Monday leftovers

To suggest having Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt on the same roster is a luxury states not only the obvious, but the envy of Kevin Stefanski by every head coach in the National Football League. Not only are they a luxury, they are a treasure. 

They are, not even arguably, the best pair of running backs this franchise has ever had. Better than the legendary Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell, better than Brown and Ernie Green, better than Marion Motley and Dub Jones, better than Leroy Kelly and Green, better than Mike Pruitt and Greg Pruitt, better than Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack.

Granted, Hunt has played only 27 games since joining the club a couple of years ago, but his impact in that brief time has helped flesh out the superstar quality of Chubb, at the same time rekindling a career that was headed in the wrong direction.

There is no question former Browns  General Manager John Dorsey gambled when he plucked the Willoughby native off the waiver wire in 2018 after he was released by the Kansas City Chiefs following an ugly personal behavior incident off the field and lying to the Chiefs about it.

Dorsey, known for taking chances on talented players with problems off the field, knew the talent was there with the NFL's rookie of the year in 2017 and believed, correctly as it turned out, that the home environment would be beneficial for him.

Stefanski is the fortunate beneficiary of Dorsey's prescience with regard to the talented running back, whose versatility and sheer talent with a football has helped the Browns become one of the league's most dangerous teams on offense.

The combined talents of these two running backs has caused numbing headaches for defensive coordinators around the league. Very few teams have been able to totally shut down this tandem, both of whom are quite capable of tilting a game in the Browns' direction by themselves.

There are occasions where one can be stopped until Stefanski changes gears and summons the other off the bench. Sort of a pick your poison situation. Rarely do they appear in the same backfield, Stefanski's way from a strategic standpoint of keeping both men healthy for the gruelling 17-game schedule.

Off the field, they are good friends. On the field, they pick each other up. They have produced 45% of the offense with half of the club's 10 touchdowns this season. There are times when it seems they feed off each other's emotions in terms of achieving the main goal of winning.

In Sunday's 26-6 victory over the Chicago Bears, Hunt came off the bench with what some might call a tour de force performance, touching the ball 16 times, producing 155 yards and a touchdown.. He was the spark of a Cleveland offense that ran in fits and starts against a Chicago defense that kept the final score so low.

Chubb is the grinder, the one who gets the tough yards. The one who annually leads the NFL in broken tackles. It sometimes appears as though he looks for someone to run over. Hunt is the opposite. He, too, is tackle breaker, but he is also more of a slasher who would rather break opposing ankles with dazzling moves. Both men are difficult to bring to the ground. 

Together, they -- and, of course, the offensive line --  form the reason Baker Mayfield has flourished as a quarterback. With so much talent behind that line, it is difficult to key on just one aspect of the offense because the other is so dangerous.

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Odell Beckham Jr. defies not only the laws of gravity when making spectacular receptions of a thrown football, he defies medical norms. Take the recovery from his torn anterior cruciate ligament last Oct. 25 on the third play of the game in Cincinnati, making a tackle following a Mayfield interception.

Obviously a quick healer and dedicated rehab patient, Beckham beat the normal one-year recovery period for ACL patients by a full month Sunday against Chicago. Considering how well he played in the victory in his first game back, one would never know he had been away so long.

He played nearly two-thirds of the 78 snaps (not counting the last three kneeldowns), a testament to his strength and conditioning. Mayfield targeted him nine times, connecting on five for 77 yards, including four that helped convert third downs.

The best was a true candidate for a SportsCenter top 10 list.  First possession of the second half, third play, third and 7 from the Chicago 41. Mayfield straight drop, lofts a pass toward the right sideline, Beckham running just inside the chalk.

As he approaches the 15-yard line, he stops on a dime, whirls to his left with his back to the sideline, snatches the perfectly-timed  throw and taps both toes as he falls back and out of bounds. All Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, in coverage, could do is watch. 

Unbelievable to the human eye. Routine for Beckham. He was back.

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Demetric Felton logged only 11 snaps on offense, but his mere presence portends some exciting football the rest of the way. He was targeted three times by Mayfield, grabbing a pair for  just 13 yards. But it was a first-quarter incompletion on the opening drive that caused a bit of a stir.

The smooth rookie curled out of the backfield and ran toward the left sideline, beating linebacker Roquan Smith deep as Mayfield delivered. The pass sailed over his head by at least a couple of yards. A completion would have resulted in a touchdown. It's a play Stefanski should reprise.

The sixth-round draft pick also banked 20 snaps on special teams and gives every indication the Browns' woes on the return game might disappear with his arrival. That, of course, is if the return teams learn how to avoid penalty flags. Felton returned seven Chicago punts for 108 yards, each time making the first man miss. 

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Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah played 23 of the club's 45 snaps and began to look like the player the Browns took in the second round of the draft. He looked more comfortable, more assured and definitely quicker than in the first two games.

He was filling in for the injured Sione Takitaki and seemed to be playing without thinking. He moved instinctively, alternating between the box and pass coverage. That's what defensive coordinator Joe Woods wanted to see from him.

He was the club's second-leading tackler with four tackles (three solo), a half sack (with Myles Garrett) of Justin Fields, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. He appears to be shedding the growing pains that have slowed his progress.

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Chase McLaughlin is now officially out of practice squad hell. The young placekicker, who had never kicked in a regular-season game until this season with the Browns, is authoring a perfecto thus far -- perfect on five field goals and nine extra points.

McLaughlin, who was undrafted in 2019 out of Illinois, was on the practice squads of seven different teams before signing with Cleveland. And he was ticketed for the practice squad until incumbent Cody Parkey was hurt in training camp and ultimately waived by the team. 

His 57-yard field goal in the first half Sunday -- he also had a 52-yarder in the second half -- was a stunner. It shouldn't have been. He kicked five 50+ yarders at Illinois. It moved Stefanski to declare, "I have confidence in the kid." But in the world of placekickers, you're as good as your next kick.

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Finally . . . Garrett filled the stats sheet against the Bears with seven tackles (six solo), four-and-a-half sacks, four tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. Cracked Mike Greenberg on ESPN's Get Up Monday morning, "Myles Garrett had a great season yesterday." . . . It was kind of sad to watch Garrett abusing Bears left tackle Jason Peters, an 18-year veteran who some day will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. . . . Bears head coach Matt Nagy's postmortem after the game: "You almost can't make it up, it was that bad. We've got to get to the bottom of it." . . . One more time: Why is Andy Janovich still on the roster? He banked a whole two snaps against the Bears.