Browns 26, Panthers 24; (Browns cover, O 42)

Baker Mayfield and the Panthers didn’t have much going in the first half until a Christian McCaffrey rushing touchdown late in the second quarter allowed them to have a fighting chance in the second half. Fight they did as they ended up with a one-point lead with 1:23 left in the game, but Jacoby Brissett was able to drive the Browns into field goal range where their rookie kicker ended up putting it through the uprights to hold on to the road victory.

Browns

QB

Jacoby Brissett managed the game well enough to earn the victory, and he put himself in good graces with the fanbase with the late fourth-quarter drive that resulted in the game-winning FG. However, Brissett mustered just 147 passing yards and added just 10 on the ground. It became clear in this game (if it wasn’t before) that the Browns would operate as a run-first team behind the dynamic duo that we’ll talk about later. Leave Brissett on the wire across all formats.

WR

The entire receiving corps had trouble with just 147 yards to be had on the day, but it was interesting to see Donovan Peoples-Jones lead all receivers in targets (11), receptions (6) and yards (60) while Amari Cooper was a huge disappointment (3-of-6, 17, 0). While Brissett is the QB, it’ll be a roll of the dice with the receiving room on a weekly basis. Avoid if at all possible, although Cooper and Peoples-Jones are the clear top-two.

TE

Njoku was out-targeted four-to-one by Harrison Bryant at TE, but the poor QB play only led to 18 yards on two catches for Bryant. Both TEs are desperation plays in Week 2 as they’ll have to find the end zone in order to return value.

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RB

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