The most impressive Cleveland Browns victory of the season, and one of the best in a very long time, came at the absolute right time for the team. Triumphing over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, 41-35, elevates the Browns to 9-3 and gives the team a big pelt on the wall.
So many things happened in this game, it’s hard to sort them all out. But nearly all of the positives point directly to Stefanski having his Browns team ready to play with a fantastic, thorough game plan to attack the Titans weaknesses.
Correctly anticipating the Titans would focus on stopping the run, Stefanski dialed up an aerial attack. Given Tennessee’s dismal pass rush and soft coverage, it was a stroke of brilliance. And Baker Mayfield executed it almost perfectly in the first half.
Mayfield was sharp and the offense fired on all cylinders. And it was no ordinary 4-cylinder sedan, either; this was a souped-up muscle car breathing gasoline in all eight cylinders.
That was the plan from Stefanski. Find the Titans’ weakness. Expose the wound. Keep pouring salt on it. Repeat.
The Browns, as they are wont to do, made it a little uncomfortable in the second half. Tennessee raced out to two easy touchdowns and pearls were being clutched everywhere in Browns fandom. But not Stefanski.
The rookie coach persevered and stuck to his guns. While he downshifted a gear or two, he never took his foot away from the gas pedal. There was no sense of panic, no overcorrections, no crashing and burning that we’ve seen from many models of Browns teams over the years.
Like his young team, Stefanski is still learning how to win. It showed in the uneasiness down the stretch, but the coach kept both hands on the wheel. The rookie coach thoroughly outmaneuvered celebrated counterpart Mike Vrabel in this one. Thank Stefanski for the win.
