Monday leftovers

Baker Mayfield was having a great time quarterbacking the Browns in the first half Sunday down in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans. 

He was really feeling it. So were the Titans, who were blown out,38-7, in those 30 minutes. Mayfield was prancing around joyously like a little kid after each of the five touchdowns. He was genuinely having a ball. Life was good. 

He was showing those critical of his play this season that he still had it. He could sling with the best of them. This was the Baker Mayfield the club drafted No. 1 overall in 2018. He made everyone on that side of the football look better.

He was confident, purposeful, even brash in a slightly more muted way than he was in college. But the swagger was definitely there. He was the linchpin of the historic performance by a Cleveland offense that stunned with its precision and execution.

Who were these guys? Fans hadn't really seen them this season. Okay, maybe in spurts, but not for a sustained period. The startling manner in which they dismantled the Titans defense was completely unexpected. 

And then, just like that, Kevin Stefanski snatched it all way in the second half.  Pulled the plug. Figuring a 38-7 margin with only 30 minutes left and just so many possessions, the head coach probably felt comfortable enough to call off the dogs.

He went ultra conservative. Mayfield, 20 of 25 for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, threw just eight times in the second half, completing five for 44 yards. The offense that generated 344 first-half yards in the first half put up a mere 114 the rest of the way.

The boot that was placed heavily on the Titans' throats in the first half was lifted. Whether is was compassionate in nature or just good old-fashioned conservatism, the Browns' offense sputtered and burped and the defense, which played brilliantly in the first half, disappeared.

Whatever happened to sticking with what got you there? Whatever happened to bullying your opponent until they wave a flag of surrender and start playing backups? Guess those days are gone.

By changing strategy and tactics, Stefanski gave the Titans the emotional opening they needed. They had to be demoralized, maybe even shocked, to look at the home scoreboard and see they were getting embarrassed.

By going conservative, the Titans took advantage and scored two lightning-quick touchdowns sandwiched around a Browns three-and-out to start the third quarter. All of a sudden, the Titans had momentum and trimmed the lead to 38-21.

The fact that Tennessee eventually sliced the lead to 41-35 in the final half minute seemed to bother Mayfield in his post-game session with the media.

"It's tricky when you get up by that much of staying aggressive or calling the dogs off and type mentality," he said. "You want to run the ball to take the clock away to give them less opportunities, but at the same time, you don't want to go away from what is working. It is tricky, but we just have to make those plays."

Fumbling the ball away on a simple quarterback sneak in the last minute, which led to the final Titans touchdown, didn't help. "Obviously, if I hold on to the dang football, then it is not going to be close or as close as it should have been," he said, owning up to his mistake.

It has become just as obvious that this team, its 9-3 notwithstanding, still has trouble closing out games while holding significant leads. Being outscored by 60 points overall in the final 30 minutes might have something to do with that.

Maybe next time the Browns are in this situation, Stefanski should consider sticking to the game plan that notched that lead. He got lucky this time because the margin was so large. But they came awfully close, too close, to blowing that lead.

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Myles Garrett was a relative non-factor statistically with two solo tackles and a sack after missing two games with  COVID-19. But the defensive end's presence alone was a big factor in the first half as the defense rendered impotent the potent Titans offense.

Derrick Henry, who leads the National Football League in rushing, was held to only 15 yards on seven carries in large part due to Garrett being on the field. As a result, the rest of the defensive line functions much better.

Garrett played 52 of the 72 snaps, mostly in the first half when the defense totally throttled the Tennessee offense. Tackle Sheldon Richardson, arguably the steadiest and most reliable member of the defensive line, took advantage with a couple of terrific game-changing plays on consecutive possessions in the opening quarter.

On the first, he stuffed Henry at the line of scrimmage (the Cleveland 42) on a fourth and a foot on the first possession and then separated the big running back from the football, his first fumble of the season, on the following possession. Both turnovers led to Cleveland touchdowns, Mayfield connecting with Jarvis Landry and Kendall Lamm on a gadget play.

The defense made big plays throughout the first half with a pass rush that disrupted the timing of quarterback Ryan Tannehill enough to cause consecutive three-and-outs while the Cleveland attack kept on scoring.

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It was refreshing to see the creativity on offense from coordinator Alex Van Pelt and Stefanski. Gadget pays are fun to watch, but only when they are successful. Only one problem: Calling them when the offense is humming. No need to disrupt the rhythm.

Hopefully, Stefanski and Van Pelt will utilize them sparingly, especially down the stretch when every game, every series, every snap takes on much more meaning. The downside is there can be as many spectacular failures running them than successes. Timing is everything.

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It's time to see more of Donovan People-Jones. For the most part, the rookie wide receiver has come through when called on. His lone glitch was the dropped sure-touchdown pass by Mayfield on the opening drive Sunday. The Browns settled for a Cody Parkey field goal.

DPJ's 75-yard catch-and-run against the Titans was a thing of beauty. His out-and-up move that completely fooled cornerback Breon Borders was perfect as Mayfield hit him in stride for the easy score. He is also reliable in the return game.

The sixth-round draft choice out of Michigan has been targeted only nine times this season, but has caught seven for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Five of his receptions have accounted for first downs. He needs to see more of the football.

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Finally . . .  Mayfield targeted nine different receivers in that big first half against the Titans. . . . Rashard Higgins, now the No. 2 receiver behind Jarvis Landry, caught six of his nine targets for 95 yards and a touchdown, , , , Landry caught eight passes for the second week in a row and scored his second TD of the season. . . . Tight ends were targeted just three times, Austin Hooper grabbing two and David Njoku the other totaling 29 yards. . . . To give you an idea of how different the two halves were Sunday, Jamie Gillan did not move off the bench in the first half, but punted thrice in five possessions in the second half. . . . After watching the combustible secondary in action in the second half, Denzel Ward can't heal his strained calf quickly enough to get back on the field and semi-solidify a shaky defensive backfield.