Davis Mills three times.
10) Za'Darius Smith had two of those sacks and had a third overturned due to a Cleveland penalty.
I wouldn't say Smith has disappointed in his first season with Cleveland but he hasn't quite been the force that the Browns expected opposite Myles Garrett with five and a half sacks this season.
11) Cleveland may have had a sizable lead at halftime but the finisher was the eighteen-play, ninety-four-yard drive in the third quarter.
Possessions that end in touchdowns on long, punishing drives can grind down defenses and help your defense not only in rest but in how you can play on the field as the opponent is limited in just what they can do with a deficit and time winding away.
12) I mentioned the ninety-six percent chance of a playoff spot for the Browns.
A win against the Jets would clinch but here is the scenario that would keep the Browns on the outside.
Lose to the Jets and Bengals. Buffalo wins at least one of their two games, and two of these teams win both their games, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Houston (one of the three will win the AFC South), Pittsburgh or Cincinnati- And even then it would come down to tiebreakers.
Cleveland could make things a lot easier by polishing off the Jets on Thursday but even if they don't, the Browns still seem in solid shape.
No comments:
Post a Comment