Two teams that came into the season with high expectations will face off to conclude the second week of the NFL season on Monday Night Football. The Cleveland Brows and The New York Jets are coming off disastrous week one performances and will be looking to rebound this week.
The Browns entered the season as the most talked about teams of the offseason. Major additions on both sides of the ball including the addition of star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr built up a lot of hype around the team and the organization. Combine that with the strong finish to last season and the abilities of second year quarterback and former number one overall pick Baker Mayfield and the offense was supposed to be one of the most explosive in the league. Instead the scored 6 points in the first half, 7 in the second half, and gave up a safety along the way to a 43-13 home loss to the Tennessee Titans. The team committed a ridiculous 18 penalties totaling 182 yards and starting left tackle Greg Robinson was ejected for kicking an opposing player. Mayfield ended up 25-38 for 285 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. The Browns will need to fix many areas of need especially the poor play of the offensive line in order to rebound in week 2.
Through three quarters of the Jets game last week vs. the Bills had more turnovers than points as the Jets defense was swarming from the beginning. However, the Jets offense was just as bad scoring only 6 points for their 6-0 halftime lead. Things were looking good for New York after 10 third quarter points gave them a 16-3 lead headed into the 4th quarter. It all came apart in the 4th and when Bills quarterback Josh Allen found John Brown in the endzone with a 38 yard touchdown pass the Bills had a 17-6 lead that they would hold onto for the upset win on the road. Jets 2nd year quarterback Sam Darnold was under constant pressure throughout the game. Jamison Crowder was the lone offensive bright spot with 24 catches for 99 yards. The defense was strong for 3 quarters but had critical breakdowns in the deciding 4th quarter giving up two touchdowns.
The Jets will have to find a way to beat the Browns without Darnold who came down with a case od mononucleosis and will likely be out for a few weeks. Former Denver Bronco Trevor Simeon will be the starter and while he has had some success in the past he has not been a productive quarterback when given opportunities. The offense was already in trouble with a healthy Darnold, it remains to be seen what the offense will look like on Sunday. It’s a safe bet that free agent signing Leveon Bell will get more that the 16 carries he received in week 1 in order to take the pressure off of Simeon. The Browns appear to have most starters healthy and are a good bet to have a bounceback week 2.
