I vividly remember the Cleveland Browns losing their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the entire city was miserable for an entire week. Funny how things have changed. In front of their fans, the Browns found a way to pull off another win against an NFC South opponent in the Caroli

What is the story about?

I vividly remember the Cleveland Browns losing their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the entire city was miserable for an entire week. Funny how things have changed. In front of their fans, the Browns found a way to pull off another win against an NFC South opponent in the Carolina Panthers

. It wasn’t pretty, but winning in the NFL is hard, and finding a way to get a victory is all that matters.

Time for “4 Downs” thoughts on Week 3’s victory:

1st Down: Resilience from last year carries over to this year

Despite the Browns having a losing

record from last season, the one that team did last season was fight week in and week out. Two weeks in, the team has shown a similar trait from last season that has translated over to this season, under a new head coach. The resilience trait.

A lot of things didn’t go the Browns way against the Panthers, but somehow, this team continued to fight. Young teams might not have the high end talent that contenders have but the one thing they have that you can’t measure is fight. Cleveland has that. It might be small but it’s something that most should notice about this current iteration of the Cleveland Browns is how resilient they are in these two victories, and that started with the late wins last year.

2nd Down: Deshaun Watson finds a way when it mattered

From a statistical standpoint, it wasn’t a great day for Watson. However, when it mattered the most Watson found a way to come through. It would’ve been easy for Watson to fold, as some have seen him do in the past, but he didn’t. Whether it was using his legs when it was required or finding a way to get the ball to the talented playmakers, Watson found a way to help the team when it was his time to make a play.

During Watson’s postgame interview with FOX NFL reporter Jennifer Hale, the answers that Watson gave were pretty telling:

It wasn’t long ago the fans were booing Watson in a preseason game, now the fans are cheering and supporting him. Regardless of what you think of Watson, the one thing to respect is his work ethic. Whether it was him tearing his shoulder labrum or tearing his Achilles twice, the fact that he came back instead of quitting speaks volumes.

In the above interviewn he finally gave the right answers, and the answers seemed sincere, but if you play well, then the fans will support you. It’s as simple as that.

3rd Down: Defense rises to occasion, Mason Graham slowly becoming a star

If one unit deserves a game ball, it’s the Browns defense. The defense is undergoing an overhaul with losing future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett, but the good news is that the unit is filled with young talent that have emerged going back to last year. It’s not a hot take, but defensive tackle Mason Graham is the best player on the Browns defensive line. Three games in, the tape and the stats back that up.

Carolina’s offense was averaging 35 points coming into this matchup, and they only managed to reach the endzone once while being held on 4/15 on 3rd down. Defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg was creative in terms of being more flexible in terms of calling the defense; defensive end Jared Verse made his presence known, and the secondary kept the explosive plays to a minimum. It seems that Week 1 performance was more of an outlier, and the past two weeks are the real Browns defense we are watching.

4th Down: Thursday night is suddenly an important game

The last time the Browns were 2-1, it was 2023. Everyone knows how that season went, but if not, for a refresher, Cleveland made the playoffs that season.

Fast forward to now, the team is 2-1 and the Thursday night tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers is suddenly important. Every team in the AFC North is 2-1, but the one team that can make a statement on Thursday is the team in Northeast Ohio. If you find a way to win at home against a hated rival, conversations will begin to start.

Nationally televised games can be billed as “statement” games. From a distance, I don’t think the Steelers are that good and are beatable. If the team finds a way to win, not only will you find yourself in first place in the division, but you also have a chance to send a statement to the rest of the country.

I don’t believe the Browns are as bad of a team as many thought after Week 1, but is this team is capable of winning the big games? The Browns already did it twice against two teams expected to contend for the NFL playoffs; can they do it again on Thursday?

Extra points

Cleveland was penalized 12 times for 84 yards. Some of the penalties were egregious, but most were just pre-snap penalties that will get cleaned up, have to get cleaned up. Can’t win many games if you have more penalties than the other team.
Not pushing the panic button on RT Tytus Howard, but Sunday wasn’t a great day for him. Considering how bad the offensive line was last season, fans can’t be picky about who the team has out there now.
The Browns are rarely on FOX, but whenever they are, they usually get stuck with Myers/Schlereth. Rather hear Albert/Vilma or Kugler/Johnston, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Browns offense couldn’t get anything going in the 3rd quarter: 8 yards in a single quarter is insane.
The Steelers might be 2-1, but I am not moved by them at all. Thursday night will be interesting to watch.

What are your takeaways from Week 3’s Browns vs Panthers? How excited are you for TNF versus the Steelers?