Mid-week thoughts

Kareem Hunt gets the nod for the most cogent remark after the Browns pulled off the most startling upset of the National Football League season last Sunday.

"It's about time we got a little luck," the running back said following the 19-17 home victory over the undefeated San Francisco 49ers, an outcome that under ordinary circumstances probably would have turned out quite differently.

By ordinary circumstances, I mean this franchise has lived under a strange dark cloud for the last quarter century that has bedeviled it to the point where enormous amounts of losing in ways that often seem otherworldly have become the norm.

Losses have been snatched from victories so often since the return in 1999 after an underserved three-year absence, Browns fans have become accustomed to not believing a game was over until it actually was. Murphy's Law -- anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time -- has paid them an inordinate number of visits.

It often reaches the point where many fans actually believe the NFL does not want the Browns to win anything. That they are still searching for their first division championship in 25 seasons serves as ample proof. 

Of course it's not true. The real culprit has been terrible ownership that has produced dysfunctional front offices which filters down to the product on the field. That has changed this season. 

In Sunday's victory, for example, 49ers kicker Jake Moody would have made that 41-yard field goal in the last half minute of regulation to give the Niners a 20-19 victory under ordinary circumstances instead of having a Cade York moment and pushing it about 18 inches wide of the right upright.

The 49ers defense also would have intercepted Browns quarterback P. J. Walker at least four times instead of just twice, including one late in the fourth quarter that was mishandled in the end zone by linebacker Oren Burks. Two plays later, Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins' fourth field goal of the game gave the Browns the two-point lead.

There were other instances in the game where little things that normally would have been called in favor of the visitors instead went Cleveland's way. It all must have looked very strange to Cleveland fans anticipating an entirely different result. The frenzied response to Moody's miss had to be remarkably rewarding.

That's what Hunt, a native Clevelander who grew up a Browns fan and is well aware of the bad luck that has followed this franchise for a generation, meant by his "about time we got a little luck" remark. 

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I have followed the Browns for a very long time. Longer than I care to admit. And I have never seen them play defense like this. Ever. It is truly amazing. 

When they hired Jim Schwartz to coordinate this crew, I had every reason to believe that side of the football would be considerably better than the last three seasons under Joe Woods, whose passive approach to defense was befuddling. 

To reach this level, though, was not expected. It is at the point where this abundantly talented group has to a large degree become the face of the franchise. The offense is struggling and the special teams outside of Hopkins, just meh. The Browns are at 3-2 entering Sunday's game in Indianapolis because of this defense.

Schwartz is unquestionably the club's best acquisition this season. In transforming the Cleveland defense into the best in the league by far, he has every member not only believing in him, they have to a man totally bought into his system.

He has made playing defense fun.

The defensive line smothers the ground game, gets up close and personal with opposing quarterbacks and keeps the quick and athletic linebackers clean for the most part, allowing them to make plays close to, if not at, the line of scrimmage.

The secondary plays sticky, suffocating pass defense. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy, a 70% passer thus season, checked in at 44% Sunday and looked more like the last pick in the 2022 college draft than the one who came into the game with a 10-game regular-season winning streak since taking over last season.

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It looks as though P. J. Walker will make his second straight start Sunday against the Colts with Deshaun Watson still struggling with a rotator cuff strain that limits his ability to fire the football. History of such injuries indicates it takes six to eight weeks to recover. He's at three weeks now.

There is no question Walker is the better choice over rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who showed he isn't close to being ready for prime time in the Baltimore loss. But head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski needs to rein him in.

He tends to get reckless with some of his throws, but looks comfortable executing screen passes and high-percentage short-to-medium range efforts. He was lucky against the 49ers, taking advantage of a busted coverage, hooking up with Amari Cooper on a 58-yard catch and run that led to the only Cleveland touchdown of the day, a 16-yard run by Hunt midway through the second quarter. (More on that one later.)

* * *

Stefanski needs to take every Jet sweep out of the playbook and start a bonfire that destroys every one of them. He's got to realize his offensive line has trouble blocking for such a play. It usually winds up with e a loss or holding penalty. 

Stefanski called it again after Martin Emerson Jr. picked off a Purdy pass early in the third quarter and returned it to the Cleveland 48. Instead of running the football north and south, which they did well all afternoon, he dialed up the east-west sweep with wideout Elijah Moore.

The great field position evaporated with a three-yard loss and a hold on Donovan Peoples-Jones. The possession ended three plays later. A similar play in the Baltimore loss resulted in a 20-yard loss.  

Kudos, however, to Stefanski on the lone touchdown call, Hunt's 16-yard burst around left end midway through the second quarter. After advancing the ball to the Niners 16 shortly after Cooper's big catch and run, the Browns had a third-and-one. 

In came Harrison Bryant, presumably for a sneak and out went Walker. The tight end has become the Browns' short-yardage specialist, Unbalanced line left. The Niners stacked the line expecting the sneak.

Tight end Jordan Akins, lined up slot right, motioned back to the left as Bryant took the snap and flipped the ball to Hunt. He followed Akins, who delivered the key block at the point of attack, and seal blocks by DPJ and Jedrick Wills Jr. untouched into the end zone.

Really nice play executed perfectly. 

* * *

Finally . . . Why is Stefanski ignoring DPJ? He's the second-best receiver on the team -- from this viewpoint -- but has been targeted just 15 times this season with six receptions for 75 yards. Moore, meanwhile, has been targeted 36 times with 21 grabs for 167 yards. What's wrong with this picture? . . .  Moore has also run the ball eight times this season and gained a whopping 11 yards. He's a wide receiver, not a gadget guy. Can the cute stiff. Throw the football to him. . . . Hopkins is 12 of 14 on field goals this season, missing both between 40-49, and perfect on five PAT. He is also perfect of four 50+ field goals. . . . Hope Stefanski noticed Jerome Ford ran for 84 yards against a pretty good defense Sunday.