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.
Bucs Clips
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.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called it “ridiculous” to think he might miss Sunday’s game in Houston because of back tightness and he is active for the Week 2 matchup with the Texans.
Burrow’s health became a talking point this week when he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he returned to full practice on Friday. The Bengals still listed him as questionable for the team’s first road game of the season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Burrow felt normal while going through Friday’s practice, but was very sore earlier in the week. The Texans pass rush could exacerbate that soreness if they’re able to get to Burrow early in Sunday’s game.
Bengals at Texans
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OL Connor Lew, DL BJ Hill, DL Landon Robinson, QB Josh Johnson, OL Myles Hinton
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, WR Nico Collins, LB Jake Hummel, CB Collin Wright, G Ed Ingram, OT Nate Thomas, DE Jadeveon Clowney
Panthers at Falcons
Panthers: LB Pat Jones, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, CB Chau Smith-Wade, LB Tyrel Dodson, OT Albert Reese, DT Bobby Brown
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcolm DeWalt, OL Ethan Onianwa
Saints at Ravens
Saints: RB Kendre Miler, QB Zach Wilson, DB Decamerion Richardson, LB Isaiah Stalbird, DL Christen Miller, OL Mason Murphy, DL John Ridgeway
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Zay Flowers, G Andrew Vorhees, OT Gerad Lichtenhan, LB Teddye Buchanan, DL Nnamdi Madubuike
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DB Jakobe Thomas, OL Nick Samac, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Bears: QB Case Keenum, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden
Steelers at Patriots
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, G Gennings Dunker, DT Kevin Jobity, DT Gabriel Rubio
Patriots: CB Carlton Davis, OT Dametrious Crownover, OT Walter Rouse, TE Tanner Arkin, DL Leonard Taylor, QB Behren Morton
Packers at Jets
Packers: CB Benjamin St-Juste, OL John Williams, OL Travis Glover, DT Warren Brinson, DT Javon Hargrave
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, K Blake Grupe, RB Kene Nwangwu, LB Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace
Browns at Buccaneers
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Buccaneers: CB Ayden Garnes, CB Jacob Parrish, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart, DL Elijah Simmons
Eagles at Titans
Eagles: QB Tanner McKee, QB Cole Payton, WR Elijah Moore, LB Jonathan Greenard, G Micah Morris
Titans: CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB James Williams, OL Atonio Mafi, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
When the Browns decided, two days after an all-time press-conference meltdown from Deshaun Watson, to make him the Week 1 starting quarterback, it immediately seemed to be a product of the fact that Cleveland starts the season with two games, you know, not in Cleveland.
And with the team’s Florida road trip ending today, the winds of change to Shedeur Sanders are already blowing like a Category 2 hurricane.
As Ian Rapoport of ESPNFL explains it, Cleveland will “make its evaluation” after Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers in Tampa.
Of course it will. Not even the Browns-is-the-Browns are so dysfunctional that they’d trot out Watson for a home crowd that wants nothing to do with him. Even if the Browns managed to beat the Bucs and the still-salty (always-salty, and we love it) Baker Mayfield on Sunday, it will be a very hard sell — unless Watson has one of those 400-yard, five-touchdown days that he claims the media expects from him every week.
Rapoport’s article doesn’t mention the biggest elephant in the room, when it comes to the possibility that Sanders will start next week. The customers do not want him. Period. Full stop. End of story.
Coach Todd Monken has used a restaurant metaphor to explain fan discontent. Absent a dramatic menu change before the Week 3 home opener against the Panthers, the foodstuffs will be flying from the stands next Sunday.
The Browns added another player to their injury report on Saturday.
Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is now listed as questionable to play against the Buccaneers. A hand injury is the reason for Igbinoghene’s addition to the list.
Igbinoghene signed with the Browns after being released as part of the final cuts in Seattle this summer. He was inactive for their Week 1 loss to the Jaguars.
The Browns also announced that they have elevated linebacker Nathaniel Watson from the practice squad. Watson was also elevated last Sunday and he played 15 special teams snaps.
Watson will revert back to the practice squad after the game. He can be elevated on a temporary basis once more this season.
It’s been a long week for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. And it’s still not over.
Against the Buccaneers on Sunday, Watson could post his seventh straight loss as a starter. That would be the longest streak for any Browns quarterback since DeShone Kizer in 2017, when a 15-game losing streak cemented an 0-16 season. Which opened the door to drafting Baker Mayfield the following April.
Watson drew fresh criticism after the Week 1 34-10 loss to the Jaguars by claiming that the “media has this expectation that I’m supposed to throw [for] 400 yards and five touchdowns every week,” even though he hasn’t done that once since Week 5 of the 2019 season.
There are even more depressing statistics than that. As Anthony Lima of 92.3 The Fan observed on Friday morning, Bills quarterback Josh Allen has nine total touchdowns in five days. Watson has eight total touchdowns in 1,041 days.
And, yes, the Browns could have drafted Allen instead of Mayfield. But don’t feel too bad about that, Browns fans; the organization likely would have ruined and/or moved on from Allen by now, too.
After Sunday — barring a win and, perhaps, 400 yards and five touchdowns — the Browns will have to move on from Watson or risk a full-blown riot for the Week 3 home opener against Carolina.
The Browns have released their final injury report for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
Cornerback Tyson Campbell has been listed as questionable for the game. Campbell was added to the injury report when he missed practice on Thursday because of an ankle injury, but he returned to practice on Friday and head coach Todd Monken said the team wants to see how he responds before making a decision about his game status.
Guard Teven Jenkins has been ruled out with a back injury for the second week in a row. Rookie Austin Barber started at right guard in last Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars and is set to start again this weekend.
No other Browns players will carry injury designations into Week 2.
Already thin at cornerback, the Browns are dealing with another injury at the position.
Tyson Campbell did not practice on Thursday with an ankle injury, according to Cleveland’s practice report. He was not listed with an injury on Wednesday.
Acquired from the Jaguars midway through last season, Campbell was on the field for 100 percent of Cleveland’s defensive snaps in the Week 1 loss to Jacksonville. He also played six special teams snaps.
The Browns lack depth at cornerback, which could be an issue for the club against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Notably on the injury report, offensive tackle Dawand Jones (head) was upgraded from limited to full.
Offensive lineman Parker Brailsford (thumb), defensive tackle Maliek Collins (quad), and offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins (back) remained limited. Guard Teven Jenkins (back) remained out of practice. Receiver Jerry Jeudy (wrist) and guard Zion Johnson (knee) remained full.
