Monday leftovers

The greatest concern fans had entering the Browns game in Baltimore Sunday was the offensive line. And with just cause.

The main engine of the offense was badly damaged on the flanks. Injuries robbed the plug uglies up front of their three best tackles. Add a Ravens defense that leads the National Football League in sacks and pending doom loomed.

But when the dust settled on a 33-31 Browns upset victory that few saw coming, the statistics reveal the fans really didn't have that much about which to worry. Tackles James Hudson III and Geron Christian, neither of whom are used to playing a full football game, were silent factors in the win.

Playing in the trenches is more than dropping back in pass protection. Moving the football infantry-style plays a large role in setting up the forward pass. And this patched-together unit was a major factor in the 178-yard ground output against a good Ravens run defense.

Many fans probably don't pay much attention to the denizens of the trenches on either side of the ball, focusing instead on the so-called skill players. The only time they think about them is when the referee announces a penalty against them and it's by uniform number.

Hudson was flagged three times against the Ravens, twice for holding (one was declined) and a false start. Former Brown Jadeveon Clowney gave him fits, sacking quarterback Deshaun Watson twice, including a late first-half sack that injured the quarterback's left ankle.

Christian, whose movements belie his 6-5, 320-pound frame, played very light on his feet and graded out well, according to PFF. The street free agent, who signed on just two weeks ago, also appeared to learn the system quickly and more than held his own with the Baltimore pass rush.

It will be interesting to see what moves head coach Kevin Stefanski makes once Dawand Jones, the rookie who has played very well after taking over for Jack Conklin at right tackle in the season opener, returns to the lineup. He's day to day with shoulder and ankle problems.

There's a good chance Hudson returns to his swing role when Jones is green-flagged to return and Christian stays put on the left side based on his impressive debut.

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It's time to recognize the loss of Nick Chubb in the second game of the season hasn't been nearly as disastrous as initially thought. It took a three-headed monster to do it, but the Browns are awfully impressive running the football.

They have rushed for 1,331 yards in nine games (148 yards per), good enough for second place right behind the Ravens (with Lamar Jackson leading the way). Seven of those games produced 100+ yard efforts. The 178 yards generated Sunday is the third-most of the season.

The troika of Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. has been money, especially Hunt, who has booked six touchdowns thus far. Lately, though, Ford has become the workhorse back, Stefanski taking advantage of his speed and slashing style.

The second-year man out of Cincinnati had a season-high 107 yards on 17 carries Sunday afternoon and has blended into the offense nicely with his pass-catching ability, grabbing 21 of the 29 passes directed his way for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

And the best part? Only one fumble -- by Ford and he lost it.  Ball security is clearly not a problem in the Cleveland ground game, at least not for the backs. Watson and P. J. Walker have combined for three.

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A couple of firsts that might have gone unnoticed. Elijah Moore finally scored his first Cleveland touchdown in the midst of the Browns' fourth-quarter comeback. And third-year cornerback Greg Newsome intercepted his first NFL pass. 

Moore broke open a few yards shy of the goal line as Watson began scrambling after escaping the Ravens' pass rush. The quarterback appeared to have enough running room to get to the end zone. He pump-faked  a couple of times and just when it appeared he would take it in, he spotted Moore and delivered to pull the Browns to within 31-24. 

Forty-one seconds later, Newsome, running at full speed, picked off a Jackson pass that bounced high into the air off the helmet of Ogbo Okoronkwo on the dead run and sprinted untouched 34 yards for the score. It was after that TD that Dustin Hopkins miss his first point-after of the season and set the stage for the dramatic finish.

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It's still too early to get excited about Watson's performance Sunday. Yeah, he was terrific in the second half despite working on a bad left ankle. Adrenaline might have had something to do with that. You can't underestimate a rush of that hormone.

We'll find out a lot of more about him Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town. Their defense might not be as good as the Browns and Ravens statistically, but the main reason the Steelers are 6-3 is they have the most opportunistic defense in the league.

Perfect example: The Steelers got more points from their defense than their offense in the second game of the season against Cleveland, a nationally-televised affair that saw the Steelers come away with a 26-22 home victory on a lat fumble return for a score by T. J. Watt in the fourth quarter. The Browns turned the ball over four times.

The Steelers have been outgained in a large majority of their games this season, only to be rescued by the defense. That's been their M.O. this season.

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Finally . . . The Cleveland secondary pretty much held Mark Andrews in check Sunday. The big tight end, who has killed the Browns multiple times in the past, caught only two passes for 44 yards, That's a  victory. . . . The same can't be said about rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, who caught five of his six targets for 73 yards. . . . Ex-Brown Odell Beckham Jr., who missed the first game of the series, really enjoyed his 40-yard catch and run score, ending it with an interesting celebration. . . . A couple of interesting stats: The Browns owned the football more than eight minutes longer than the Ravens; ran 25 more plays (75-50); and converted five of seven opportunities on third down in the second half after a three-for-nine start. . . . The victory was the second-largest blown fourth-quarter lead by the Ravens in John Harbaugh's 16 seasons as head coach.