Why not a bubble?

When the National Football League decided earlier this year that there would be a 2020 season in spite of a plague virile enough to cause a global pandemic, skeptics immediately cast doubt.

Why wouldn't they? How can a sport where human contact is essential to how the game is played escape a virus that is highly contagious and deadly? No way, they believed. 

It ultimately shut down Major League Baseball in the middle of spring training and brought to a screeching in midseason the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and all college sports.

Major events throughout the sports world had to be either postponed to a later date or cancelled altogether until next year.. But the cry around the NFL was onward and upward. Professional baseball, basketball and hockey, meanwhile, managed to survive with truncated seasons and bubbles. 

As the year wore on, the NFL stood firm and adjusted to make certain playing and completing the 2020 season right up until the Super Bowl in early February was the main goal. It was almost as though they were going to show it could be done and nothing was going to stop it.

But they were forced to make adjustments along the way because the coronavirus was rapidly spreading. The annual college football draft, normally a staple on national television from various cities around the league, was beamed virtually from the comfort of the basement of Commissioner Roger Goodell's home.

League facilities were shut down to prevent the virus from spreading. A quarantining of sorts the league took seriously. And yet, the eye was still on the goal of getting this season in the books.

Offseason activities were cancelled. Minicamps were cancelled. Training camps, which normally begin in late July, were delayed. There was nothing normal about what was happening and the skeptics' doubt heightened.

One by one, the staple events of the early season were either postponed or canceled. First, it was the Hall of Fame inductions in Canton. The early exhibition games were next. And then league determined the best course of action was to roll right into the regular season with no exhibitions.

Coverage of the teams was greatly affected. News outlets no longer interview players, coaches and front office people in person. Everything is done virtually by Zoom. If nothing else, that takes the personal aspect out of the equation.

And now here we are nearly13 weeks later and the virus is raging even more out of control throughout the nation and here stands the NFL, still around while the impact of the virus forces them to alter the scheduling of some of their games to the point of embarrassment.  

Just about every one of the league's 32 teams have been hit by the virus in one way or another. That includes many big-name players like Myles Garrett of the Browns, New England's Cam Newton and Stephone Gilmore, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews, Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers and Kansas City's Mitchell Schwartz.

What happened last week with regard to the Baltimore-Pittsburgh game is the residue of the stubbornness of the league to complete the season. Due to an enormous COVID-19 outbreak with the Ravens, the game, originally scheduled for last Thursday night, was initially moved to Sunday.

When the medical situation worsened, the game was moved to Monday night. Still no improvement and Tuesday was targeted. Eventually, the game was played late Wednesday afternoonSo it went from Thursday to Sunday to Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday. 

Furthermore, the entire Denver Broncos quarterbacks room was wiped out by the virus for a Sunday game. A wide receiver on the practice squad who played quarterback in college was summoned and played as you'd expect. 

Embarrassing. 

The mere imminence of the virus has caused clubs to shut down immediately for hours at a time, which often times affects game prep.

What does this tell you about the NFL? It tells you this league is desperate enough to legitimize this kind of football just for the sake of proving it can be done. But at what cost? The injury rate in the league is higher this season because there was no run-up to the season from a physical standpoint.

We are now in week 13 with five more weeks and the many rounds of the playoffs remaining before this is all over. Right now, the league is staggering to the finish line. And while I'm in no position to tell them what to do, I nevertheless offer the following:

If the NFL is fortunate enough to complete the 17 weeks of the regular season, they should seriously consider following the template used by the NBA, NHL and MLB and create a bubble to shield the players in order to determine the next Super Bowl champion.

It might be uncomfortable for them to be away from family and friends for a brief period, but it will insure the health of participants and bring safe closure to a season not many expected would reach that kind of conclusion.

Monday leftovers

One singular moment this season serves as a microcosm of the value of Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. It unfolded midway through the second quarter of Sunday's 27-25 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Browns up, 7-6, driving and in command, first and goal at the Jaguars' five-yard line. Mayfield is seemingly in control of the situation. As he takes the shotgun snap, wide receiver Rashard Higgins, flanked left, delays a second before running a shallow cross in the end zone.

No one in the confused Jags secondary picks him up. Mayfield could have shot-putted the football to him for an easy touchdown. Instead, he double-clutched, rocked back on his right foot and delivered a pass that sailed far over Higgins' head.

You -- and that means everyone reading this -- could have completed that pass. Thats how easy it was to execute. Two plays later, Mayfield sailed another one over Jarvis Landry's head. What the hell is going on here?

The Browns got points -- a Cody Parkey field goal -- out of the possession. But that is missing the point entirely. This team needs to score touchdowns when those opportunities present themselves. There is no excuse for Mayfield to miss those opportunities.

He later overthrew two other receivers and underthrew a couple of others wide open. This is serious stuff. Mayfield is being counted on to be the linchpin of a team desperately attempting  to get into the postseason for the first time since 2002. Yes an 8-3 record sure looks nice at this point of the season.

But let's be honest. Mayfield might not be the right quarterback for this team. This isn't the first -- nor will it be the last -- time he badly misses an open target. This is a team so talent-starved on defense, the offense must rescue it on a weekly basis.

There is no room for Mayfield to screw up the routine throw. Those are the ones he's not only expected to make, it's imperative. He too often says he "hates" missing throws. You'd think by now he would clean up that little problem and stash the excuses.

"I know I can be better . . . and I will be," he said following the game. "Job isn't finished. Lot of ball left. We're 8-3 and not satisfied. That's the best part about this team." As ex-Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer often said, "Deeds, men, not words. Deeds."

This offense -- no, make that the entire team --- needs Mayfield to stop making the kinds of mistakes he made as a rookie. His confidence level in the pocket -- and he'll deny this -- seems to be dropping. Failing to connect on throws like the one to Higgins tends to nag. 

His footwork on straight five- or seven-step drops does not serve him well. He does not seem to have a feel of where the pressure is coming from. He rarely escapes pressure and seems reticent to step up in the pocket when cornered. Pocket presence is absent.

But isn't this the guy who completed 22 straight passes and threw for five touchdowns against Cincinnati in week seven, argue Mayfield acolytes? No question he was outstanding that Sunday. But that means nothing if he follows with three straight games without throwing a touchdown pass. Inconsistency, thy name is Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield came out of college completing more than 68% of his passes, That unerring accuracy has deserted him in the National Football League. He is barely over 61% this year in an offense that affords him all kinds of opportunities to succeed.

Kevin Stefanski's button-down offense relies heavily on the running game, which opens up all kinds of  possibilities for the quarterback to be successful. To be fair, Mayfield has been more accurate when running away from the pocket. Play action and misdirection plays featuring bootlegs afford him the time to complete passes. 

As has been mentioned here before, Mayfield has become a game manager. But when they need him to step up and become a rescuer when things do not go as planned, he has failed more often than not. Sunday's little near-disaster in north Florida might be a portent of things to come.

If the injury-riddled 1-10 Jaguars can scare the crap out of the Browns, imagine what Tennessee and Pittsburgh can do. That game should not have been close at all. 

The fact the Jags could have tied that game with a couple of minutes left in regulation tells you all you need to know about how far this team -- really the offense -- has to go before becoming genuine contenders, their terrific record thus far notwithstanding.

***

Myles Garrett will be back for Sunday's game in Tennessee and it couldn't come at a better time. The defensive line Sunday was -- trying to be nice here -- mediocre. The pass rush was in effective, giving Jaguars quarterback Mike Glennon way too much time to throw.

The clueless Cleveland secondary had a tough time locating Jaguars receivers probably because defensive coordinator Joe Woods chose to play more zone than man coverage. In order to be effective in zone, the opposing quarterback must feel heat. Glennon felt only warmth.

Losing strong safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. on the first play of the game didn't help. Harrison injured his shoulder/collarbone area making the tackle on rookie running back James Robinson and did not return. 

Karl Joesph, whom Harrison had supplanted at the position several weeks ago, replaced him, immediately downgrading the position. It appeared as though he was the main culprit for the blown coverage on rookie Collin Johnson's 46-yard catch and run for a score late in the second quarter.

Kevin Johnson, who normally plays in the slot, started in place of cornerback Denzel Ward (calf strain) outside and did not exactly embarrass himself, but he is no Ward. Tavierre Thomas took over against slot receivers.

***

Finally some life on special teams, which have produced almost nothing all season in the way of return yardage. D'Ernest Johnson was reposbible indirectly for 10 of the Browns' 27 points against the Jaguars.

The running back, whose playing time is severely limited because he has Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in front of him, returned three kickoffs for 93 yards. The first, a 43-yard jaunt, gave the Cleveland offense a short field to work with at its 45-yard line on the second possession of the game.

Five plays later, Mayfield hooked up with Landry, who had to make a diving catch, to give the Browns their first lead of the afternoon at 7-3. His 33-yard return early in the third quarter triggered a 10-play drive that ended with a Cody Parkey field goal, which helped retake the lead at 20-19.

***

Finally . . . Chubb, who has put up five 100-yard games out of the seven he has played this season, is a lock to pass 1,000 yards again. He is on pace for 1,232 yards. He is averaging 102.7 yards a game overall and 128 a game since returning to the lineup three games ago. . . . The Browns dominated so much on offense, Jamie Gillan punted only once -- after the three-and-out game-opening possession. . . . Has KhaDarel Hodge replaced Higgins as the club's No 2 receiver? Three receptions on three targets for 31 yards sort of suggests that's the case. Higgins was targeted twice -- the aforementioned bad throw by Mayfield -- and caught one for 15 yards. . . .Tight end David Njoku was not targeted at all. Hmmmmm. . . . Parkey has missed only two field goals and one extra point this season. . . . Ex-Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez, now with Arizona, is on thin ice after missing three critical kicks in the last five games.

Another ugly victory

It did not have to be that difficult. It really didn't.

Perhaps it was a case of the Browns playing football Sunday down to the subterranean level of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hauled a 1-9 record and nine-game losing streak into this one.

Then again, it more realistically was a case of the Browns shooting themselves in the foot time and again. Anyway you slice it, the 27-25 victory down in north Florida was downright ugly. It was not even remotely as close statistically as the final indicates.

Neither side of the football played like they were chasing the playoffs. This is now an 8-3 team sporting a three-game winning streak playing more like a team playing just well enough to win. A team like Jacksonville should have been put away by the third quarter. 

Instead, they propped up the Jags with mistakes and turned what should have been a laugher into high drama that stretched down to the final minutes of regulation. Failure by the Jags to convert a pair of two-point conversions, including one with 2:14 remaining, was the difference.

The performance by the defense, which really hasn't played that badly lately, was expected by the injury-riddled unit that made journeyman quarterback Mike Glennon look highly competent quarterback even though he was making his first National Football League start since 2017.

Operating without DJ Chark, his top receiver, he called on 6-6- 220-pound rookie Dillon Johnson, who  caught four balls for 99 yards and a coverage-blowing 46-yard touchdown pass that gave the Jaguars their second lead at 13-10 in the second quarter.

Time and again, another rookie, running back James Robinson, ran roughshod, gouging out 128 yards and a touchdown, Meanwhile, the Cleveland pass rush, minus Myles Garrett for a second straight game, failed to show up. 

Several times, they actually got close to Glennon. But close isn't nearly good enough in the NFL. All they got on the statue-like journeyman was a couple of hits and a late sack that was wiped out by an iffy personal foul penalty in Olivier Vernon.

But it was the Cleveland offense, which put up some impressive numbers and racked up several time-consuming possessions (they owned the football for nearly 33 minutes), that failed to make the big play when it was essential.

A look at the final stats sheet suggests the Cleveland offense had a terrific day. Jarvis Landry caught eight passes for 143 yards, scoring his -- unbelievably -- first touchdown of the season, That side of the football racked up 459 yards, 207 on the ground. 

Impressive, indeed, Unless you consider sloppy football as part of the equation,

A poorly thrown potential touchdown pass by Baker Mayfield to a wide-open Rashard Higgins in the second quarter and another poor throw to Kareem Hunt in the third quarter resulted in Cody Parkey field goals.

When the Browns grabbed a 17-13 halftime lead on touchdown passes to Landry and tight end Austin Hooper and scoring on their final three possessions of the half, it looked as though the momentum had swung.

That momentum lasted exactly one play. The first play of the second half. Sloppy football. 

Ex-Browns linebacker Joe Schobert punched the ball out of Harrison Bryant's arms after a 12-yard pass reception, opening the door for the Jags, who took their third -- and final -- lead of the afternoon at 19-17 six plays later on Glennon's second touchdown throw, but failed to convert the first of their two-point attempts.

Sloppy football on defense, too. Transition defense took the afternoon off,  too. All they needed was one big play after the fumble recovery by the Jaguars to limit the damage to a field goal. It never arrived.

The Browns immediately rebounded, though, to retake the lead on Parkey's second field goal and upped it to 27-19 on their next possession, driving 90 yards in eight plays, mostly on the ground. Nick Chubb (144 yards) and Hunt (62 yards) chewed up 72 of those yards, Chubb skirting right end for the final yard.

On the previous play, Bryant deprived Mayfield of his third scoring pass of the day. The rookie tight end never had total control of the ball as he landed in the end zone.

Failure to convert on third and fourth down and inches halted another drive in the final quarter, breathing life again back into the Jaguars, who drove 78 yards for the score, Robinson capping the drive from three yards out.

It was at that point where the defense finally made a play, free safety Andrew Sendejo knocking down a two-point pass attempt by Glennon.

Bottom line: If the Browns play a game like this one next Sunday in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans, that winning streak will come crashing down. Contending teams usually don't get away with mistakes. The Browns did Sunday.

They were extremely fortunate they were playing one of the NFL's worst teams. Assuming the COVID-19 situation league-wide does not get worse, the Cleveland coaching staff has a lot to clean up on both sides of the football this week.

A breather for a change

The timing could not be any better. In fact, it could be called exquisite.

The Browns begin the semifinal phase of their 16-game schedule Sunday in the worst physical shape of the season. That's the bad news. 

So what's the good news? Hold on. Before getting to that, a breakdown of the absentees.

Missing from the lineup against the Jaguars down in Jacksonville will be six members of the defense including three ends, a linebacker and two members of the secondary. Surely enough to make a difference in any game.

But this is not just any game. And this is where the good news sneaks into the picture. This one is against a team that has lost nine straight games after winning their season opener and is in much worse physical shape than Cleveland.

The Browns are extremely fortunate at this time of the season to being playing the Jaguars, having the kind of season the Browns have labored through numerous times in the last two decades. All of their big playmakers are sidelined.

The Browns should have little trouble with the Jags despite the absence of defensive ends Myles Garrett, Porter Gustin and Joe Jackson, linebacker Sione Takitaki and defensive backs Denzel Ward and Sheldrick Redwine. 

That's because 6-7 Mike Glennon is starting at quarterback. He is the personification of a National Football League journeyman, playing for his fifth team in the last five seasons. This will be his first start since week four of the 2017 season with Chicago. The only reason he is starting is because Gardner Minshew II has a sore thumb and rookie Jake Luton has been awful.

The Jags will also be without wide receivers DJ Chark and Chris Conley, guard Andrew Norwell (their best lineman) on offense, and edge rusher Josh Allen and three-fourths of their starting secondary. Advantage: Definitely the Browns.

Besides, the weather down in north Florida will be absolutely gorgeous compared do what the Browns experienced at home for three straight games. The forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-70s with 85% humidity and a chance of a stray shower or thundershower.

The Jaguars have been terrible all season for a number of reasons. They cannot protect their quarterbacks (30 sacks) and do not abuse opposing quarterbacks (just nine sacks and the injured Allen has two and a half of those). 

What the Jaguars do well is run the football, rookie James Robinson averaging 76 yards a game. But the Browns, with few exceptions, have been strong against the run this season. Look for defensive boss Joe Woods to crowd the line of scrimmage and force Glennon to throw. Glennon says he is ready.

"I have nothing to lose," he said earlier this week. "I don't know when this opportunity is going to come my way again. I'm just going to go out there, have fun,  let it rip and see what happens."

Jags coach Doug Marrone defended his benching of Luton for Glennon. "Mike is experienced," he said. "That's why we brought him in here -- to be able to fill in whenever we need him. So he'll get his opportunity."

In the wake of all the injuries -- a few COVID-19 related -- the Browns have scrambled, especially on defense, elevating Cameron Malveaux (end)  and Joey Ivie IV (tackle) from the practice squad to bolster the line. 

Malveaux, who made a couple of big plays in the victory last Sunday against Philadelphia, should get more than the eight snaps he had in that one. With Garrett and Gustin out, it's also possible Woods will move defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson outside for several snaps to give the hot Olivier Vernon some help on the other side.

In the secondary, cornerback Kevin Johnson most likely will move outside from the slot to replace Ward (calf strain, out for several weeks) with Robert Jackson and/or MJ Stewart Jr. manning the slot. String safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. will definitely play against his ex-teammates and Karl Joseph is ready in case free safety Andrew Sendejo can't play.

On offense, the only possible change might come at right guard, where Wyatt Teller is hurting again. In the event Teller can't go, Chris Hubbard, fresh off the injured list, can fill in. The club recalled guard Michael Dunn from the practice squad as insurance.

This is a game the Browns have no business losing. These are the kind of teams they have thrived on all season. All but one of their seven victories have been against losing teams. Their only losses were to teams with winning records.

Look for the Browns to manhandle the Jacksonville defense and provide the possibility of a couple of 100-yard days for running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Quarterback Baker Mayfield's day will involve throwing the football no more than 25 times, including his first touchdown pass (to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant) since week seven. 

The makeshift defense will struggle at first, but adjust to eventually make Glennon look like a journeyman, dropping him at least three times and picking him off twice as the record improves to 8-3. Make it:

Browns 31, Jaguars 17

Mid-week thoughts

Here we are 10 games into the weird 2020 National Football League season and the Browns are a hard-to-believe 7-3 and flirting with the postseason. (My fingers fought me typing that last part.)

They are in the comparatively strange position in the AFC North of looking up at only one team in the division standings. Strange because for the last two decades, they are normally looking up at three teams in the four-team division at this juncture of the season. 

Only unbeaten Pittsburgh and once-beaten Kansas City sport better records in the conference. The Browns own, along with Buffalo, Indianapolis and Tennessee, the third-best record. That's big-boy territory with only six games left in the regular season.

It's an old axiom in the NFL that games played in November and December separate the pretenders from the contenders. They take on significantly more importance. Right now, the Browns find themselves in uncharted territory. 

Beginning Sunday in Jacksonville against the Jaguires (yeah, I know), every game takes on much more relevance. One stumble can make the difference between playing in a game 17 and ostensibly beyond and making plans for next season.

Every series becomes more important. For that matter, every snap becomes more important. On both sides of the football. Rapt attention to -- and focusing on -- every minuscule detail is the paramount goal. They are means to an end.

For the first time in a long time -- the 2007 season to be exact when the Browns last challenged for the playoffs -- every game from here on out takes on an entirely different meaning. This club is not playing out the rest of the season, searching for respectability, as has been the case almost every season since 1999.

With their best record since 1994, when Bill Belichick coached the team that now resides in Baltimore, the Browns now have bull's-eyes on their backs. They are not the hunter anymore. They are the hunted. No longer are they the perennial pushover, the soft spot on teams' schedules. 

This is serious territory. They have worked hard under a rookie head coach to achieve this lofty status. Now it is up to them to prove this is not a fluke, an aberration, another big buildup to an even bigger letdown. Their fan base has waited too long, suffered too much to even consider that possibility.

This team has worked too hard and labored through some tough times during this season of the pandemic to all of a sudden lose sight of the goal, much as the Browns did in 2014 when they collapsed, losing their last five games and disappearing from the playoffs picture after starting the season 7-4.

This is foreign territory to a vast majority of this team. It might even seem somewhat surreal to some of the veterans who have been around long enough to endure the embarrassment that has dogged this franchise for way too long.

Most of the others have no idea of what lies ahead. They will experience a different kind of pressure as the schedule shrinks. The hope is they will learn from it. 

Playing four of the next five games away from home, where they are 5-1, makes it even more difficult, although they will enter three of them (the New York Giants, New York Jets and Jacksonville) as favorites.

Now the big question is: After the next six games, will the Browns emerge as mere pretenders or honest-to-goodness contenders?

***

It seems lately that Kevin Stefanski's coachspeak when it comes to generically breaking down that week's opponent for the media in their mid-week sessions has become like a broken record when it comes to special teams. After talking about their offense and defense, he turns to special teams. That's where he might think about working on his wording. The transcript of the news conference is provided by the team. 

First the Eagles. After breaking them down on offense and defense, Stefanski said: "On special teams, I think they might be the fastest group we play all year." 

Now the Jags. After breaking them down on offense and defense, he said: "Special teams, I think it might be the fastest group we play all year."

Next up after the Jags, the Tennessee Titans, who probably have "the fastest group" of special teams the Browns "will play all year."

Monday leftovers

The offense the Browns used to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday could very well be the key to their quest to qualify for the National Football League playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Now that Nick Chubb is back and once again inflicting pain on opposing defenses, head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski is taking full advantage of the versatility he now has with regard to the passing game. 

With Odell Beckham Jr. gone for the season, the deep threat is no longer viable. But his absence has created opportunities for the likes of wideouts Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and, to some degree, Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Although Stefanski is reining in his quarterback to some extent, he is masterfully meshing his wideouts and tight ends, spreading the ball around so the defense cannot concentrate on one specifically.

Baker Mayfield has not thrown more than 28 passes in a game since week five. He has thrown only 113 in the last five games. That's 22.6 a game. And, get this, he has not thrown a touchdown pass in the last three games. Or since he threw a club-record five in the second Cincinnati victory in week seven.

No, the personality of this team lies in the success of the running game. As it goes, so go the Browns. A vital part of that success, in addition to the solid play of the offensive line, is how well the receivers play. And since Beckham's departure, they have stepped up.

Higgins, now in his fifth season with the Browns, tried to leave in free agency during the offseason after a a problematic 2019 season, during which he climbed into head coach Freddie Kitchens' doghouse and never emerged. No one bit, so he returned. But it took a while for Stefanski to discover his worth.

It was so bad early on, Higgins was a healthy scratch in weeks three and four. The ultimate embarrassment.  It wasn't until the second Cincinnati game that Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt realized how valuable he was. 

Mayfield connected with Higgins on each of his six targets for 110 yards. It was an eye opener for Stefanski, who has since incorporated Higgins heavily into his gameplans. The rangy wide receiver has been targeted 23 times this season, grabbing 18 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Hodge, an undrafted free agent, played 14 games with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. He was waived by during final roster cuts in late August 2019 and claimed by the Browns the following day. He played in every game last season, mostly on special teams, and caught just four passes.

He kind of fell off the radar after injuring his hamstring in pre-game warmups in week four, missing four games. He labored in anonymity on his return until Sunday's victory over the Eagles. Mayfield targeted him five times, connecting on three for a club-high 73 yards, including strikes of 42 and 18 yards. Suffice it to say, he is no longer anonymous.

Stefanski utilized a lot of two and three tight-end looks throughout the Eagles game. His wide receivers and tight ends factored significantly in the run game, especially as the game wore on. When you play wide receiver for Stefanski, you must block.

Peoples-Jones has stood out more because of his blocking, but the rookie was the main man in the second Bengals game, catching the game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left. If nothing else, he left an indelible mark on this season.

Together, this trio has accounted for 29 receptions (on 41 targets) for 486 yards and three touchdowns. Not to mention some solid blocks that have sprung Chubb, Kareem Hunt and, on occasion, D'Ernest Johnson loose. Now that they have been given the opportunity, they have taken advantage by coming up big when that phase of the offense needed a boost.

At the beginning of the season, they were just spare parts for this offense. Now look where they are. Valuable contributors to the goal of giving Cleveland something they have desired for nearly two decades: A shot at the postseason.

***

OK, why in the hell can't Olivier Vernon always play that kind of football? I'm referring, of course, to the way the until-now disappointing defensive end, who was part of that deal that brought Beckham to Cleveland from the New York Giants, plays the game.

Was it Myles Garrett's absence (COVID-19) against the Eagles that provided the motivation to go out and drop Carson Wentz thrice and abuse Eagles left tackle and future Hall of Famer Jason Peters the entire game? If so, maybe Garrett should skip the Jacksonville game Sunday.

Vernon, it appears, likes to produce his sacks in clusters. He notched a pair against Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in the 16-6 loss in week eight. Other than that, it has been one shutout after another.

The good news is Vernon has been healthy enough to play in eight of the Browns' 10 games after missing six last season. It was thought he was young enough and still effective after compiling 62 sacks in seven previous seasons before arriving.

Consistency being the name of the game, it will be interesting to see how well Vernon performs against the Jaguars. Based on what we have seen from him thus far this season and last, another shutout looms down in Florida.

***

Maybe it's the weariness that usually bedevils rookies at this time of the season, but it sure looks as though Jedrick Wills Jr, is struggling at left offensive tackle. Another false start and another sack is not what coaches were expecting from him against the Eagles.

He berated himself on the sack, which means at least he's aware he needs to pick it up. Outside of quarterback, OLT is the second most important position on the offense for a right-handed quarterback Maybe Wills needs some encouragement from offensive line coach Bill Callahan to get him through what might be nothing more than a brief rough period.

Whatever it is, it needs to be corrected quickly, especially with games against the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens on deck following the Jaguars.

***

Finally . . . That's two 100-yard games in a row for Chubb, who should have no trouble passing 1,000 yards this season. He's gained 240 yards since returning from his knee injury and is averaging six yards a pop. He passed 3,000 career yards Sunday and has booked four 100-yard games in six games. . . . Jarvis Landry played only 38 of the 67 offensive snaps against the Eagles and was targeted just twice by Mayfield, catching both for 23 yards. Those sore ribs must really be bothering the veteran wideout. . . . Of the 26 possessions between the Browns and Eagles, 11 ended with punts. . . . The Browns owned the football for nearly 19 minutes in the second half. . . . Cameron Malveaux, fresh off the practice squad in Garrett's absence, booked only eight snaps, but contributed two solo tackles from his left end spot and caused the fumble inside the 10-yard line that blunted the Eagles' bid for a touchdown on their opening drive.

Let's hear it for the defense

All season long, the Browns have longed for the defense to show up. Game after game, that side of the football has tilted the club's chances of winning games in the wrong direction. The offense has come to the rescue way too many times. 

After Sunday's 22-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, though, it's time to give the defense its due. To understand the seemingly sudden turn, you need to look at what that defense has done during the three-game homestand that concluded against the Eagles.

(A quick break here to mention the Browns are now 7-3, 5-1 at home, and occupants of second place in the AFC North after the Baltimore Ravens fell to the Tennessee Titans in overtime Sunday. Okay, as you were.)

Granted. nasty weather has been a huge factor in each of those games, but the statistics in this case do not lie. While the offense snoozed in those three games (only 30 points), the defense has permitted the opposition to score only 40 points.

And Sunday, they, too, discovered how to put points on the board while on the field, racking up eight of those 22 points on a 50-yard pick six by linebacker Sione Takitaki early in the second quarter for the only points of the first half and a safety when Olivier Vernon recorded his third sack of the afternoon in the third quarter, this one of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in his end zone.

Statement plays were made by the defense throughout an afternoon marred by constant falling rain, teeming at times, It was as though they said we can play this game and make big plays, too. A fumble recovery and interception, each inside the Cleveland 10, are offered as proof.

And then there the pass rush, the one that was supposed to suffer because the incomparable Myles Garrett was felled by COVID-19 for at least this game. A season-high five sacks is not suffering. 

The Browns needed people to step up. Vernon did with his three sacks; so did second-year defensive end Cameron Malveaux, recalled from the practice squad to replace Garrett, arriving just in time to cause a goal-line fumble and Karl Joseph recovery in the opening quarter; Takitaki and his pick six; and a pass rush that delivered 10 quarterback hits and numerous hurries in addition to the sacks.

To push the argument a little further, the touchdown they gave up with 30 seconds left in regulation was a basically a gift. The game was already in hand when defensive coordinator Joe Woods backed off the terrific pressure, which contributed three takeaways.

The tackling was a lot crisper, perhaps the best it has been this season, particularly in the second half when the line blunted the Eagles' ground game (only 10 yards after gaining 96 in the first half). The coverage in the secondary for the most part was tight, causing at least three of Wentz's sacks.

The offense, meanwhile, staggered through three quarters. Heading into the final quarter, that side of the football had produced just three touchdowns and 22 total points in the last 11 quarters. It got worse early in the third quarter when Baker Mayfield was stripped of the ball deep in Cleveland territory, leading to the Eagles' first TD on the next play, Wentz hooking up with Richard Rodgers from 19 yards.

The Cleveland ground game, which flourished last week against Houston, Rip Van Winkled through the first half, picking up only 18 yards. That is not a Cleveland Browns ground game when running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, as well as the offensive line, are healthy.

The improvement came slowly with 33 more infantry yards in the third quarter. Then it awoke with sudden fury early in the final quarter after the Browns had broken a 7-7 tie in the third quarter with the first of two Cody Parkey field goals and the safety. 

Chubb, a breakaway run waiting to happen every time he touches the ball, took a simple handoff on first and 10 at the Cleveland 39 and headed left off tackle, cut back to the right after spotting a small opening and was off.

Fifty-four yards later, after stiff-arming two Eagles to the ground and breaking two more tackles en route toward the end zone, he was finally brought down at the Philadelphia seven-yard line. Chubb, who sat out some plays in the first half after losing a contact lens, watched from the bench as Hunt finished the job, hurdling over free safety Jalen Mills at the goal line and into the end zone from five yards two plays later.

After Parkey's second field goal on the next possession stretched the Cleveland lead to 22-10 with 3:51 left, Wentz threw the ball on 20 of the next 21 plays, Ward's pick short-circuited the first drive three yards from the Cleveland goal line before Wentz connected with Dallas Goedert from four yards out with 30 seconds remaining.

It took 10 games for Woods' crew to gain the attention of the fans from a positive standpoint. To do so without their best player makes it even more astounding. With one or two exceptions, this is not an abundantly talented group of players. But on this Sunday, they overachieved. They played well beyond their talents.

And now as they head out on the road for four of the next five games, they become the cliche of cliches in sports. They now hold their post-season fate in their own hands. There hasn't been talk like that with regard to this forlorn franchise so late in the season since 2007.

Half of the remaining six games are against  teams with a combined record of 4-26. All are on the road, including next Sunday's journey to Jacksonville. The other three teams are 23-7, including division leaders Tennessee and undefeated Pittsburgh, and the Ravens. 

The road to the postseason for the first time since 2002, now that the offense seems to be on the verge of really busting out, very well could lie in the performance of the defense. The Browns needs a variation of Sunday's performance to achieve that goal.

Browns 7-3? Perhaps

Let's see now. Sunday in downtown Cleveland. Any Sunday. November 2020. Football game. Weather conditions: Messy. Wet and messy.

Yep, the third Sunday game on the Browns' November schedule this Sunday will be pretty much like the first two. The games against the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland again/Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans each delivered a combination of rain, sleet, hale and wind. Lots of wind. Gale-like wind.

The latest Sunday adventure against the Philadelphia Eagles is more tame. The winds will seem like a gentle breeze by comparison. Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Philadelphia's Carson Wentz should be able to throw the football without wondering what the wind will do with it once it leaves their hands.

Then there is the rain. The forecast for this one calls for temperatures in the upper 30s/lower 40s and 100% precipitation. No stopping. All day. It will affect the outcome.

Sunday weather in November has been so bad in Cleveland this year, even the bye week drew nasty weather. Head coach Kevin Stefanski probably wonders weather (yeah, it should be whether; wanted to see if you were paying attention) it's like this every Cleveland November.

Sloppy conditions and a slippery field should make it an interesting football game. The run game is at least one step slower as a result. The passing game favors the offense. Quarterbacks know where the ball should go. Receivers, especially those who run disciplined routes, should beat defensive backs.

Uniforms will get damp, which will make tackling that much more difficult, especially for the Browns, who have trouble bringing down the opposition in dry weather. The pass rush will be slowed by uncertain footing, giving the edge to offensive lines. 

The Eagles, struggling at 3-5-1 and yet atop the horrid NFC East, have an unusual relationship with the sack. They are third in the National Football League with 31 sacks, but their offensive line has more than balanced that scale by allowing 35 sacks of Wentz.

The Browns' pass rush will operate with one hand figuratively tied behind their backs, Defensive end Myles Garrett is sitting this one out with COVID-19. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods will be severely challenged from a creativity standpoint. Numerous blitz packages would not be surprising.

Garrett owns 9.5 of the Browns' 22 sacks (43%) and all of their four strip sacks. He is the Cleveland pass rush. His absence will be evident. The front line will need tackles Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi to step up. The latter, in particular, has underperformed and underachieved this season,

Conversely, the Cleveland offensive line has surrendered only 12 sacks of Mayfield -- just one in the last three games -- this season. Keeping him clean (so to speak) against the Eagles will be one of Stefanski's primary goals. The other, of course, is a continuation of the strong ground game.

The reuniting of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and return of right guard Wyatt Teller to the lineup last week against Houston was the spark that enabled the Browns to overcome the difficult  meteorological conditions against the Texans. 

The 6-3 Browns, who own one of the easiest schedules from here on out, have played well against teams under .500, winning five of those games. Stefanski earlier this week resorted to coachspeak when assessing the Eagles.

"This is a real good football team coming to our building," he began. "We know the challenge they present on offense. . . . On defense, it is a really good unit. They really come after you with that front four. . . Special teams, it might be the fastest group we play all year. . . It is a really sound scheme on all sides. . . . We have our work cut out for us."

Why, then, are they 3-5-1? And 1-3 on the road? 

You can start with Wentz, who has fumbled nine times (and lost four) and his 12 touchdowns passes have been neutralized by his 12 interceptions; an offense that converts only 40% of its third-down opportunities; a defense that yields 133 yards a game on the ground and 211 through the air; a pass defense that has picked off only three passes; and a turnover ratio of -7.

That's why. Sacks are nice. Victories are better.

Because of the conditions, the team that wins the battles in the trenches will probably emerge on top. It won't be pretty. And like last Sunday, it could be close. And low scoring. The big winner very well could be the weather, which most likely will dictate strategic and tactical approaches throughout the game.

Sunday's game against the Eagles is pivotal for the Browns, who have lost just one home game (Raiders)  this season. That's because they play four of their next five games on the road, which categorizes this one as a must-win.

The last time the Browns entered game 11 with a 7-3 record was back in 1989 in Bud Carson's first year as head coach.with the original Browns. They finished 9-6-1 that season, losing to Denver in the conference championship game. 

An important fact to consider: The Cleveland offense has scored just 16 points in the last two games. That needs to change, says Captain Obvious. So look for Chubb and Hunt to continue taking turns battering the Philly defense and Mayfield to game-manage his offense in mistake-free fashion under difficult circumstances. Make it:

Browns 21, Eagles 16

Mid-week thoughts

At the risk of probably having to plead guilty of being repetitious, one more visit to the possibility of the Browns seriously thinking about life without quarterback Baker Mayfield down the road.

Ordinarily, the thought of this revisit resided more in the future, much closer to next season. But pundits around the National Football League landscape are beginning to sniff around that very possibility.

So . . .  once more with feeling. 

There is a very good chance -- cannot say likely or unlikely just yet --  Mayfield will probably play only one more season after this one with Cleveland and then move on. Unless, that is, there is an astounding change of philosophy by the the denizens of the front office.

The likelihood of General Manager Andrew Berry, head coach Kevin Stefanski and their minions swerving from their run-the-football-first-to-set-up-the-pass line of thinking, especially after watching it successfully contribute mightily to their 6-3 record, is practically nil.

So where does that leave Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy-winning, gunslinging daredevil drafted No. 1 overall in the college draft and who became the face of the franchise after his exciting rookie season? Right now, he is nothing more than a game manager.

All Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt want Mayfield to do is take care of the football. Don't get  careless with it. Minimize mistakes. In other words, interceptions will be frowned upon.

This is not the same team Mayfield joined in 2018. That team threw the football. A lot. With head coaches like Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens, who lived (not so well, as it turned out), and died (as a result) with the pass. The running game was looked upon, it seemed, as an afterthought.

That is the kind of football team Mayfield was handed by a front office madly in love with the forward pass. Then-GM John Dorsey stunned just about everyone in the NFL when he selected Mayfield, comparing him at the time to Hall of Famer Brett Favre. 

When owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam III mercifully pink-slipped Dorsey and Kitchens immediately after the 2019 season, Mayfield lost his insurance policy. And when Stefanski and Berry, in that order, jumped on board, Mayfield's role was changed.

So why is all this coming up now when the Browns, as well as the NFL, are fighting desperately to complete the 2020 season in spite of a global pandemic? Why the sudden interest in the Browns' future down the line? 

Many players are rewarded with the fifth-year option based on their contributions and value to the team. For example, the Browns have already picked up the fifth-year options on defensive end Myles Garrett and tight end David Njoku. Garrett, who is earning $4.612 million this year, will jump to $15.184 million next season. Njoku, if he is still around, jumps from $1.764 million to $6 million next season.

There are three third-year players this season the club is considering exercising that option -- Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb and cornerback Denzel Ward. Chubb and Ward are virtual slam dunks. Their  contributions warrant that kind of reward.

Mayfield, on the other hand, is no longer the face of the franchise. The offense does not revolve around him anymore. This is a team highly focused on the ground game. If it hums, the Browns win. If it doesn't, how much can the Browns rely on him? He is not a slam dunk.

That is why the Haslams, Berry and Stefanski have got to think long and hard to determine if they want to shell out that kind of dough to a game manager. Or do they move on and seek the franchise's next franchise quarterback in the draft?

We are now in  the stay-tuned phase.

Monday leftovers

It's kind of hackneyed, but it's also so very true. In sports, inches can make the difference between success and failure.

Take, for example, the manner in which the Browns barely knocked off the Houston Texans Sunday in the blustery ballpark by the lake. Both clubs slogged through three quarters of very boring football, showing no inclination to change the 3-0 Cleveland lead at the time.

And then it happened. That inches can, indeed, make a difference. If anything, it was subtle. Just another ho-hum moment in this sleep-inducing National Football League game that went unnoticed. 

The situation: Late third quarter, Browns ball, third-and-18 at their 28-yard line and looking like another Jamie Gillan punt loomed. Baker Mayfield in shotgun formation dropped back, surveyed the field and spotted Rashard Higgins crossing from left to right, shadowed closely by cornerback Bradley Roby.

At the last second, Mayfield threaded a spiral toward the right sideline to where only Higgins could make the catch. The ball and Higgins' feet arrived simultaneously inches from the sideline chalk. He stopped short, grabbed the ball and tiptoed, then dotted the I's with both feet for the 21-yard completion.

If the ball is early, Higgins might not have been able to be there to make the reception. If it arrives late, he reaches the sideline before the grab and catches it out of bounds. Inches, in this case, and superb timing between quarterback and receiver made the difference.

So why was this so important in the grand scheme of things? Because it was the play that eventually kick-started the drive that led to what turned out to be the winning touchdown. 

Higgins also figured prominently in another important  -- and quite fortunate -- part of this possession, which turned sour shortly after reaching the 49. A holding penalty on tight end Austin Hooper and two completed passes for just 10 yards brought up a third-and-8 at the Texans 49.

This time, Mayfield found Higgins again, but failed to connect. Luck replaced inches in this case as Houston cornerback Vernon Hergreaves was flagged for pass interference. 

Nick Chubb took care of the rest, the bruising Cleveland running back motoring the remaining 35 yards on four carries, racing untouched to the end zone for the final nine yards to lift the Browns to a 10-0 lead that proved insurmountable.

It took inches and good fortune to win this one. Without those precious inches. though, there would not have been even the possibility of pass interference. 

***

The return of Wyatt Teller at right guard along the offensive line made quite a difference against the Texans. The brutal weather conditions -- winds gusting up to 50 mph can wreak all kinds of havoc with a thrown football -- gave the coaching staff a chance to ramp up the ground game, which has suffered somewhat with Chubb's four-game absence.

The highest ground total in any of those games peaked at 124 yards in that time, twice coming in at under 100 yards. Chubb and Kareem Hunt absolutely thrived against Houston with the offensive line now complete and working harmoniously.

They combined for 230 yards on 38 carries as the Browns concentrated on that aspect of the game. It allowed head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski to lean heavily on his favorite part of the game, limiting Mayfield, who threw the football only 20 times, completing 12 for 132 yards.

At the same time, the offensive line is making Mayfield's job much easier. He has been sacked only once (against the Texans) in the last three games. At the same time, he has thrown zero touchdown passes since his five-touchdown salvo against Cincinnati in week seven.

And did you notice the Browns ran to the weak (left) side of the formation quite a bit against the Texans with a large degree of success. It silenced, at least temporarily, critics of left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr, with regard to his blocking in the run game. 

The rookie, however, has had a few problems with his pass protection and inability to cooperate with the snap count, piling up several false starts. The pass pro situation indicates he might still have problems switching from one side of the line to the other. But he did throw one of the key blocks on Chubb's scoring run.

***

It happened on the Browns' first possession of the game and resulted in one of the rarest statistics in football at any level. Ever heard of a fumble credited to a center? Well, it happened Sunday against the Texans.

The Browns had driven nicely, reaching the Houston seven in 11 plays. Mayfield faced a third-and-one and lined up under center JC Tretter. As he was barking out the signals, Tretter snapped the ball, which skittered and skipped between his quarterback's legs along the ground and rolled backward.

Mayfield retreated, picked up the ball around the 15 and heaved it off balance toward the sideline to avoid a sack. After a conference, referee Ron Torbert determined the ball did not reach the line of scrimmage and thus ruled it intentional grounding, which called for loss of down and 15 yards from the spot of the foul. Cody Parkey wound up kicking a 41-yard field goal, the game's only points until the fourth quarter.

The stats crew had to blame somebody. It wasn't Mayfield's fault because he didn't touch the ball until tracking it down following the snap. Who else to blame? The only player who touched the ball and created what was ruled a fumble was Tretter. And that's how a center is credited with a fumble. Quite likely you will never see anything like that again. 

***

Chubb created a controversy when he deliberately stepped out of bounds at the Houston one-yard line after breaking loose for 59 yards in the waning moments ofd the game. Bettors and fantasy football players alike were not thrilled.

Chubb was following orders by Stefanski to purposely give himself up after making a first down at that point since the Texans were out of timeouts and could not stop the clock. The Browns were a 3.5-point favorites and won by three. One bettor reportedly bet $100,000 on the Browns, giving the points.

Meanwhile, fantasy football players who had Chubb on their teams lost a touchdown, They probably liked the 128 total yards and earlier touchdown by Chubb. But they lost six more points when he obeyed his head coach. As a fantasy football player myself, I feel their pain. And no, I drafted too late to pick Chubb.

***

Finally . . . The Texans victory marked the first time in the last five game the Browns haven't committed a turnover. It was only their third no-turnover game of the season. They have won all three. . . .  This is the first time this season the Browns have scored less than 11 points this season and won. . . . The secondary recorded no takeaways for the third time in the last four games. They lost the first two games. . . . Mayfield has not thrown an interceptions in four games. three of them victories. . . . The Browns owned the football for 18 minutes in the second half. . . The special teams still haven't been fixed. They allowed a nice runback on a kickoff and one on a punt. . . . Sack master Myles Garrett played a solid game. In addition to a half sack, he made the tackle of the game early in the second quarter when he stuffed Deshaun Watson on a quarterback draw on fourth and goal at the Cleveland two, dropping him for a two-yard loss.