Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson didn’t throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns, but he likely did enough to earn another start.
After the win at Tampa Bay, coach Todd Monken was asked whether Watson would remain the quarterback for the Week 3 home opener against the Panthers.
“Really?” Monken said, via Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “Really? I’m gonna enjoy this win and I thought he played his ass off. I’m gonna leave it at that. I’m so happy for him.”
Watson completed 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the 23-19 victory over the Buccaneers. And that’s likely not nearly enough to get the Cleveland customers to let bygones be bygones for a pair of home games only four days apart — next Sunday against Carolina and the following Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Bottom line? It could get loud in Cleveland, especially if Watson struggles in seven days.
Browns Clips
Last Sunday, former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin channeled former Steelers receiver JuJu Smith Schuster, during Tomlin’s first Sunday with NBC.
“The Browns is the Browns,” Tomlin said.
They heard it in Cleveland. And it apparently had an impact on the Browns for their Week 2 game at Tampa Bay.
“Browns are gonna Browns. Fuck that, OK?” coach Todd Monken said after the game. “The guys took that to heart.”
Monken’s quote was played during this Sunday’s Football Night in America. Tomlin laughed it off.
“I’m glad that I can still motivate although I’m not coaching anymore,” Tomlin said. “It’s good to be heard. . . . You’re welcome. You’re welcome.”
That’s the best thing about bulletin board material. It benefits the team on the wrong side of it.
As to “the Browns is the Browns,” it’s the second time that line has helped Cleveland. After Smith-Schuster first uttered it, the Browns thumped the Steelers in the playoffs — and Smith-Schuster acknowledged that it “probably” motivated the Browns, “a lot.”
When NBC analyst Mike Tomlin quoted JuJu Smith-Schuster and said, “Browns is the Browns” after the team’s embarrassing 34-10 loss to open the season, Cleveland head coach Todd Monken said he didn’t see it that way.
He was a little more emphatic after the club’s 23-19 victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
“Browns are gonna Browns — fuck that, OK?” Monken said. “The guys took that to heart.”
That was Monken’s walk-off message in his press conference and the end to an answer about how his team was able to stay warm and motivated during the long weather delay.
Monken also noted — before the expletive — that practice earlier in the week got chippy.
“We had a couple of scuffles Wednesday — which is good,” Monken said. “It’s awesome, because guys didn’t like it. They were a little pissed off, right? You ought to be a little pissed off. Played awful. It wasn’t the standard.”
The Browns played a lot better on Sunday.
We’ll see if Monken can talk that same talk after next week’s matchup against the Panthers.
It took over two hours to play the last two minutes of Sunday’s contest between the Browns and Buccaneers.
In the end, Todd Monken would probably say it was worth the wait.
Monken got his first victory as an NFL head coach with Cleveland’s 23-19 victory over Tampa Bay.
Down by four, the Bucs were on the move when the lightning delay hit at the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. After the more than two-hour delay, Tampa Bay was able to get down to Cleveland’s 13-yard line. But a holding penalty then derailed the possession, with quarterback Baker Mayfield missing an open Emeka Egbuka in the end zone on fourth-and-11 to effectively end the game.
Mayfield played another poor game after having three fumbles in the season opener, finishing 21-of-34 from 182 with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 29 rushing yards.
On the other side, after an ugly performance in last week’s season opener — and despite the team soft-launching his benching with some Sunday morning reports — quarterback Deshaun Watson played arguably his best game with the Browns. He finished 24-of-30 for 238 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 22 yards on seven carries.
Denzel Boston was arguably the best player on the field, catching five passes for 95 yards — including a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Second-year tight end Harold Fannin also had 54 yards on five receptions.
With the win, the Browns are now 1-1 and the acrimonious situation between Watson and the team’s fans may have cooled off in time for next week’s home opener. Cleveland will host Carolina in Week 3.
The Buccaneers are now a disappointing 0-2, particularly after Mayfield’s contract extension. The club will try to get a win against the 2-0 Vikings at home next week.
The Browns and Bucs are about to resume their long-delayed game.
The two teams are set to resume play at about 6:10 p.m. ET, the Buccaneers announced.
Both teams took the field at about 6 p.m. to warm up.
Down 23-19 at the two-minute warning, the Buccaneers will have second-and-4 at Cleveland’s 28-yard line. The Bucs have three timeouts remaining.
While Baker Mayfield has not been sharp on Sunday, he has a chance to make it a memorable finish.
Todd Monken is two minutes away from his first win as an NFL head coach.
But he’ll have to wait to see if his team comes through.
The Browns and Buccaneers have hit a weather delay at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter. There was lightning in the area, with the teams vacating the field at the late break.
Down 23-19, the Bucs will have second-and-4 from the Cleveland 28 when play resumes. The Buccaneers have all three timeouts.
Deshaun Watson has played arguably the best game he’s had in a Browns uniform, completing 24-of-30 passes for 238 yards with two touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 23 yards on six carries.
Watson hit rookie Denzel Boston with an intermediate pass that Boston took in for a 55-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Watson then connected with tight end Blake Whiteheart for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Browns a four-point advantage with 3:51 left in regulation.
UPDATE 5:08 p.m. ET: The game is still in a weather delay, with the Buccaneers announcing the next update will come at 5:30 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 5:40 P.M. ET: The game remains in a weather delay, with the next update from the stadium set to come at 6:15 p.m. ET.
Last week, Denzel Boston’s first touchdown catch came in garbage time with Cleveland down 34-3.
His second was as legit as they come.
Boston caught an intermediate pass over the middle, made three Buccaneers defenders miss, and darted to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown — tying the score at 16-16 late in the third quarter.
While the Browns’ offense has had trouble getting going throughout the day, the club picked up 13 yards to start its possession with a pass to Harold Fannin and then got a free first down with a 15-yard facemask penalty.
Boston made his impressive catch and run on the next play to tie the score.
Watson is now 15-of-18 for 167 yards with a touchdown. Boston leads with three catches for 78 yards with a TD.
The Buccaneers’ quarterback made some things shake and bake on the first drive of the second half, and now Tampa Bay has a 16-6 lead.
Baker Mayfield connected with a wide-open Emeka Egbuka for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a 10-point advantage.
Mayfield started the drive with a 24-yard pass to Chris Godwin, which was the longest pay of the day so far for Tampa Bay’s offense.
The quarterback then converted third-and-1 with a QB sneak to put the ball at Cleveland’s 15. And on third-and-9, he lowered his shoulder to power his way past the first-down marker to put Tampa Bay at the 5.
On the next play, Mayfield evaded the rush in the pocket to find Egbuka in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
Mayfield is now 13-of-19 for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception so far on Sunday.
The Browns and the Buccaneers both look like teams with a lot of improvements to make if they’re going to be competitors this season.
But a poor coaching decision by Cleveland’s Todd Monken allowed Tampa Bay to take a 9-6 lead at halftime.
When the Browns faced fourth-and-1 from their own 34 with 2:50 left in the second quarter, the club’s defense had been playing well. The team had allowed just five first downs and picked off quarterback Baker Mayfield. But Monken still elected to go for it, calling a Quinshon Judkins run up the middle.
It was easily stuffed for a turnover on downs, giving Tampa Bay the ball deep in Cleveland territory.
But the underwhelming Buccaneers offense didn’t do much with the opportunity. While the team advanced down to the Cleveland 11, the unit stalled from there with a screen pass that went backward, followed by two Mayfield incompletions.
Chase McLaughlin hit his third field goal of the half to give the Buccaneers a three-point lead.
Mayfield is just 9-of-15 for 45 yards with an interception. Tampa Bay has just seven first downs, 126 yards, and is 3-of-8 on third down.
Cleveland has registered three sacks — one each from Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and Mason Graham.
On the other side, Cleveland’s offense has done next to nothing. The team has just three first downs, 59 total yards, and is 0-of-6 on third down — and the Browns are somehow still in it. The club has also had several penalty issues, with six accepted for 50 yards.
Deshaun Watson, who may be making his final start in an orange helmet, is 7-of-9 for 55 yards. Judkins has 18 yards on nine carries, with the Tampa Bay defense clearly keying in on him. Harold Fannin has one 21-yard reception, which was Watson’s best throw of the day so far.
The Buccaneers will have a chance to get things going early in the third quarter, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.
The Giants announced the death of their former General Manager Ernie Accorsi at the age of 84 on Sunday.
Accorsi was the Giants’ GM from 1998 until his retirement in 2006 and, after hiring head coach Tom Coughlin, helped put together the core of the team that would go on to win the Super Bowl the next season. Quarterback Eli Manning, who Accorsi traded for in 2004, and several other players acquired by Accorsi also had a hand in the team’s Super Bowl win after the 2011 season.
Accorsi was inducted into the Giants’ Ring of Honor in 2016 along with Coughlin and Justin Tuck, who was drafted by Accorsi.
“Ernie helped shape the course of New York Giants history through his vision, leadership and unwavering belief in building a championship organization,” Giants co-owner John Mara said in a statement. “Beyond his accomplishments as a football executive, he was a trusted advisor and dear friend. His legacy will forever be part of the Giants, and he will be greatly missed.”
Accorsi entered the NFL with the Colts in 1970, worked for the league and then returned to the Colts as their assistant GM in 1977. He became their GM in 1982 and held the same role for the Browns from 1985-1992 before moving on to the Giants.
