Here’s a glass-half-full way of looking at the situation the 1-3 Browns find themselves in after back-to-back losses to the Giants and Raiders:
As bad as things look – and they certainly look pretty bad right now – no team is running away with the AFC North.
The Steelers are 3-1, the Ravens are 2-2 and the Bengals, like the Browns, are 1-3.
Reinforcements are on the way. Coach Kevin Stefanski, during a Zoom call Sept. 30, said Nick Chubb would be activated from the physically unable to perform list and practice Oct. 2 for the first time this season. From that point on, the Browns will have a 21-day window to decide if Chubb is ready to be added to the 53-man roster. If they decide he’s not ready, he’ll return to the PUP for the rest of the season.
Chubb is recovering from a knee injury suffered on September 18, 2023, in the second game of the season when Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick hit Chubb flush on the outside of the star running back’s left knee. Chubb underwent surgery in September last year and another in November to repair the damage.
“He works very hard,” Stefanski said on the Zoom call. “The natural progression is for him to start training, and he’s ready to do that. And then we’ll see how he goes from there. But I didn’t really focus more after Wednesday.
It’s unrealistic to expect Chubb to be ready to face the Commanders in Landover, Md. on Oct. 6, but tight end David Njoku could return from the ankle injury that left him kept away for the last three games. Njoku practiced on a limited basis on September 26 with his right ankle wrapped in tape.
“I expect (Njoku) to practice at some point this week and then we’ll make that decision,” Stefanski said.
The Browns have scored six offensive touchdowns and five field goals this season, plus a touchdown on a fumble return from safety Rodney McLeod in the 20-16 loss to the Raiders on September 29.
The Browns scored on their first possession in all four games – a 51-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins at the end of a six-play, 13-yard drive on the first play, a 1-yard touchdown run by Deshaun Watson on a 16-play, 89-yarder in the 18-13 win over the Jaguars, a 24-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Amari Cooper on the play after the Browns recovered a fumbled kickoff by the Giants and a one-yard pass from Watson to tight end Blake Whiteheart to end a 15-play, 70-yard opening drive against the Raiders.
But the “score, get the ball, repeat” cycle is broken.
“It’s something we definitely need to get better at,” Stefanski said. “You watch the tape of yesterday’s game, I give the Raiders credit, but it’s not like anything changed from one drive to the next or the third drive.
“It’s really about us and making sure we’re on top of what we do. Your scripted plays usually take you to the second quarter. So it’s something we need to look at long and hard, to find a way to score points. I don’t care when it’s in the drive, it’s just we have to find a way to score more points.
Receiver Jerry Jeudy says the problem is the Browns are committing too many penalties. They led the NFL with 24 penalties after two weeks. They have been penalized five times in each of the last two games.
“I feel like once we get these self-inflicted wounds out of the way, we’ll be a lot better than what we are,” Jeudy said on a Zoom call. “We hate to have a losing record, but we know the season is still early.
“Each individual must simply focus on their details, their mission and their execution of the given piece. This is how we stay together. Just how all 11 are on the same page. This is how games work and how you become a great offense.
The Browns were penalized 21 times on offense. Eight were waiting calls and six were false starts. Others include an ineligible receiver downfield and an illegal move.
Browns at Commanders
When: 1 p.m., October 6
Where: Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland.
Records: Browns 1-3, Commanders 3-1
Television: WJW
Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKNR-AM 850, WKKY-FM 104.7
