After a loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one, the Cleveland Browns aimed to bounce back. However, this was not to be in their week two match-up against the Baltimore Ravens. Although there were a few bright spots, they were just that: few and far between. But maybe, just maybe, there are some things that the Browns can learn from this one before they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts next week. These are the Last Word on Pro Football Cleveland Browns takeaways for week two of the 2017 season.
Week Two Cleveland Browns Takeaways
Defensively, the Browns are Night and Day
With Baltimore missing running back Danny Woodhead, many fans expected the Browns to be able to stop the run once again in week two. Fortunately for Cleveland, those fan expectations were fulfilled. While it wasn’t the amazing performance that was week one, the Browns still held the Ravens to only 136 rushing yards. However, their pass defense was utterly forgettable.
Joe Flacco completed 25 passes on 34 attempts for 201 yards, and the Browns could only manage two sacks on the game. This pass rush is supposed to be one of the league’s best, yet their performance does not indicate that. Additionally, the Browns were only able to muster up one interception thanks to Jason McCourty. With the receiving corps that the Ravens have, Flacco should not be putting up the numbers that he did. Truly, the Browns played some very shoddy pass defense this week.
DeShone Kizer Gets No Help
Yesterday was a nightmare of a day for rookie DeShone Kizer. During the first quarter, he came out of the game with a migraine. Then, Kevin Hogan came in and immediately led the Browns down the field to their first touchdown. But when Kizer came back into the game in the second half was when things went from bad to worse.
The elephant in the room here is that Kizer threw three picks on the day. Of course, part of that is due to the Ravens incredible secondary, but his receivers gave him no help at all. Kenny Britt looked terrible, almost like he didn’t want to be on the team anymore. Perhaps Hue Jackson won’t want him on the team either after his performance this week. In addition to that, Duke Johnson and Ricardo Louis also had a few dropped passes. Although Kizer wasn’t lighting the world on fire either, most of his receivers gave him no help at all. There was, however, one bright spot.
Higgins Goes Hollywood
Perhaps one of the biggest Browns takeaways this week is this: Rashard Higgins can flat out play. After the Browns decided to bring him up from the practice squad, Higgins showed he belongs on the team. Higgins collected six catches for 91 yards on the day, and was a great asset to both Hogan and Kizer.
Hopefully for Higgins and the Browns receiving corps as a whole, he keeps up the production we saw this week. The Ravens have a tough defense, probably even one of the league’s best. And yet, Higgins was still able to shine through on some plays. Of course, this could always be a fluke, but maybe this is just the start of the Hollywood Higgins story.
Main image credit:
Embed from Getty Images
