Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds from Week 2 win vs. Bengals
Baker Mayfield headlines the Cleveland Browns studs from their Week 2 win.
After the season-opener, Cleveland Browns fans were likely rolling their eyes deep into the backs of their heads with the thought of here we go again. They were shellacked by the Ravens, 38-6, to start the season and things looked bad. Luckily, they welcomed the Cincinnati Bengals to FirstEnergy Stadium for Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 2.
From the jump, it was clear that Baker Mayfield and the offense were operating on a different plane. Yes, they were playing a Bengals defense that was banged up and not all that impressive to begin with but the Browns looked far more akin to what everyone was hoping for under new head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The result was a 35-30 victory for Cleveland to move them to 1-1 early in the 2020 NFL season. That in itself is a big moral victory for the Browns as they are truly trying to right the ship, especially after a week filled with rumors surrounding Odell Beckham Jr. and his future with the team yet again.
To be sure, it wasn’t a pristine performance by Stefanski’s club on Thursday night. After all, they allowed rookie Joe Burrow in his second career start and off of a short week to hang 30 points on them and had some bad moments on offense. But there were decisively more positives to take away from the victory than negatives.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the studs and duds on the Cleveland Browns from their Week 2 victory over an AFC North rival.