New York Jets
at
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland 21, N.Y. Jets 17 - You knew it was bound to happen, especially given how well the Browns have been playing as of late. They came all the way back from 21-7 down to tie Pittsburgh in week one, and then gave the Saints all that they could handle down in New Orleans last weekend. It is unfortunate that Cleveland's first victim in terms of an outright loss just happened to be the Jets, but they have been looking so much better, and again, it had to happen at some time, and to someone.
This game featured probably the top two quarterbacks from this last draft in Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. So far, both have looked like the real deal.
The Jets looked solidly in command last night when I tuned the game off, because I was just too exhausted, frankly, to stay up and watch the rest of the game. New York had taken a 14-0 lead in the first half before Mayfield took over for the struggling Tyrod Taylor. Mayfield looked immediately more impressive, but New York still held a 14-3 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
But Mayfield really showed some things on the field last night. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards. But it was not just the statistics, which were quite impressive nevertheless. It was the command that he seemed to have, the poise under pressure. He scrambled out of trouble and was able to put a good looking pass up while under serious defensive pressure. Carlos Hyde was also solid on the ground for Cleveland, picking up 98 yards on 23 carries, with two touchdowns on his 28th birthday.
Darnold, in only his third start for the Jets, had his toughest game so far. He completed 15 of 31 passes for 169 yards, and two interceptions. The Browns defense applied constant pressure, and it showed with Darnold struggling. After a phenomenal first game, where he showed some amazing flashes of brilliance against the Lions and earned a strong passer rating of 116.8 in that game, Darnold has increasingly struggled. He threw two touchdowns and one interception against Detroit, then one touchdown and two interceptions against Miami last weekend, before the mediocre showing last night in Cleveland. His passer rating last night was a rather dismal 38.2. Running back Bilal Powell had some success on the ground, picking up 73 yards on 14 carries for Gang Green, but he did not have a touchdown.
Indeed, the Browns defense tightened up in the second half, yielding only a field goal to the Jets for the entire half, and allowing the offensive production to stand up for a win.
Finally.
A lot is being made of how long it has been since Cleveland was last in this position. It had been almost two full years - 635 days to be exact - since the Browns last won a meaningful game prior to last night. So far, though, you would have to say that Cleveland has looked significantly improved with their play this season. They have played three games, and been in every single game. They came back from 14 points down against Pittsburgh to force a tie. They very nearly beat New Orleans last weekend. And now, they again came from 14 points behind against the Jets last night, but this time outright earned the win. Amazingly, despite only having a 1-1-1 record, the Browns have shown remarkable progress from last season, and have enjoyed more on field success than the franchise enjoyed all of last season, when they went 0-16.
As for the Jets…well, somebody was going to be the first team to lose to Cleveland. The Browns are better than their record winless streak would indicate. The Jets missed some opportunities. Obviously, when you are on the road and own a 14-0 lead against a struggling team with a lot of inexperience, you would normally expect that team to win. But the Jets are themselves in rebuilding mode, and they have shown strong glimpses of improvement. It will take time, and most likely, as I mentioned before, huge progress will not be seen this year. At least, not enough to make the playoffs. For once, though, the Jets have something going, some momentum for the future, and they need to remain patient and poised, and even to struggle as they are doing through at least this season, before they are in a position to really become a contender. Neither team last night seems ready to be a serious playoff contender, but both teams are showing some solid glimpses from good recent draft picks and talented pick-ups. These are both struggling teams, and for much of the good glimpses that both teams showed, they also showed some inexperience and growing pains, as well. If both teams remain patient and continue to develop, the time might not b be far off when both of these teams find themselves in the postseason again, and quite possibly against once another.
It had been almost two full years - 635 days to be exact - since the Browns last won a meaningful game prior to last night.
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