Monday leftovers (Friday edition)

There was only one aspect of Thursday night's 35-30 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that chapped Kevin Stefanski from an offensive standpoint.

It was the moment Baker Mayfield tried to thread a pass to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant into double coverage at the beginning of the fourth quarter with the Browns holding a 28-16 lead. It wound up in the hands of Bengals cornerback Williams Jackson III two yards from the end zone.

"We talk a lot about the balance between being aggressive and smart," Stefanski said. "I want our quarterbacks to be aggressive. I also want them to know the value of the football." In other words, protect the rock. Mayfield failed to heed the smart part of that line of thinking.

While he is not incorrect, he, too, should share some blame for calling a play like that at that juncture of the game. He was smartly protecting the lead up to that point with a relentless ground attack alternating Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

The offense had marched 49 yards -- Hunt chewing up 35 of those yards on five carries -- to the Cincinnati 26. That's when Stefanski got greedy and dialed up Mayfield, who at the time was playing almost flawlessly. 

Why abandon the run when it was so successfully accomplishing the main objective? The Browns' offensive line was winning every snap. Why not run down the clock? Move the chains and slowly demoralize the sagging Bengals defense. So who is really to blame for the pick?

Got to be Stefanski, who wants his mistake-prone quarterback to protect the ball, then makes a call like that. That's like pointing fingers of guilt at the messenger. The wrong guy. Stefanski called the play. Mayfield failed to execute it properly. The blame lies with the playcaller, not the thrower.

"We teach them on every single play," Stefanski said. "We give them reads that are very black and white. When the play breaks down or the play goes off schedule, you just trust those guys to get smarter as the down gets longer."

The Bengals took advantage of the interception and put together a pass-heavy, 14-play, 83-yard touchdown drive against a tiring Cleveland defense that cut the Browns' lead to 28-23. Instead of being up at least 31-16 with a field goal or 35-16 with a touchdown, it became a game with 5:55 left in regulation.

Stefanski learned his lesson quickly, though. On the very next possession, he pocketed the passing game and messaged only run plays to Mayfield. With Chubb and Hunt again taking turns, the Browns marched 75 yards in six plays, Chubb accounting for 30 and Hunt for 45 and the score.

So the next time he thinks calling a pass play is wise when the run game is working so overwhelmingly well, the head coach/playcaller might consider what happened Thursday night as an object lesson, rein himself in and keep from getting hungry for more at the inappropriate time.

Mayfield, meanwhile, was sanguine about the offense he managed. "That's going to build confidence for us and us playing complementary football with the defense," he said. "That's the scary part. If we start clicking and (get) better, it's going to be a fun ride."

Stefanski summed it up in a Captain Obvious way: "We have to keep growing as an offense. We have to get better each week -- offense, defense and special teams." 

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It became quite clear early that Stefanski wanted Mayfield to feel more comfortable than he did in the opening-game shellacking in Baltimore when he called maybe one or two designed rollouts and/or play fakes. It's the kind of offense that plays well to the quarterback's strengths, which were evidenced in the Bengals victory.

It allows him to get into the open, sometimes on misdirection plays (my favorite), which gives him more time to choose options that are available. He becomes a better quarterback when he escapes the pocket and is on the run early in the play. It places even more pressure on the defense.

Stefanski and Mayfield have been together for a relatively short period of time because of the pandemic and are getting used to each other now that games are being played. It looks as though this is going to be a weekly process that is slowly coming together as they attempt to land on the same page.

The importance of shepherding his quarterback through the process cannot be minimized. It took just one game to eliminate some of the mistakes in the Baltimore game. It's worth keeping an eye on in the next game at home against Washington a week from Sunday.

Fairly or unfairly, this is a make or break year for Mayfield, whose strong showing as a rookie portended a bright future and bitterly disappointing sophomore season all but wiped out all he accomplished in his first year. He needs to duplicate his first year to advance the notion he deserves to be considered the face of the franchise.

He took major steps against the Bengals and their bad defense. Now let's see where this project lies after the next four games against Washington, Dallas, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, all teams with playoff ambitions and better defenses. than the Bengals.

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The Cleveland defense turned in the play of the game, as it turned out, early in the third quarter after the Cincinnati defense turned away the Browns on four plays from the 1 and took over on downs with the Browns clinging to a 21-13 lead. Great momentum changer. Or so they thought. Myles Garrett had other ideas.

Six plays later, the big defensive end on third-and-9 strip-sacked rookie Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow, separating him from the ball with Joe Jackson recovering right back where it all started, the 1. This time, Chubb chugged into the end zone on the second play for the 28-13 lead.

The defense on this team is not going to make many big plays. It is not talented enough from front to back. You can't name more than two or three genuine playmakers among the mediocrity of the personnel on that side of the ball. So enjoy them when they occur.

What the defense did show against the Bengals was stamina. Middle linebacker B. J, Goodson and free safety Andrew Sendejo played all 93 snaps (88 counted on the stats sheet); cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell each played 91; strong safety Karl Joseph logged 86; and Garrett was in on 84, a ringing testament to the great shape they are in, especially after a 61-pass night by Burrow.

Ward had a particularly outstanding evening against Cincinnati wide receiver A. J. Green, who has bedeviled the Browns in the past. He was targeted 13 times by Burrow and caught just three for a measly 29 yards, the longest a 15-yarder. 

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Injuries have taken a huge bite out of the defensive end rotation. Olivier Vernon (abdomen) did not dress and Adrian Clayborn, who replaced him in the starting lineup and had an early sack, left in the second quarter (hip) and did not return. 

Porter Gustin, who had a strong training camp, and Jackson took over with no dropoff in production.  Gustin logged 63 snaps with four tackles (two solo), a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit, and Jackson contributed 31 snaps with three tackles (one solo) and the vital fumble recovery that led to the fourth touchdown. 

But it was the outstanding play of defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson that stood out all evening. When he wasn't harassing Burrow, he was helping shut down the strong Cincinnati running game, holding Joe Mixon to his career low (46 yards) against the Browns.

In 67 snaps, Richardson contributed six tackles (four solo), a sack, multiple hurries, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. He was easily the most effective defensive lineman. 

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Finally . . . It sure looks as though KhaDarel Hodge has locked up the third wide receiver role ahead of Rashard Higgins. Hodge played 33 snaps to Higgins' five and caught both targeted passes for 39 yards. . . . Kudos to offensive right tackle Chris Hubbard, who was solid filling in for Jack Conklin (ankle and finger). If he played like that last season, the Browns might not have gone after Conklin in free agency. . . . Odell Beckham Jr., who was on the receiving end of the Browns' second touchdown, a 43-yard strike early in the second quarter, was targeted just twice in the second half, no doubt because the running game was so dominant. . . . What needs to be worked on besides the defense? Special teams surrendered kickoff returns of 45 and 42 yards by the Bengals' Brandon Wilson, a safety. The first led to a field goal, the second a touchdown. . . .Cody Parkey was perfect on five extra points for the Browns as Austin Seibert, signed by the Bengals after being released by Cleveland on Monday, watched from the sidelines. Converting extra points proved difficult for Seibert with the Browns. . . . Up next, the team formerly known as the Redskins at home a week from Sunday. FYI: They recorded eight sacks in their week one upset of Philadelphia.