If most of us are being honest, after Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, there was little hope for the Cleveland Browns. The defense seemed to have nothing without Jim Schwartz and Myles Garrett, while the offense was downright terrible with QB Deshaun Watson at the helm.
Two weeks and two wins later, the Browns head into Thursday Night Football tied for the AFC North lead and a chance to take over the top spot all by themselves by knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers. A nail-biter victory in Week 3,
in the home opener against the Carolina Panthers, has Cleveland fans spinning a different tune than we all were just two weeks ago.
How?
Really, a total team effort, a lot of big plays when needed, and two wins over NFC South teams that were expected to compete for the NFL playoffs this season.
Here are 15 takeaways from Browns vs. Panthers:
Coaching adjustments key: Some big, some small
The Browns have been far from perfect in the two victories, but the coaching staff has made a few big changes, including a more flexible defense with more man coverage. In Week 3, DC Mike Rutenberg brought a ton of blitzes from all over the place, moving players like Jared Verse in different spots, and kept QB Bryce Young guessing about who was going to blitz.
HC Todd Monken also made some adjustments early and late in the game to get the offense moving. Getting Watson out on the move, using KC Concepcion’s motions as a distraction, and a few key duo blocks to get Quinshon Judkins moving forward, Monken is setting up plays from game to game.
Mason Graham continues to excel
The new MG might not be the physical talent that the old MG (Garrett) on the Browns defensive line, but his impact is needed and impressive. On Sunday, Graham had seven tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits. Interior pressure generally has a bigger impact on offenses than the edge, and Graham has four sacks through three games
Deshaun Watson’s legs help and open things up
Even before his 21-yard gallop late in the game, Watson’s legs kept drives going and kept defenders frozen at times, including the first touchdown pass to TE Harold Fannin Jr. Defenses can’t be too aggressive in attacking Watson, and had a spy watching him, taking one defender out of coverage on Fannin’s long over route score.
Later in the game, Watson’s big run put them in position to score, then got out on the move, drawing defenders, which allowed Fannin space to get open for his second score.
Watson wasn’t perfect, but his legs are important even when his passing stats are not big.
Isaiah McGuire, moving Jared Verse, blitzing all needed for pass rush
This Cleveland defense may not have someone like Garrett to create quick pressure, but the coverage from Carson Schwesinger, Quincy Williams, Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell, Ronnie Hickman, and Grant Delpit means Rutenberg can get creative with his blitzes. That creativity is needed if the Browns are going to put pressure on the quarterback from the outside, instead of just from Graham and company on the inside.
DE Isaiah McGuire was able to get a couple of quick pressures off the edge, something that can be really helpful when it happens. Any edge rush, with a blitz or not, will impact the game hugely with the interior line’s abilities.
HOW MANY PENALTIES?
12. Seriously. 12 penalties, not all good calls by the refs, for 84 yards. They have to get better, by a decent amount, when it comes to discipline, especially some of the offensive ones with not lining up in an appropriate formation.
OLine, especially Tytus Howard, struggling
Rookie Spencer Fano put on an island; looked like a rookie much of the game. Cleveland’s offense didn’t give him a lot of help and expected him to hold up. Unfortunately, it looks like film from the first two games showed that Fano could be beaten inside because Carolina attacked him there a lot.
Howard continues to really struggle, not just with penalties:
Can’t beat the refs and the opponent too often
There were a few bad calls, including “roughing the passer” where Young fell down and another where his lineman pushed him into a Browns defender. This missed called is wild given where the ref is looking:
Not taking out Malachi Corley
Corley got hit hard on a kickoff, but a penalty led to another kickoff and Corley fumbled. The big hit should have led Cleveland’s coaches to play it safe on the re-kick. Instead, Corley quickly put Carolina in a position to score coming out of halftime. A missed detail where caution would have been huge.
Browns defense imperfect, impressive given offense’s struggles
A lot of credit has to go to Cleveland’s defense for the win. Carolina scored 81 points in their first two games but the Browns held them to 18 despite a lot of struggles from their offense. It helped that Xavier Legette missed the game and Jalen Coker left the game injured, but Cleveland did it without Tyson Campbell.
A lot of credit is due to the Browns defense:
While Cleveland gave up a touchdown after the above post, it doesn’t change how impressive the defense was.
Grant Delpit looked a step slow, limited
Just a quick note that Delpit’s shoulder injury might be worse than some believe because he looked less aggressive than he normally is in tackling and was slow in coverage. Nothing that hurt the team too much, but notable heading into a short week and something the Steelers will likely see on film.
Panthers O adjusted to pressure
Sometimes, it’s important to note how the opponent deserves some credit. Blitzes often lead to zone defense and open areas if pressure doesn’t hit. The Browns were causing a lot of issues with their pressure, so Carolina ran more crossers and quick hitters to take advantage of that. They also moved Young off his spot more, to create more openings. Credit to the Panthers, but Rutenberg adjusted enough in big moments and later in the game instead of just doing the same thing over and over again.
Watson does just enough, improves late in game
As many of the messages in our game thread, DMs, and texts communicated, Watson wasn’t good enough for most of the second half. Instead of folding or making things worse, Watson was able to do just enough and make a few big plays when it mattered most.
“All the fans wanted to see is for us to score a damn touchdown,” as Monken said during his post-game press conference. Watson was a part of that, did just enough.
Jaycee Horn injury huge for 2-point conversion
A small thing, but without Horn in the game for the late 2-point conversion, Denzel Boston was left without the top cornerback on the other side on the 2-point conversion. Those two points were huge to push the lead to three points, and Horn’s injury was very notable as Boston converted.
Todd Monken’s risky 4th down, 4th quarter call
“We get to 4th and 1… to me, it’s 50/50…” – Monken, in his post-game press conference.
In the end, it worked out. “A lot of it was Browns hurting Browns,” as Monken said, including himself, but had the Panthers tied the game or won the game in regulation, the head coach would have put himself squarely in the crosshairs of the fans and media. Instead, now it’s just a footnote from this game.
Given the slim margin of error the young Cleveland team has, it is likely that Monken’s aggressiveness will win the team a game and probably lose them one as well. In Week 3, it is just a footnote, thankfully.
Browns are 2-1, tied for the AFC North lead
What really matters are those two facts. On to the Steelers. As the kids say, and Monken indicated, ‘it’s gonna be a movie’ on TNF:
What are your takeaways from the Browns win versus the Panthers?
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