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Overreacting, underreacting and properly reacting to Browns' Week 7 loss to Bengals
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- Overreacting, underreacting and properly reacting to Browns' Week 7 loss to Bengals
CLEVELAND — This space has, over the first six weeks of the NFL season, assessed various reactions to the Browns' results on a weekly basis and tried to place them in one of three silos.
There's the overreaction, the underreaction and the proper reaction. Pretty simple and self-explanatory.
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The Browns lost their fifth consecutive game Sunday, this time 21-14 to the Cincinnati Bengals . The loss dropped them to 1-6 for the season, their worst start since opening 0-7 in both 2016 and 2017.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the loss. In the moment, there were cheers that came from some — emphasis on some, not all — of the fans at Huntington Bank Field.
Watson has been, to be kind, incredibly polarizing since he arrived in Cleveland in 2022. And it's not all about football, and it's never always been about football.
When the Browns traded for Watson, they also traded for all of the allegations — more than two dozen of them, a number that even grew by one last month — of sexual assault and sexual misconduct in massage appointments levied by women against him. That's something that can't be separated, even in a league in which everyone from teams to media to fans do so regularly with an assorted group of players and their off-the-field troubles.
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That's not an excuse for the fans who elected to cheer in the moment. And, it should be pointed out, it was just a moment before those cheers stopped as the severity of the injury seemed to dawn on everyone.
There's a basic decency that should exist in a moment like Sunday's, no matter the player who is hurt. The instant reaction in the stadium — and the multitudes of those outside of it on social media and in comment sections of various stories — shows the complications created by everything surrounding Watson.
Having said all of that, much like how Watson's teammates went right back to playing the game moments after he was taken to the locker room, let's transition to reacting to things that happened during the game, things that don't necessarily involve injuries.
Proper reaction: Cleveland Browns have started the process of looking to the future
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) intercepts a pass intended for Cleveland Browns tight end Jordan Akins (88) on Sunday in Cleveland.
The trade of No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills was the first sign of where things were heading last Tuesday. The next sign came when it was announced that Dorian Thompson-Robinson , and not Jameis Winston , was going to be the backup quarterback behind Watson. Why did that signal a move toward the future? That's because the Browns need to know for certain what they have in the 2023 fifth-round pick out of UCLA before they once again go diving into the quarterback draft market next April. With Watson out, it's only to going to put more of a spotlight on the future as much as the present. A massive offseason is already brewing for the Browns, who need answers to some big questions before they get to work in the offseason when it finally arrives three months from now.
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Overreaction: Any reaction to Jerry Jeudy 's helmet slam in the second half against the Bengals
It was a frustrating day in a frustrating season Sunday for the Browns. Some of that frustration boiled over in the actions of Jerry Jeudy when he returned to the bench area after another failed offensive series. Television cameras caught the wide receiver slamming his helmet down when he got there in the third quarter after a Thompson-Robinson pass sailed over everyone's head and into the sidelines. Jeudy later was seen on repeated occasions with his helmet still on while on the bench, but his head in his hands. Jeudy wasn't thrown a pass until the fourth quarter, when he was targeted five times and had and 18-yard reception. So, much like Watson's blowup with tackle Dawand Jones in a Week 4 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders , let's chalk up this singular incident to heat of the moment. But overreactions can turn into proper reactions quicker than you think.
Underreaction: Cleveland Browns defense gave a solid performance against Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a pass for first down over Cleveland Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. (23) on Oct. 20 in Cleveland.
The Browns gave up 21 points to the Bengals, which wasn't great. However, seven of those came on an opening kickoff return by Charlie Jones , which was the second time Cleveland's special teams have allowed a return of some kind for a touchdown, with the Dallas Cowboys ' KaVontae Turpin having returned a punt for a score in the opener. The defense, though, only allowed two touchdowns against Cincinnati. Ja'Marr Chase made a great play on an 18-yard back-shoulder throw by quarterback Joe Burrow , despite cornerback Greg Newsome II being on the coverage, for one of the two touchdowns. The other was a coverage bust when Tee Higgins scored on a 25-yard slant to make it 21-6. It wasn't great, but it could've been much worse. Burrow was limited to just 181 passing yards, the Bengals to just 223 total yards and Cincinnati to 2 of 13 on third-down tries. Most days, that's good enough to win. This season, it's par for the course.
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns vs. Bengals reactions: Reactions, future plans and Jerry Jeudy
