Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds vs. Patriots in Week 8

Stud: Myles Garrett

Olivier Vernon might not have gotten the sack numbers he hoped for but his fellow starting defensive end sure has. Myles Garrett has been playing out of his mind when rushing the passer this season and found himself around Tom Brady quite often in Week 8.

The third-year pro ended up recording four tackles, three of which went for a loss. He also sacked Brady, which was his 10th of the year. Not only does that give him his second consecutive season with double-digit sacks, but it puts him just four behind Reggie Camp‘s team record of 14 — which he recorded way back in 1984.

Garrett just missed that last season when he had 13.5. With nine games remaining, it seems all but certain he will top it this season and put his name in the team’s record book.

Dud: Freddie Kitchens

After Cleveland lost to Seattle in Week 6, there were rumors that the front office was considering firing head coach Freddie Kitchens. On Sunday, he did nothing to silence those rumors.

Cleveland went into their bye week after losing to the Seahawks and started preparing for the Patriots. There weren’t many who believed they were going to knock off the defending champs but they were expected to have made some progress during the bye — or at the very least, they should have looked prepared to play a game.

That wasn’t the case at all as they were as sloppy as ever, turning the ball over on three of their first four possessions. They were also once again awful with penalties, ending with 13 penalties for 85 yards (compared to four for 32 yards for the Pats).

While not all of that is on the coach, Kitchens shoulders much of the blame. In addition to his inability to field a disciplined team, Kitchens again made some terrible play calls, used his challenge flags ineffectively, and then had one of the most bizarre series ever near the end of the game.

Facing a fourth-and-11 from New England’s 24 and with just over six minutes to play, Kitchens sent out the punt team. He then deliberately had Khadarel Hodge false start so he could call a play without burning a timeout. After the flag, Freddie sent Baker Mayfield and the offense back out there on a fourth-and-16 from the 19-yard line and Mayfield was absolutely destroyed on the play.

Mayfield looked hurt for a minute but thankfully finished the game. Still, this highlighted just how bad Kitchens’ decision making has been and Week 8 was clearly the worst example of coaching for him to date.