The Browns didn’t exactly cruise through their home opener, but they did enough to leave Huntington Bank Field with a 21-18 win over the Panthers and a 2-1 record. It was the kind of afternoon that gave Cleveland plenty to like and just as much to worry about - a mix of timely execution, stubborn flaws, and a defense that kept dragging the team back into the fight.
Nick Chubb helped set the tone before kickoff, and Deshaun Watson carried that energy into the game with some hard-earned early production. Watson later led the go-ahead touchdown drive in the final five minutes of regulation, the sequence that ultimately allowed the Browns to escape Carolina. Cleveland now turns quickly to a Thursday Night Football home game against the Steelers, while the Panthers fall to 1-2.
The Browns’ offense still looks like a work in progress, though. Penalties kept piling up - 12 of them Sunday - and the passing game never really found a rhythm.
Cleveland finished 5-for-15 on third down and averaged just 4.8 yards per attempt through the air. There were enough good moments to win, but not enough to suggest the problems are going anywhere yet.
One issue that keeps hanging over Todd Monken’s team is the “Middle 8,” that stretch covering the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the third quarter. Monken changed things up by deferring after electing to receive in each of Cleveland’s first two games, but the results stayed the same.
Isaiah McGuire’s sack ended Carolina’s nine-play, 56-yard two-minute drill with a field goal before halftime, but the Browns immediately handed the Panthers another opening when Malachi Corley fumbled the second-half kickoff. Cleveland’s defense held again, limiting the damage to another three points. Even so, the Browns have now been outscored 23-0 in the Middle 8 through three games.
Watson’s day was a reminder that Cleveland can live with his legs right now, but not just his arm. He provided the spark early with scrambles, including a 12-yard run after slipping away from a sack on third-and-6. Later, he hit Harold Fannin Jr. for the Browns’ first first-half touchdown of the season on fourth-and-goal.
The passing numbers were still rough. Watson completed only 50 percent of his throws in the first half and finished 144 yards on 30 attempts.
He’s already shown he’s healthy after the twice-torn Achilles tendon that cost him the entire 2025 season, and he even led the Browns in rushing entering Sunday. He added another big third-down scramble for 20 yards late in the fourth quarter.
Still, this offense has a ceiling if the passing game doesn’t become more efficient.
Monken’s fourth-down approach was another defining part of the afternoon. He said he would be aggressive, and he followed through.
After a 13-play drive that produced 48 yards, used 8:55 and ended with no points, Monken passed on a long field goal attempt at the Panthers 38 and kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-3. Watson connected with KC Concepcion at the sticks to keep the drive alive.
Monken also showed no hesitation on fourth-and-goal from the 2, and that decision paid off with a touchdown. He did roll the dice again with about a minute left in regulation, and this time the Browns were stuffed on a run that gave Carolina extra life. Even with that risk, Cleveland is 3-for-6 on fourth down through three games, and Sunday’s choices mostly worked in its favor.
On defense, Mason Graham kept making the kind of impact that changes games from the inside. After blowing up a fourth-down pass attempt by Bryce Young, Graham counted one, two, three with his fingers.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 draft, the player who got lost in the aftermath of the Travis Hunter blockbuster trade, added two more sacks and now has four in three games. He’s on pace for 22.6 sacks, and right now the arrow is pointing way up for the former Michigan standout.
In Other News...
Browns Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Crowded QB Room
The Browns are taking a clear line on their quarterback depth chart, and for now it does not include shopping either of their young passers. Even with Deshaun Watson still established as the starter, Cleveland is choosing to keep Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in house, a sign the team still values having multiple options available behind its top quarterback.
In a league where injuries can turn a room upside down in a hurry, that approach makes sense from a roster-building standpoint. The Browns have watched other teams scramble for help at the position, but they are not treating that market as a reason to move either Sanders or Gabriel, preferring to keep both around as depth while the season takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Denzel Ward Is Finally Being Used Like Browns Fans Always Wanted
Under new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, Denzel Ward is being deployed the way Browns fans have long wanted, with more freedom to shadow opponents top wideouts instead of staying locked into a more rigid assignment. It has given Clevelands best corner a chance to lean into the part of his game that has always stood out most, and it showed in the Browns 21-18 win, where he drew a major share of the coverage work against Tetairoa McMillan.
McMillan finished with just one catch for 12 yards, another reminder of how disruptive Ward can be when hes allowed to travel with a No. 1 target. He has often been underrated in past seasons, but his coverage ability and pass breakup production have consistently placed him among the leagues best corners, and this new approach only adds to the sense that Cleveland is finally maximizing a key piece of its defense. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Monken May Already Be Changing Something In Cleveland
The Browns got a win over Carolina in Week 3, but it came with plenty of the usual reminders that this offense still has work to do. The home crowd saw a low-output performance and a handful of penalties, while the individual evaluations from the game painted a mixed picture for both rookies and established starters. Even in a victory, the sense around the building is that the margin for error remains thin.
What has drawn attention is the early coaching imprint Todd Monken appears to be leaving on the group. The article points to a possible shift in how Cleveland is being shaped offensively, even as the team turns quickly to the next challenge in Week 4. For a Browns team trying to stabilize its identity, the bigger question may be whether the changes already showing up can hold up once the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]