An October Miracle

 

As the Browns took the lead late against San Francisco, in perhaps one of the most unlikely wins in recent memory, the first thing that popped into my head was "How are they going to blow this?".  The Brownsy vibe was coming on strong as the toothless Niners worked their way down the field at the bitter end.  The image of sorry ass season ticket holders trudging back to the parking lots muttering "fucking Browns" was crystal clear.  Yet, for some unknown reason I thought, "That guy is going to miss the kick.".  I have no idea why I thought that, but as the kick veered right I thought "Yep, that's what I thought was going to happen.".  This is what it must be like rooting for other teams where instead of ALWAYS losing at the end, instead you pull out a win now and again.  It's a new experience.  It's very confusing.

Playing the potential NFC Super Bowl participant without a starting QB or franchise running back isn't a great recipe for success.  However, I greatly underestimated the lack of distance between Watson and Walker.  I saw Walker play for Carolina last year a few times, and he played like he did today.  He's a guy that keeps fighting, puts bad plays behind him, and keeps your team in the game.  This win today likely cemented his place in the NFL for a couple years as a "backup with a reasonable amount of trust".  That's all you need to stay in the league.  Jacoby Brissett will bounce around the league for another five years holding a clipboard thanks to his 2022 tenure in Cleveland.  Chase Daniel is still pulling a check for God's sake.  A guy like DT Argh didn't want to see that kind of game from Walker.  Argh is clearly out of The Circle of Trust and could emerge as a great trivia question answer.  Q:  Who sucked more in an emergency quarterback role than Connor Shaw?  A:  Yeah, you got it...

Don't get me wrong.  PJ Walker is not the answer.  Those two interceptions were brutal, and those late misses in the 4th quarter should have cost them the game.  I think I called him a "fucking fuck" when he threw that pass across his body in the middle of the end zone that somehow didn't get picked off.  Still, he was good enough to keep them hanging around.  Thank God the refs thought the game was about them instead of the players.  I saw that one ref guy with the thick goggle glasses on screen more than George Kittle.  There is no debate that the refs kept the Browns alive on that last drive.  That officiating crew threw 23 flags, and must have thought we wanted to see more of them on screen.  They seemed to have a flimsy idea of what they were even throwing them for at times.  Greg Olsen, who appeared to be auditioning to be part of the 49ers home town broadcast team, was very concerned that the officials were spoiling the "Brock Purdy is the new Tom Brady" narrative, and seemed personally affronted when the calls went the Browns way late.  It was like being a Chiefs fan seeing how the refs kept the Browns in it late.

I have no idea if the Browns are any good.  They could finish 6-11 or 11-6.  Who the hell knows?  I'm not sure if the offense sort of sucks, the quarterbacks are crummy, or if Stefanski can't call a game.  No clue.  However, I am sure that if this defense stays healthy, the Browns will never be out of any games.  Once SF lost Samuel and McCaffrey to injury, Brock Purdy looked pretty shitty.  There is a belief out there that Purdy is more fortunate than he is good, and I'm on board with that.  There's a lot of Rex Grossman in Purdy's game once it was all about him.  He looked like a slightly more athletic Kyle Orton.  The Browns shut that 49er team down, and that's a team that dropped 42 on Dallas.  The 49ers couldn't do shit after that first drive.   The defense was obviously feeling chippy today.  A fight in pregame warmups is usually a good sign that you're ready to play.  I have to grudgingly admit, this defense looks like it's for real. 

It's tough to win with just defense in the NFL, but it looks like that's what this team is going to primarily rely on.  The confusing Watson injury situation, a situation probably mostly attributed to the Browns franchise being unable or unwilling to communicate clearly, is much less dramatic after this win.  It's incredible how reliably smug the Browns are as an organization despite delivering a crappy product annually for a quarter century.  Did you miss Watson today?  I didn't.  If they have to roll into Indianapolis next week to face Gardiner Minshew with PJ Walker, who cares?  The Browns defense will keep them in that game and another week without Watson isn't going to kill anybody. 

The NFL is so wildly unpredictable this year.  The Browns play at Colts, at Seahawks and home versus Arizona in their next three games.  They could go 3-0 and be sitting on top of the AFC North in three weeks at 6-2.  Of course, they could also be 3-5 after losing all three games.  It's hard to have any faith in either direction.  Who the hell knows?  They will go as far as this defense (and Hopkins the kicker) will take them.  Who knows, maybe Watson will come back.  Or not.  Whatever.

Go Browns.