Mayfield, Chubb power Browns past Falcons 28-16: Five Takeaways

4) Dinged But Dominant 

Atlanta brought a top ten offense in yards per game, passing yards per game and points per game to Cleveland this weekend and against an injury ravaged Browns defense were favored by six. Makes sense.

But even without a number of players and a handful of others playing through injuries, the Browns defense was able to follow blueprint that has made them competitive throughout most of the season. Cleveland forced and recovered two fumbles to push their league best takeaway total to 25, and – get this –  turned one of them in the second quarter into a touchdown. For just the second time this season the Browns held an opponent under 100 yards rushing (71 to be exact). And while they did let Matt Ryan sling the rock to for 330 yards, they abided by a bend but don’t break mentality and held the Falcons to just 16 points.

Some other stats of note, Atlanta converted just five of their 14 third downs. And one of their three red zone trips ended with a statement goal line stand.

There were plenty of individual performances that stood out in this one: linebacker Jamie Collins led the team in tackles and was made some plays, Schobert’s presence was a huge boost after missing a few games to injury. It was Carrie though who was most impressive. The 28-year-old Ohio University product made some timely contributions in the secondary, breaking up a pair of passes and making seven tackles. He was the embodiment of “next man up.”

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