Not ugly, not pretty

It was truly a weird afternoon of football on a sunny Sunday down by the lakefront as the Browns opened the home portion of their 17-game schedule against the Houston Texans with a 31-21 victory.

They lost their best receiver on the second play of the game. They played passive defense as a former teammate cunningly carved up their defense in the first half. 

Their quarterback had an odd day, attempting 21 passes and completing 19, one to the opposition. They also saw their quarterback stop the interceptor with a jarring open-field tackle late in the first half that appeared to leave him dazed. 

The lead never seemed safe until midway through the final quarter because the Texans kept coming back. The only difference this week was Houston didn't have the sustainability to keep up with better teams like Kansas City did last week against the Browns.

It sure looked in the first half as though the Texans came prepared to play a football game, while the Browns just seemed happy to be playing in front of humans again after the pandemic caused an empty-stadium 2020 season in the National Football League.

They received a few breaks along the way, like recovering a muffed punt after whiffing on the opening drive, scoring four plays later on an Andy Janovich short blast. But the expected easy game then took an unexpected turn.

Tyrod Taylor, who opened the 2018 season as the Browns' starting quarterback, was almost perfect as he guided the Texans to a 14-7 lead, hooking up with running back Phillip Lindsay on a beautifully designed 22-yard screen pass to tie the game and then romping 15 yards untouched six plays after the Baker Mayfield pick.

He completed all but one of his 11 throws. The Cleveland pass rush, or what passed for the pass rush (no pun intended), didn't touch him. They couldn't because he unloaded the football quickly. If he had played that way for the Browns in 2018, Mayfield, then a learning rookie, would never have seen the field.

Losing Jarvis Landry to a sprained knee that could sideline him for some time hurt in so many ways. He's Mayfield's best, most trusted and favorite receiver. He is always a threat to run or throw the ball. A huge loss, especially with the entire game left to play.

The setback seemed to alter the game plan after it became apparent the Texans would not go away. With Odell Beckham Jr. not quite ready to suit up, the Cleveland receiving corps was reduced to Donovan Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins and rookie Anthony Schwartz, and three tight ends. 

That's not nearly enough. There is not a playmaker among the group. It appeared as though Schwartz stopped his route early on the Mayfield pick, Justin Reid's interception making the Cleveland quarterback look bad.

Mayfield also had trouble finding open receivers, scrambling on eight of his dropbacks. One was a five-yard scoring jaunt, climaxing a 10-play 75-yard drive, tying the game at 14-14 at the half and probably causing more than a few fans to wonder what the heck was going on.

He eventually went on to complete every one of his next 10 passes following the pick as head coach. playcaller Kevin Stefanski chose more high-percentage throws, content with moving the football methodically rather than with stretching the field with a quick strike.

When it became apparent the Texans were determined to stop the Browns through the air, Stefanski as much as said, "All right. If that's what you want, how about a few doses of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt." It was mostly Chubb, who wound up with 95 yards on 11 carries.

This wasn't supposed to happen against the Texans, who opened up the season by knocking off Jacksonville. But the Browns are not the Jaguars. They are miles better on offense than Houston and better, at least on paper, on the other side of the football.

And then came the biggest break of all. When the second half began, Taylor was nowhere to be found. The hamstring epidemic that has bedeviled the Browns, reached out and snagged him, too. In came rookie Davis Mills for his first NFL snaps. The first two series were disastrous as the Cleveland defense came alive.

A three-and-out, followed by a seven-play, 72-yard drive, highlighted by a spectacular and well-executed 33-yard catch and run by rookie running back Demetric Felton, broke the tie and for all practical purposes  put this one away. It was Mayfield's first touchdown pass of the season,

A Chase McLaughlin field goal on the next series, which featured a Malcolm Smith Jr. pick deep in Houston territory, provided some insurance. But Mills wasn't done. Neither were the Texans, who stormed back and pulled to within three points at 24-21 on an exhausting 16-play drive.

He kept the Cleveland defense on the field for a shade more than eight minutes. They were on the field because they couldn't get off. Mills, all of a sudden looking like a seasoned pro, converted four third downs along the way. The drive featured some of the same sloppy tackling that marred last season.

Even though the Browns' front office made sweeping changes and put as many as 10 new defensive faces on the field, it sure is beginning to look very much like last season. The only thing that seems to be changing are the faces.

Stefanski's nod to the ground game in the second half paid off after the lengthy Houston march, Mayfield smoothly guiding the 82-yard possession, Chubb running the final 26 yards on a stretch play, cutting  between solid blocks by right guard Wyatt Teller and Peoples-Jones.

It's still way too early in the season to draw any conclusions about the Browns, but after two games, inconsistency seems to be the largest impediment. You can't expect this new defense would come out and be terrific right way. Improvement is the key. But there was no improvement from last weekend.

Maybe it was the absence of middle linebacker Anthony Walker. This is not the kind of aggressive demeanor that changes games. There doesn't seem to be anyone who can step up and make plays on a consistent basis. The fault lies with everyone who line up on that side of the football.

Here's a lone hint that the front seven is not nearly as formidable, as least based on the first two games, than at first believed: The lone sack against the Texans was recorded by Grant Delpit, a safety making his professional debut after missing last season and last week due to injuries. It came with about two minutes left in the game.

Was this win ugly? Not really. But it sure wasn't nearly as pretty as most fans thought it would be.