Don't get too sanguine

There are two ways to look at the Browns' thoroughly-dominating 27-0 victory over the undermanned and marginally talented Arizona Cardinals Sunday by the lake.

The defense that began the season in spectacular fashion but has played inconsistent football the last month or so, splashed back into prominence with a smothering display that completely neutralized the Cardinals, who were without their top two running backs. It was not a fair fight from the first snap.

In recording their first shutout since a Dec. 6, 2007 8-0 home victory over Buffalo in a blizzard by the lake, they limited the Cardinals to seven first downs, 58 net yards on 48 snaps, 1 of 13 on third down, 41 yards on the ground, less than 24 minutes of ball ownership, recorded seven sacks, 10 quarterback hits and forced nine punts in 14 possessions.

It was so bad, the Cardinals ran only five  plays in Cleveland territory all afternoon, the deepest penetration to the Cleveland 44. They had only two splash plays. Both were wiped out by penalties. 

Now flip that coin and you realize who was on the opposite side of the field and the football in this one The Cardinals are now 1-8 and in great shape to get the first overall selection in the next college football draft. So let's not get too excited.

This outcome was expected, but certainly not to this extent, as the Cards delayed the return from off-season knee surgery of Kyler Murray until next week and presented the short straw to rookie Clayton Tune to face the Browns' relentless onslaught in his first professional start.

Considering their overall inconsistency, it's not time to jump back on the bandwagon just yet and declare the defense is back. That would be premature, especially with a trip to Baltimore to face the division-leading Ravens up next.

The offense, capitalizing on three takeaways, made life easier for the return of Deshaun Watson from a month-long, is-he-ready-yet-and-why-not journey as he re-established his role as QB1. His second effort was significantly better than his awful stint in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago. 

Playing virtually the entire game, Watson looked more confident, comparatively speaking, with many of his throws, especially when he cut loose on completions of 59 and 49 yards to Amari Cooper. He wound up 19 of 30 for 219 yards and touchdown strikes to David Njoku and Cooper on a pass that bounced off the helmet of rookie defensive Dante Stills and into his waiting arms in the end zone.

But he left some plays on the field, lack of timing the biggest deterrent. He needs to work on his mid-range game, the short- and intermediate-range throws that keep chains moving. That's where timing and rhythm play a huge role. Playing every Sunday, in theory, should help.

One of the big differences between Sunday and the Indy game was Watson's ability to navigate the pocket much better, make smarter decisions and plays with his feet without getting hurt. It was also the first time this season that side did not turn the ball over.

The whole unit seemed to run better, not necessarily smoother, with him at the controls, the ground game once again coming through with a solid effort that kept the Cardinals defense guessing. There is still a lot of rust to chip off. But this was definitely a step in that direction.  

Now that he's back, Watson needs to familiarize himself with members of the wide receivers and tight ends room not named Amari or Cooper in order to develop the kind of rhythm this offense requires to get respect from the opposition.

Only five of his targets, outside of Cooper, to wide receivers gained only 14 yards. Cooper grabbed every one of his five targets for 139 yards. That situation needs to change in a hurry.

Sunday's victory featured a cavalcade of stars. The seven sacks were spread among six men, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson leading the way with four tackles, 2.5 sacks and three hits on Tune. Cornerback Denzel Ward and linebacker Sione Takitaki joined the fun with picks and defensive tackle Shelby Harris strip-sacked the rookie.

The three-headed monster at running back -- still miss Nick Chubb? -- contributed another 90 yards -- Watson added 22 yards with two scrambles and a designed run to give the Browns an unexpected weapon the rest of the way.

Kareem Hunt, proving extremely reliable in the red zone, capped the scoring with his fifth touchdown of the season (all in the last four games), while Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. handled most of the grunt work to keep the chains moving.

What that side of the football needs most of all now is for Watson to remain vertical, work on his timing and finally become the quarterback they thought he'd be at this stage of his career.