The Browns keep showing the same thing every week: when the game tightens, they trust their young guys to handle it.
Cleveland is 5-2 after seven weeks and sitting on top of the AFC North, despite being the second-youngest team in the NFL and relying on a bunch of first- and second-year players at important spots. That youth hasn’t been treated like a limitation. If anything, the Browns have been handing those players more responsibility, and the results have matched the confidence.
Sunday’s Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans offered a clear example on third down, where Cleveland repeatedly leaned on young playmakers to keep drives alive. The Browns finished 5-of-11 on third down, and several of the biggest conversions came with the ball going straight to players the staff clearly believes can make something happen on their own.
The opening third down set the tone. On third-and-7, rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion took a quick screen 23 yards.
Later, rookie wideout Denzel Boston was featured twice in the same kind of high-speed, no-frills situation. On a third-and-5, he dropped a pass that was low and outside on a comeback route.
On a third-and-6, he answered with a quick out and made the catch.
Second-year running back Dylan Sampson got his turn too in his first game back from injury. On a third-and-4, he caught a swing screen and turned it into a 22-yard gain.
These weren’t trick plays or elaborate designs. The Browns simply put the ball in young hands and asked them to win right now. Head coach Todd Monken, who also calls the offense, knows he has players who can do damage once they have space, and he’s using that in the biggest moments.
For Cleveland, that approach has paid off more often than not. And if these young players keep developing, it should become even more dangerous.
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