The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Browns take care of weather and Texans
Weather that would challenge the constitution of the hardiest mailman tested the Browns for a second straight game, and this time the Browns prevailed.
They prevailed over the Houston Texans, 10
7, in hurricanelike conditions on Nov. 15 at FirstEnergy Stadium because running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt would not be denied. They prevailed because defensive end Myles Garrett continued to build on the best season of his career.
Kickoff was delayed 35 minutes when lightning flashed from dark, ominous clouds rolling in over Lake Erie. Players lined up for the national anthem and then the referee sent both teams to their locker rooms while the worst of the storm abated.
Fans were instructed to leave their seats and seek shelter in the concourse as torrents of rain whipped through the stadium.
The rain slackened, but the wind continued when play began.
“A couple times, my call sheet almost flew out of my hands,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I’ve never been a part of that type of wind.”
The Browns are 6-3. They host Philadelphia (35-1) on Nov. 22 and play at Jacksonville (1-8) on Nov. 29. They could be 8-3 by the end of the month — it would be their highest victory total since 10-6 in 2007 with five games still to play — but won’t talk playoffs.
“I’m very proud of our team just overall with dealing with the circumstances,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “Defense playing lights out. Offense, we can be better, but we did what it took to win.
“Special teams for (kicker) Cody (Parkey) to make all his kicks in this wind, that’s pretty special. It’s a great team win, but we’re not done yet. We talked about it. It’s just something to build on and continue to improve because there is still a lot of room for improvement.”
The running attack was on full display at the end of the game. The Texans scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7 with 4:59 to play and then pinned the Browns on the Cleveland 3 when Donovan Peoples-Jones mishandled the kickoff.
Hunt carried three straight times, chewing up positive yardage each time, and then burst loose on a 19-yard run to the Browns’ 33 at the twominute warning. He carried two more times to the Cleveland 40 before the Browns called a timeout on third-and-three with 1:07 to play. The Texans were out of timeouts.
Make the first down.
Take a knee. Game over.
Instead of calling a pass play on the critical third down, Stefanski called for a handoff to Chubb and instructed Chubb to go to the ground if he got the first down. Mayfield would take a knee twice. Game over.
Chubb dashed around left end and iced the game on a 59-yard run, intentionally stepping out of bounds at the Houston 1 with 56 seconds to play. He could have easily scored the touchdown, but followed his coach’s instructions
It was Chubb’s first game back after missing four recovering from a knee injury. He rushed 19 times for 126 yards.
“When you’re able to have that one-two punch of those guys being able to have somewhat fresh legs coming in late in the game, it really does wear those teams down,” Mayfield said. “We’re blessed to have those guys in our backfield.”
Chubb got most of his yards scooting outside and accelerating. Hunt gained his running inside and either shredded Texans or dragged them along on his way to 104 yards on 19 carries.
“I was definitely feeding off Kareem the whole game,” Chubb said. “He was out there making great plays and making hard tough runs, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. He definitely provided me energy throughout this game.”
Chubb scored the Browns’ only touchdown on a 9-yard run behind right guard Wyatt Teller on the third play of the fourth quarter for a 10-0 Browns lead. He carried the ball six times in the nine-play drive.
Two weeks earlier, the Browns defense couldn’t get off the field in a 16-6 loss to Las Vegas. The Raiders put together four scoring drives and three of them lasted more than eight minutes apiece. Led by Josh Jacobs rushing 31 times for 129 yards, the Raiders churned out 209 rushing yards on 45 car
ries.
The Browns flipped the script against the Texans. They possessed the ball for 33 minutes, 20 seconds compared to 26:40 for Houston.
The Browns’ biggest defensive play — naturally — was made by Garrett. The Texans had an
opportunity to take a 7-3 lead on the opening drive of the second quarter, but on fourth-and-goal from the 2, Deshaun Watson attempted a quarterback draw. Garrett sniffed it out, stepped inside right tackle Tytus Howard and dumped Watson for a twoyard loss.
“I saw them going to empty,” Garrett said. “I knew they weren’t going to drop back and pass with such a dynamic quarterback like Deshaun. I took two steps and tried to bait him upfield. I knew he was going to run behind me and I took it.”
Garrett missed the end
of the Las Vegas game with a knee injury. He and Chubb are back and ready to help the playoff push, even if no one will utter the “P” word.