CLEVELAND — There’s nothing that generates more overreactions than a season-opening game. It’s just a petri dish of takes being concocted off 60 minutes of football.
The only thing that could possibly generate more overreactions is the Browns’ 17-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Add up everything that went wrong — kicking, bad running game, two interceptions off bobbled passes — on top of the things that did go right, specifically the defense, and woo, boy, let the takes fly.
So, that’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to assess some of the potentially biggest overreactions that could emerge from that performance.
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Here are three overreactions from the Browns’ Week 1 loss vs. the Bengals.
Cleveland Browns running game is doomed to be dismal
This one certainly looks like a proper reaction to what was on display against the Bengals.
The Browns rushed for just 49 yards and averaged just two yards per carry. Rookie Dylan Sampson was the top rusher with a grand total of 29 yards on 12 carries. Getting one yard seemed like it was as tough as asking for public money to build a new stadium. That may just be the state of this running game.
Or, there’s the hope the Browns are banking on: that rookie Quinshon Judkins will avoid NFL discipline and be able to rapidly contribute. That’s the hope, and it’s not completely outlandish. How long does it take Judkins to get up to where the Browns need him to be to make the running game competent?
What if, however, that doesn’t happen? Welcome to a lot of Sundays like the opener, then.
Cleveland Browns don’t need a new kicker in Week 2 against Baltimore Ravens
Considering many Browns fans think they have a half-dozen high school kids in their county who could’ve made the two kicks Andre Szmyt missed, this probably isn’t viewed as an overreaction. It’s absolutely something the team has to at least do its due diligence on over the next several days.
If that means practice competition, then that’s what it means. The Browns are 0-1 because the kicker was only successful at his job 50% of the time against the Bengals. That’s a lost opportunity to get a win the Browns desperately needed considering the schedule that is ahead for them. That’s not something to be left to chance, hoping someone who had never kicked in a regular-season NFL game before seeing Cincinnati can figure it out.
No one’s expecting the next Adam Vinatieri, just someone who can make the makeable kicks, which is what Szmyt missed against the Bengals.
Cleveland Browns defense is starting just like 2023, as the best in the NFL
The Browns defense played outstanding for the better part of the opener. They held Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow to just 113 passing yards, his third-lowest total, while sacking him three times. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for five catches for 59 yards on nine targets. Even after gaining 29 yards on seven carries on the opening drive, Bengals running back Chase Brown finished with just 43 total yards.
All of that is outstanding, and all of it could be a precursor to a sensational season for a defense that drew plenty of preseason praise. It also could be a defense that took advantage of a favorable matchup that has benefited Cleveland in the past.
The Browns will have plenty of chances over the next few weeks to prove which one it is, starting with a trip to Baltimore to face the Ravens next week.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns Week 1 overreactions: Is this what run game will look like all year?
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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