Not attractive, but it isn’t a loss

It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. But it sure was to one Charles Frederick Kitchens.

The unlikely choice as head coach of the Browns by General Manager John Dorsey enjoyed his first National Football League victory Monday night, a 23-3 dismantling of the bruised and battered New York Jets in front of a national television audience.

Many questions surrounded the Browns entering the road game, especially after the Tennessee Titans did a little dismantling of their own on them in the season opener at home eight days ago.

Was this team overhyped? Did it overachieve last season? Will this season be nothing more than yet another big letdown after a massive buildup? Browns Nation was genuinely worried after the Tennessee loss.

The Jets victory didn’t fully answer those questions and others that accompanied them as this rabid fan base at times this past week wondered if 2019 would render more of the same old, same old. They worried more disappointing football was on the way despite a much more talented roster.

There were numerous rough edges to the  offense, which sputtered Monday night under Baker Mayfield, unable to sustain many drives. The Browns were only three-for-14 on third down, not bad considering they converted only one first down in 10 attempts in the Tennessee loss. That’s a season success rate of 16%.

The defense, led by Myles Garrett’s three sacks, came through this week, unlike last week, swarming and relentlessly attacking, keeping the Jets offense pinned way too close to its goal line to do any damage,

Garrett, who was also flagged twice for roughing the passer and twice for being offsides, was a one-man gang in an effort to show Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, his coordinator with the Browns the last two seasons, that he was more than a pass rusher with just two moves.

He manhandled  and mistreated Jets offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum all evening, spending most of the time in the Jets’ backfield, making life generally miserable for anyone who got in his way.

The success of the defense provided the offense with satisfactory field position following punts, getting close enough to the New York goal line for rookie placekicker Austin Seibert to drill first half-field goals from 23, 48 and 43 yards.

The only sustained drive that paid off in the first half began at the Cleveland 47 and concluded five plays later – helped by a Jets holding penalty on third down – with Nick Chubb ripping off a 20-yard scoring run with great blocks along the way from center JC Tretter, right guard Eric Kush and tight end Demetrius Harris.

Harris played almost the entire game after David Njoku suffered a concussion on the second possession of the game after being upended by Nate Hairston, landing on his head.

Odell Beckham Jr., seemingly enjoying his return to the stadium where he became famous as a member of the New York Giants, was his usual spectacular self with a pair of sensational plays, turning six receptions into 161 yards.

After hauling in one of his patented one-handed catches (the right one this time) on the first drive, a 33-yarder that set up the first of Seibert’s field goals, he and Mayfield hooked up on a dazzling 89-yard catch and run after the Jets turned over the ball on downs at the 11 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

On the next play, Mayfield quickly fired the ball to Beckham, who ran a skinny post, grabbed the ball at the 21 in stride, split two defenders and outraced everyone else. It was the kind of play the Browns envisioned when they traded for him.

In two games this season, however, Mayfield has looked nothing like the confident, swaggering quarterback that catapulted him into the national spotlight last season. He looked hesitant, seemingly unable to find open receivers and confused by coverages in the Jets secondary.

In some ways, this one was an unfair fight as the Browns began showing occasional glimpses of being the team that finished the 2018 season strong behind the quarterbacking of Mayfield, who was a pedestrian (for him) 19-of-35 for 325 yards (thanks to Beckham) and his fourth interception of the season.

The Jets, already down their starting quarterback (Sam Darnold, mononucleosis), best linebacker (C. J. Mosley, groin) and stud rookie defensive tackle (Quinnen Williams, knee), lost starting quarterback Trevor Siemian to a leg injury midway through the second quarter.

The Cleveland defense, showing little or no respect for Siemian or third-stringer Luke Falk, constantly crowded the box with as many as eight men, basically daring the Jets to throw the football.

The closest they got to the Cleveland goal line was halfway into the fourth quarter with the game firmly in hand. Browns linebacker Joe Schobert jarred the ball loose from Le’Veon Bell at the five-yard line following a pass reception and run.

Absent any threatening skill players due to attrition, Jets coach Adam Gase called the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout’s number 31 times in 59 plays, 21 infantry style.

In the end, the victory over the physically damaged Jets enabled Kitchens to temporarily quiet those who believe this team is far less dangerous on the field than it is on paper. They say the final of this one should have been worse than 23-3.

Flip side of that is the notion that the sign of a good team is winning when it doesn’t play well, which the Browns did not do Monday night on the side of the football that was counted on being the team’s strength.

And with dates coming up in the next five games against teams currently unbeaten after the first two weeks, that doesn’t bode well unless Kitchens unlocks the mystery of why that strength hasn’t performed up to expectations.