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Perhaps the most impressive figure from the Browns’ 19-16 win over the Buffalo Bills was the zero in the turnover department. Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense protected the ball and did not give it away for the second week in a row.
Sure, there were a couple of shaky moments. Mayfield once again mistimed a shovel pass that was initially ruled a fumble and Bills TD before being correctly overturned. Dontrell Hilliard muffed a punt he badly misjudged, but the Browns fell on the loose grenade before it exploded and the Bills could recover.
For weeks, Freddie Kitchens has been preaching accountability and focus on the little details. Taking care of the ball was a big point of emphasis. Putting action where his words rang out, Kitchens replaced Hilliard as the return man for the rest of the game. Tavierre Thomas took over for Hilliard and while Thomas wasn’t very impressive as a returner, he protected the ball and didn’t make mistakes.
The same is true on the penalty front. The Browns committed one bad penalty, the taunting foul that Jarvis Landry deserved after scoring the first touchdown. They were guilty of just four accepted penalties on the day:
- Landry’s unsportsmanlike conduct
- Denel Ward pass interference on Buffalo’s first offensive play
- Chris Hubbard false start
- Larry Ogunjobi roughing the passer
Ogunjobi’s foul was letter-of-the-law; more egregious infractions go uncalled in every game, but he was technically guilty.
Hubbard’s foul, which wound up forcing the Browns to kick an important field goal instead of going for it, was the only pre-snap penalty in the game. No offsides (a T.J. Carrie encroachment was negated by a Bills penalty), no illegal motions, no illegal shifts.
This was the second game in a row the opponent committed more penalties than the Browns. Buffalo was guilty of seven accepted penalties, roughly one-third of the number of times they were guilty of illegal blocks on Myles Garrett.
The little things, like wideout KhaDarel Hodge finishing his block to the whistle on a nice Nick Chubb run instead of the token effort too often seen from others (read: Antonio Callaway), make a huge difference. Kitchens’ Browns still commit some mistakes, but the attention to detail is striking in the three games since the bye week. It didn’t result in a victory until Sunday, but the Browns are definitely playing better, smarter football.
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