Monday leftovers

It's kind of hackneyed, but it's also so very true. In sports, inches can make the difference between success and failure.

Take, for example, the manner in which the Browns barely knocked off the Houston Texans Sunday in the blustery ballpark by the lake. Both clubs slogged through three quarters of very boring football, showing no inclination to change the 3-0 Cleveland lead at the time.

And then it happened. That inches can, indeed, make a difference. If anything, it was subtle. Just another ho-hum moment in this sleep-inducing National Football League game that went unnoticed. 

The situation: Late third quarter, Browns ball, third-and-18 at their 28-yard line and looking like another Jamie Gillan punt loomed. Baker Mayfield in shotgun formation dropped back, surveyed the field and spotted Rashard Higgins crossing from left to right, shadowed closely by cornerback Bradley Roby.

At the last second, Mayfield threaded a spiral toward the right sideline to where only Higgins could make the catch. The ball and Higgins' feet arrived simultaneously inches from the sideline chalk. He stopped short, grabbed the ball and tiptoed, then dotted the I's with both feet for the 21-yard completion.

If the ball is early, Higgins might not have been able to be there to make the reception. If it arrives late, he reaches the sideline before the grab and catches it out of bounds. Inches, in this case, and superb timing between quarterback and receiver made the difference.

So why was this so important in the grand scheme of things? Because it was the play that eventually kick-started the drive that led to what turned out to be the winning touchdown. 

Higgins also figured prominently in another important  -- and quite fortunate -- part of this possession, which turned sour shortly after reaching the 49. A holding penalty on tight end Austin Hooper and two completed passes for just 10 yards brought up a third-and-8 at the Texans 49.

This time, Mayfield found Higgins again, but failed to connect. Luck replaced inches in this case as Houston cornerback Vernon Hergreaves was flagged for pass interference. 

Nick Chubb took care of the rest, the bruising Cleveland running back motoring the remaining 35 yards on four carries, racing untouched to the end zone for the final nine yards to lift the Browns to a 10-0 lead that proved insurmountable.

It took inches and good fortune to win this one. Without those precious inches. though, there would not have been even the possibility of pass interference. 

***

The return of Wyatt Teller at right guard along the offensive line made quite a difference against the Texans. The brutal weather conditions -- winds gusting up to 50 mph can wreak all kinds of havoc with a thrown football -- gave the coaching staff a chance to ramp up the ground game, which has suffered somewhat with Chubb's four-game absence.

The highest ground total in any of those games peaked at 124 yards in that time, twice coming in at under 100 yards. Chubb and Kareem Hunt absolutely thrived against Houston with the offensive line now complete and working harmoniously.

They combined for 230 yards on 38 carries as the Browns concentrated on that aspect of the game. It allowed head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski to lean heavily on his favorite part of the game, limiting Mayfield, who threw the football only 20 times, completing 12 for 132 yards.

At the same time, the offensive line is making Mayfield's job much easier. He has been sacked only once (against the Texans) in the last three games. At the same time, he has thrown zero touchdown passes since his five-touchdown salvo against Cincinnati in week seven.

And did you notice the Browns ran to the weak (left) side of the formation quite a bit against the Texans with a large degree of success. It silenced, at least temporarily, critics of left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr, with regard to his blocking in the run game. 

The rookie, however, has had a few problems with his pass protection and inability to cooperate with the snap count, piling up several false starts. The pass pro situation indicates he might still have problems switching from one side of the line to the other. But he did throw one of the key blocks on Chubb's scoring run.

***

It happened on the Browns' first possession of the game and resulted in one of the rarest statistics in football at any level. Ever heard of a fumble credited to a center? Well, it happened Sunday against the Texans.

The Browns had driven nicely, reaching the Houston seven in 11 plays. Mayfield faced a third-and-one and lined up under center JC Tretter. As he was barking out the signals, Tretter snapped the ball, which skittered and skipped between his quarterback's legs along the ground and rolled backward.

Mayfield retreated, picked up the ball around the 15 and heaved it off balance toward the sideline to avoid a sack. After a conference, referee Ron Torbert determined the ball did not reach the line of scrimmage and thus ruled it intentional grounding, which called for loss of down and 15 yards from the spot of the foul. Cody Parkey wound up kicking a 41-yard field goal, the game's only points until the fourth quarter.

The stats crew had to blame somebody. It wasn't Mayfield's fault because he didn't touch the ball until tracking it down following the snap. Who else to blame? The only player who touched the ball and created what was ruled a fumble was Tretter. And that's how a center is credited with a fumble. Quite likely you will never see anything like that again. 

***

Chubb created a controversy when he deliberately stepped out of bounds at the Houston one-yard line after breaking loose for 59 yards in the waning moments ofd the game. Bettors and fantasy football players alike were not thrilled.

Chubb was following orders by Stefanski to purposely give himself up after making a first down at that point since the Texans were out of timeouts and could not stop the clock. The Browns were a 3.5-point favorites and won by three. One bettor reportedly bet $100,000 on the Browns, giving the points.

Meanwhile, fantasy football players who had Chubb on their teams lost a touchdown, They probably liked the 128 total yards and earlier touchdown by Chubb. But they lost six more points when he obeyed his head coach. As a fantasy football player myself, I feel their pain. And no, I drafted too late to pick Chubb.

***

Finally . . . The Texans victory marked the first time in the last five game the Browns haven't committed a turnover. It was only their third no-turnover game of the season. They have won all three. . . .  This is the first time this season the Browns have scored less than 11 points this season and won. . . . The secondary recorded no takeaways for the third time in the last four games. They lost the first two games. . . . Mayfield has not thrown an interceptions in four games. three of them victories. . . . The Browns owned the football for 18 minutes in the second half. . . The special teams still haven't been fixed. They allowed a nice runback on a kickoff and one on a punt. . . . Sack master Myles Garrett played a solid game. In addition to a half sack, he made the tackle of the game early in the second quarter when he stuffed Deshaun Watson on a quarterback draw on fourth and goal at the Cleveland two, dropping him for a two-yard loss.