Matt Woolsey | September 26th, 2018
Last Thursday the city of Cleveland went fully Dilly Dilly as they celebrated the Browns winning their first game after 19 winless games played over 635 days. To celebrate this joyous occasion I decided to dissect the Browns win over the Jets.
A Tale of Two Halves
Tyrod Taylor started for the Browns as he had the previous two games. I think saying it was ugly is a complete understatement. Taylor completed four passes on 14 attempts for only 19 yards.
The Browns had 32 plays and only 79 yards of offense with Taylor under center. This averages out to 2.47 yards per play. The Browns offense held the ball for only 13.38 minutes and averaged 5.33 plays per drive.
Surprisingly enough they managed five first-downs under Taylor but came away with zero points. After three sacks Taylor left the game with a concussion; enter Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield completed 17 passes on 23 attempts for 201 yards. With Mayfield under center, the Browns offense received the must-needed spark. The offense tripled production under Mayfield with 241 yards. They had 45 total plays averaging 5.36 yards per play and 7.5 plays per drive. They even held the ball longer with 16.48 total minutes.
They scored 21 points and managed to win a game that otherwise seemed unwinnable while Taylor was still in the game.
What Does All This Mean
The Browns have a lot of playmakers on offense and really good defense. Both Jarvis Landry and Antonio Callaway had double-digit targets. Mayfield even targeted seven different receivers while he was in the game, Taylor only targeted three.
The Browns offense had 23 passing attempts and 18 rushing attempts when Baker took over, they were completely balanced and able to move the ball. Not only did they have 15 first-downs, but they had back-to-back drives of both eight plays and 15 plays. If the offense is moving the ball like this, their already good defense is getting good rest.
Moving forward you will be able to plug Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway and even Carlos Hyde (103 total yards and two touchdowns) into your lineup. Hyde is averaging almost 60% of the snaps while Nick Chubb is barely averaging 5%. Landry is averaging over 90% offensive snaps while Callaway has been on the field for over 80% of the time over the past two games.
If you’re worried about Callaway’s six incompleted catches from last Thursday, four of them were from when Taylor was under center. If he is not owned in your league (Yahoo – 33%, ESPN – 16.5%) you need to pick him up. He and Mayfield have a nice rapport growing since the preseason.
Play the Browns’ skill players, even their defense in fantasy, and Dilly Dilly.
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