What If Kicker Cade York Missed?
The first answer from most fans would be, “Well, he didn’t so…” I don’t want to say that our Browns got lucky cause they certainly earned the victory in many ways on Sunday in Carolina.
Yet in many ways they didn’t…
Say kicker Cade York lines it up from 58-yards away, which is a crazy-long field goal in the first place. That ball hooks left more than Rocky Balboa and the Panthers get it back, taking a knee to win the game, 24-23.
Well, the City of Cleveland would be on absolute fire and not in a good way. The fans would turn and criticize everyone. However, the biggest problem has to be quarterback Jacoby Brissett. He went 18/34 (52.9%) throwing for 147 yards and a touchdown. Not good numbers at all.
Additionally, the defense allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Panthers to come back from a Browns 20-7 lead they had heading into the 4th quarter. A 75-yard bomb by Baker to Robbie Anderson down the middle of the field was the worst defensive play of the game.
I’d love to say that a win is a win. And it’ll count as one in the win column thanks to Mr. York’s leg. Even so, the way this team closed out said win was shaky at best.
Moving forward, how can the Browns make it so they aren’t reliant on a 58-yard blast from the kicker for the win?
Of course, Brissett needs to be better. That 18/34 for 147 is not going to cut it. With that being said, receivers are a concern on this team and everyone besides Donovan Peoples-Jones struggled (six catches, 60 yards). Especially note Amari Cooper had only three catches for 17 yards and he’s supposed to be the star. That will not suffice moving forward. Those two need to get better chemistry as the weeks continue…
Instead of being a Negative Nancy for the entire article, here are some good points from Week 1:
Star Defensive end Myles Garrett had two sacks in a row on Baker!
Running back Nick Chubb had 22 rushes for 141 yards rushing (long of 25 yards). 217 total team rushing yards!
Of course, the 58-yarder was amazing for York. MOREOVER, remember he had four field goals that were all good on the day!
Brissett threw 16 incompletions but ZERO interceptions! There’s a plus!
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Last but not least, the team WON!!! It may not have been pretty and there is certainly a lot to work on in the coming weeks, but that kick DID go through and fans can celebrate this week while knowing that next week a lot of adjustments will need to be made for the home opener against the Jets!
Go Browns! A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN!
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