The Cleveland Browns improved to 5-7 on the season, pulling away from the Houston Texans thanks to scoring plays from the defense and special teams. They now look to travel to Cincinnati this weekend to take on the Bengals in hopes of improving to 3-1 in the AFC North.
Before transitioning to the Bengals, however, we take a look at who stood out in this win against the Texans, for both good and bad. It was not the prettiest win in the world, but there were still players making a name for themselves. Who stood out as studs in this game? Who has room to step it up this week against the Bengals?
Stud: LB Tony Fields II
What a day for the second-year linebacker out of West Virginia.
It is not often a player racks up a forced fumble, fumble recovery, and interception all in one game, but this is exactly the line that Fields put together against the Texans. The cherry on top? The interception returned for a touchdown for Fields. He added four total tackles on the day for the Browns as well.
Heading down the stretch of these last five games, the Browns are going to need to rely more heavily on Fields as well, losing MIKE linebacker Sione Takitaki for the season to an ACL tear. Fields, however, has stacked two strong performances in a row, which is hopefully a sign of things to come for the brown and orange defense.
Dud: The offensive line
The play of the offensive line over the past few weeks has been putrid. Left guard Joel Bitonio is the only member up front who is playing with confidence and up to the standard that has been set by this unit over the past three seasons.
The injury to center Ethan Pocic certainly has been a contributing factor as he has played like a top-five player at his position in 2022, but even the likes of Jack Conklin and Wyatt Teller are playing well below the mark this season. Left tackle Jedrick Wills was coming off back-to-back weeks as a highly-graded pass protector, but he has displayed an inability to string games together over his three-year career.
In need of a big outing against the Bengals and down the stretch, this unit has to improve and in a hurry if the Browns want to capitalize on their 4.4 percent chance of making the playoffs.
They have historically played well against the Bengals, and Wills has historically had Trey Hendrickson’s number. We will see if this unit can kick it up a notch and repeat history this week in Cincinnati.
Stud: RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt
Despite a lack of movement from the struggling offensive line, running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt averaged 5.5 yards per carry against the Texans as the Browns ran for almost 200 yards total on the day. Calling 30 designed runs on the day, the Browns ate up the clock and chunked out space on the ground. Their lack of push, however, did show up at the goal line, resulting in a safety.
Regardless, the mobility of the new quarterback, and the threat of his arm, cleared out the defensive box as there is more to gameplan for. This made an immediate impact on the run game even if he was rusty in his return.
As a result, Chubb now sits second in the NFL in rushing, less than 200 yards behind Las Vegas Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs.
Dud: QB Deshaun Watson
In his first game in 700 days, quarterback Deshaun Watson looked like a player who had gone almost two years without playing football. One can work in practice and with a position coach all they want while they are off the field, but the one thing they cannot simulate is pressure.
According to The OBR’s Cody Suek, Watson was 9-of-13 for 94 yards and a PFF grade of 71.2 from a clean pocket, but that sank to 3-of-9 for 37 yards and a PFF grade of 30.8 when he was faced with pressure. This will take some time for Watson to get assimilated again after putting himself in a position to miss as much football as he did.
All-in-all, Watson finished just 12-of-22 for 131 yards and an interception on the day against the Texans. As the Browns face slim playoff hopes, they need him to get back up to speed as quickly as possible.
Stud: Donovan Peoples-Jones
After being on the cusp of breaking a big return against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a week ago, wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones broke a big one against the Texans. It turned out to be the only touchdown of the half for the Browns, giving them a 7-5 lead at the break.
On offense as well, Peoples-Jones continues to trek closer to the 1,000-yard mark on the season, which would be a tremendous accomplishment for a third-year sixth round pick. Stepping into the WR2 role this season for the Browns, Peoples-Jones continues to seize every opportunity placed in front of him.
Even on special teams.
