Winning is the Best Deodorant – John Madden
Welcome Browns fans. Sunday the 1-1 Browns return home to Huntington Bank Field to take on the 1-1 Carolina Panthers. Game time is 12:00 noon CST and the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will do their usual meet-up at Burke’s Public House 5401 N. Broadway to cheer the Browns onto their first home victory of the season.
What a Difference a Week Makes
After a dismal week one performance Deshaun Watson and the Browns coaching staff went a long way toward redeeming themselves with their 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Deshaun Watson had one of his best days throwing the ball since joining the Browns in 2022. Watson’s 238 passing yards, 121.9 QB rating, 2 TD passes and 80% completion rate were all his third highest as a Brown. Watson’s 76.9% completion percentage is currently 2nd in the NFL while his 112.9 QB rating is 8th. HC Todd Monken and his coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for the changes that facilitated Watson’s improvement. The biggest change was an increased emphasis on the short passing game. In week 2, according to PFF, Watson’s average depth of throw (the average air yards per pass) dropped from 9.5 yards in week 1 to just 3.8 yards in week 2, the second lowest in the NFL for the week. His average yards per pass also dropped from 9.3 yards to 6.2 yards. Against Jacksonville, 32% of Watson passes traveled 10 yards or more and he threw just 2 screen passes while less than 17% of his passes against Tampa Bay traveled 10 or more yards and he threw 6 screens. The main challenge for the Browns offense on Sunday will be maintaining the efficiency of their short passing game against a Pather’s defense that has the second highest blitz rate in the NFL and is number one in takeaways. Carolina will be without All Pro LB Devin Boyd.
The Kids are All Right
The early returns on the Browns 2026 draft class have been outstanding, especially on offense with WR Denzel Boston leading the way. Boston’s 154 receiving yards and 2 TD’s currently lead all rookie receivers while his 22 yards per catch average is third among all rookies and 6th in the NFL. Fellow wide out KC Concepcion according to PFF has the highest good hands grade of all rookie receivers and he and Boston are tied for the rookie lead with zero drops on a combined 21 receptions. Rookie offensive guard Austin Barber according to PFF has the highest pass blocking grade of any rookie offensive linemen and in 2 games he’s given up only 1 QB pressure and zero sacks.
The Panther Offense is Smoking
The Carolina offense is off to its best start since its 2015 Super Bowl season. Their league leading 312.5 passing yards per game will present a major challenge to a Browns defense that hasn’t given up 300 yards to a single QB in 47 straight games dating back to October 2022. The Panthers 35.5 points per game and 4.5 TD’s per game are both 2nd most in the NFL and their 409 offensive yards per game, 6.7 yards per play and 8.8 yards per pass all rank 4th in the league. Carolina QB Bryce Young’s 324 passing yards per game and 8.9 yards per pass are both tops in his 4-year career and he currently leads the NFL with 6 TD passes. After 2 weeks, he’s 3rd in passing yards (648 yards) and 4th in yards per pass, completing 63% of his passes with only 1 interception for a 113.3 QB rating ,6th best in the NFL. Young likes to push the ball downfield with 8 completions of 20 or more yards. If the Browns defense can generate pressure on him his completion rate drops to less than 38%. His favorite receiver is Jalen Coker who’s caught 16 of 18 passes thrown his way for 204 yards, 9th best in the league with 2 TD’s. He also leads the NFL in punt returns averaging 24.5 yards per return. Opposite Coker is WR Tetairoa McMillan who has 10 catches for 176 yards averaging 17.6 yards per reception. When Carolina gets to the red zone the Browns will need to pay real attention to TE Darren Waller who has 2 TD’s in only 5 receptions. RB Chuba Hubbard has 3 TD’s and leads the Panthers’ 11th ranked rushing attack averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
The Return of Nick Chubb
Browns fan favorite RB Nick Chubb returned to Cleveland on Wednesday to sign a one-day contract so he could retire as a Brown. During his signing ceremony Chubb said “I love Cleveland it’s second home to me…ever since I stepped foot into the City, I’ve felt nothing but love”. Chubb’s thirty 100-yard rushing games are second only to Jim Brown in franchise history and his 51 rushing TD’s and 6,848 rushing yards are 3rd in team history. In his 100 career games Chub has 7,349 rushing yards with 59 TD’s and 1,109 receiving yards. A true Browns legend. GO BROWNS….GO GUARDIANS