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NFL Preseason 2018: Winners and losers from Week 3

By Cody Williams

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 26: Mike White #3 of the Dallas Cowboys fumbles the ball after being sacked by Vontarrius Dora #59 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of a preseason football game at AT&T Stadium on August 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 26: Mike White #3 of the Dallas Cowboys fumbles the ball after being sacked by Vontarrius Dora #59 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of a preseason football game at AT&T Stadium on August 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 23: Starting quarterback Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles trips and falls to the ground for a safety while under pressure from Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns and protection from Stefen Wisniewski #61 during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 23: Starting quarterback Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles trips and falls to the ground for a safety while under pressure from Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns and protection from Stefen Wisniewski #61 during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Winner: The Cleveland Browns defense

Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield joining the Cleveland Browns naturally made the majority of the talk about this team heading into 2018 about their offense. After all, this is a franchise that hasn’t had really any semblance of a future at the quarterback position in what essentially amounts to forever.

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As such, seeing two viable options emerge is a big deal, especially with offensive talent on the field around them that could make this offense a truly viable group in this league right away.

In the midst of all the talk about the offense, however, we’ve seemingly neglected to talk about the Browns defense as much as we should. The organization has invested just as many high-end resources on that side of the ball as they have with the offense, and the defense also seems just as likely to break out in the 2018 season. They made sure to remind everyone of this to open Preseason Week 3 as they took on the defending champion Eagles.

While Carson Wentz may not have been on the field, the Browns defense was absolutely dominant — which was good considering that Cleveland’s offense hit some bumps in the road in this game. However, Myles Garrett looked like a superstar, Jamie Collins returned to form and the secondary looked solid as well (and they even survived a Denzel Ward injury scare).

Again, we know that the Browns offense should at least be competent in the 2018 season, which is a massive upgrade from where it’s been in recent years. Having said that, if the defense can also make the leap and look as they did in Week 3 of the preseason, this team could be much more formidable overall than many expect.

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