FREDDIE’S GRADE IS HARD TO DETERMINE
By STEVE KING
So, with his job seemingly on the line in the last one-fourth of the season, how did Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens do on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium?
There were more positives than negatives, but the difference was not dramatic enough for him for him to ace the test – or come anything close to it.
The Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-19, and that’s obviously the bottom line – the best of the positives. As Browns fans know all too well from this miserable expansion era, wins are extremely hard to come by in the NFL. So you never turn your back on them, especially in coming off a loss as disappointing as the one at Pittsburgh last week.
With it, the Browns improved to 6-7 with three games left, beginning next Sunday on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, and, with their fourth victory in the last five games, crept within a win of the .500 mark as they try to get their first non-losing season since 2007.
But this was, as mentioned, against the woeful Bengals, who are the worst team in the league. They are 1-12. That the Bengals gave the Browns all they wanted – and more, as the game went down to the end before it was finally decided – is troubling. This should have come easier.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield completed less than half of his passes and was intercepted twice. But he did the most important task that all quarterbacks are charged with, and that is that his team won the game. Plus he made plays when he had to.
Nick Chubb rushed for over 100 yards, but it came against a horrible Bengals rush defense.
The defense gave up a lot of yards to the Bengals, who moved up and down the field with ease, but, like Mayfield, these guys made key plays, including cornerback Denzel Ward, who had the team’s first pick-six in two years.
Add it all up, and Kitchens gets a grace of C. But he will likely need to do better than that to stay employed.
