Browns knuckle through- Nip Ravens 12-9 in OT!

The Cleveland Browns survived a missed extra point, wacky officiating for the second week in a row, and yet another overtime to watch kicker Greg Joseph somehow wobble the ugliest 37 yard field goal through the uprights with seconds remaining in the game to avoid another tie and give the Browns a 12-9 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland.

Baker Mayfield threw for 342 yards and the game's only touchdown between the two teams on a throw to Rashard Higgins with one interception
Mayfield would complete passes to nine different Browns in the victory, with David Njoku catching the most passes with six.
The now 2-2-1 Browns will host the Los Angeles (Don't call us San Diego) Chargers next week by Lake Erie.

Brownie Bits

1) Is it possible to kick the game-winning field goal, receive your first NFL game ball and not return for the following game?
I'm not saying that the Browns will release Greg Joseph, but I would not be surprised at all and it might be the best thing to do, is to bring more kickers back in to look at this week.

2) After all, Joseph did miss the extra point on the Browns only touchdown (if he kicks that, the Browns win in regulation), missed a 55 yard field goal at the end of regulation that could have won the game ( I'm not blaming him for missing such a long kick, but on a day where Graham Gano connected from 63 to win a game, 55 doesn't seem so crazy and Joseph was signed for having a "big leg") and the 37 yarder barely knuckled through.
I thought that the kick could have been partially blocked, but I remember Joseph having a similar looking wobbler in his first game in Cleveland against the Jets.
Consider me still concerned about the kicking game.

3) The controversy earlier this week was surrounding Jabrill Peppers, who had several complaints about Browns fans never accepting him because he was "from Michigan".
Since Peppers failed to notch a tackle at Oakland last week and his vaunted kick return abilities at Ann Arbor haven't translated to one memorable return in his year-plus in Cleveland, I found this to laughable since Braylon Edwards used the same reason to excuse his poor play.
Well, if that motivated Peppers, he should feel that way more often as he played his best game as a Brown with four tackles, two batted down passes and seemed to be where the ball was.
Peppers wasn't anything special again on returns (although he did have a 12 yard punt return, which is better than his average), but let's start small and credit him for a solid game.

4) What a phenomenal game from Denzel Ward on the corner and if you want to credit one player for this win, that credit would go to the rookie from Ohio State.
Ward intercepted Joe Flacco in the first half deep in Browns territory (that saved at least 3 points), blocked Justin Tucker's field goal on the last play of the first (another three points saved) and batted two other passes away.
Unless something happens such as an injury, Denzel Ward is headed for defensive rookie of the year.

5) Rashard Higgins caught the game's only touchdown and had caught three passes for 66 yards before leaving the game with a knee injury.
Higgins will undergo an MRI today and I hope it's not serious as Higgins is just starting to come into his own as a dependable third-down receiver for Baker Mayfield.

6) If Higgins is going to miss serious time, the Browns are going to have to do something major if possible, if they are going to continue to, dare I whisper it, contend.
I know the easy name to mention is that of Dez Bryant, but a far cheaper option that is available is recently waived Rashad Matthews, formerly of the Titans.
Matthews will be working out for the Browns today and is scheduled to visit the Cardinals after that.
If the Browns like Matthews, they shouldn't allow him to leave the facility.

7) Even though a veteran would help the receivers even with the hoped-for result of a minor injury for Rashard Higgins, the play of the game was in overtime with a third and eight on Cleveland's eighteen with Baker Mayfield hitting undrafted free agent Derrick Willets for a thirty-nine yard gain.
Willets is 6'4 from Texas Tech and resembles a smaller tight end more than a traditional wideout, but his catch and then avoiding two Raven tackling attempts for a huge gain.

8) The Browns committed ten penalties and were arguably screwed over again on a fourth-down pass that was ruled uncatchable after Jarvis Landry was at minimum held for a five-yard penalty.
The commentators claimed throughout the game that the ball landed out of bounds, but when I looked it up on the DVR after the game, the ball landed inbounds.
I would have had no problem with a defensive holding penalty, but the no-call was ridiculous.

9) Yet after all of that, what did Joe Flacco complain about after the game?
The only penalty on the Ravens called all day- a clear block in the back in overtime.
Ten to One and YOU complain???

10) Baker Mayfield continues to make me glad to be wrong, especially about the strength of his arm.
The two throws that he made on the only touchdown drive of the game showed that with two bullets-one to David Njoku for a first down and the touchdown to Rashard Higgins.
I underrated Baker's arm and even though I'm not ready to anoint him the savior yet after two starts, I've seen enough to consider that I may have been wrong.

11) Still liking those color rush jerseys, mainly because they look like our classic togs, except orange name/numbers rather than white.
Also still need orange or white pants with them though. Too much brown makes them look like an unwrapped Krackel bar.

12) Also still not positive that I want Hue Jackson, arguably the worst clock manager in the game, teaching Baker Mayfield how to manage the clock.
Now it was not the fault of either Mayfield or Jackson that Jarvis Landry made a bad decision in not getting out of bounds on the final drive of regulation. but the Browns lost over twenty seconds on that decision by not using their final timeout.
I understand the importance of having that timeout, but the lost time just killed the Browns.
Mayfield had to rush to the line and spike the ball, losing a down and then two incomplete passes later and the Browns are trying a 55-yard field goal.
The timeout that was saved was never even used.

13) Finally, a non-Browns note.
Is anyone surprised that Pat Shurmur is having problems in New York?
Of all the head coaches the Browns have had, Shurmur was my least favorite.
I feel bad for Giants fan that they will have three years of "we battled" to listen to.

Browns trade Josh Gordon to Patriots

The Josh Gordon saga ended Monday afternoon as the Cleveland Browns traded their talented, but inconsistent wide receiver to the New England Patriots along with a conditional seventh-round draft pick for the Patriots fifth-round pick.
New England only receives the seventh-rounder if Gordon is inactive for ten games this season.

Gordon had 'allegedly' suffered a hamstring injury filming a commercial Friday night and showed up at the Browns practice facility in Berea on Saturday "looking not himself".
Between that and the injury, the Browns had finally had enough and announced their intention to waive Gordon on Monday, which gave interested teams enough time to place minor bids in for the former Baylor receiver.

Although several teams were said to be in talks with the Browns, the word is from several sources that the Browns simply took the highest offer, which was the fifth-rounder from New England, which one would figure to be a very late fifth and move on from Gordon.
Gordon announced today that his hamstring was now "fine" and he expects to play for the Patriots on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
While that smells very fishy and I might even speculate that this was meant for the Browns to release Gordon, which he could then receive a larger contract from a team of his choice, the Browns being able to trade Gordon removed the plan from the table as he will now have to continue under his current contract, so the Browns may not have taken away Gordon's wish to leave Cleveland, they did make sure that he did not gain financially from his actions.

Gordon was an explosive receiver in 2013 with over 1,600 yards receiving to lead the league but has played in just eleven games since then due to various suspensions and off the field issues.
The natural Cleveland thing is for Gordon to tear up the league with New England, but who really knows what Gordon has left physically (although he still shows glimpses of elite potential) and how he'll deal with any adversity at all, so I understand the appeal to New England, but I also realize how the Browns had to throw up their hands, say that they have tried it all and he just had to go.

The Browns signed veteran wideout Rod Streater to the roster to replace Gordon.
The thirty-year-old Streater has spent time with the Raiders and 49ers before being released by the Bills after training camp.
Streater had a strong 2013 as Josh Gordon did ( 60 catches, 888 yards with Oakland), but since that season, like Gordon, Streater has disappointed as he has just 41 catches since that season.

The Browns also released Zane Gonzalez as expected after yesterday's fiasco and had some potential kickers to take a look at for his replacement.
The selection was Greg Joseph, a rookie from Florida Atlantic, who lost a duel with the Dolphins for their job to draftee Jason Sanders.
I would have preferred a veteran that is more used to kicking in bad weather, but they must see something in Joseph, who did kick a 54 yarder among his 3 for 3 attempts in the preseason.
The problem is that Joseph was successful on just 69.5 percent of his kicks in college, which isn't especially high.
It's really tough guessing on kickers because who knows who is going to be successful and like relief pitchers in baseball- they can come from nowhere and be very inconsistent from year to year.
One thing is sure though, they could not afford to trot Zane Gonzalez out in Cleveland Thursday and expect something good to happen, so I commend them for trying to correct a problem.

Lots of pieces today and a Fightheads episode coming up as well.
Back tomorrow with more!