Peter Schrager's Cheat Sheet: Beware the Browns; Broncos own their blunder

By Peter Schrager
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

You’re out of your NFL Survivor Pool? Me too! Your fantasy team sucks? Hey, mine too! Don’t give up, friends. It’s only Week 2.

The NFL season is a marathon; not a race. You hear me, 49ers fans? Another great slate of games lies ahead of us.

Let’s dig in with five thoughts on the league.

1. Did we all overlook the Browns?

I made a little news Monday when I went on “Good Morning Football” and said the national media narrative had been so focused on Deshaun Watson the past six months that prognosticators forgot just how good the Cleveland Browns were at every other position.

The Watson conversation — all of it — was uneasy, and thus, the convenient thing to do was to just assume the team wouldn’t perform without him on the field. Or, if you’re a cynic on this, you’d say the media didn’t want to celebrate the Browns after the Watson trade (and subsequent massive contract extension), and thus, treated them like the fourth team in a rather loaded AFC North.

Browns get best of Baker

Baker Mayfield came up short in his Carolina debut against his former team.

That’s awfully dismissive of a team with a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Myles Garrett, for my dime, the best running back duo in the NFL in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and a young and dynamic cornerback duo of former first-round picks that I’d put up against anyone.

Kevin Stefanski is a recent NFL Coach of the Year winner, and GM Andrew Berry has proven to be a skilled front office executive and evaluator of talent.

On paper, with questions at quarterback or without, Cleveland has a strong roster — especially after making an upgrade at the top wide receiver spot with the Amari Cooper trade — and a core of young players and coaches who’ve shown they can win in the NFL. Universally, they were slotted for fourth place in the division.

The Browns beat the Panthers on Sunday, escaping a near late-game collapse, with a 58-yard, game-winning kick by rookie kicker Cade York. For 60 minutes, the Browns were dominant on both sides of the ball in the trenches, with a Panthers team that also prides itself on physicality.

And that’s what’s scary about the Browns this season. They don’t necessarily need dynamic play from a QB such as Josh Allen or Justin Herbert. Jacoby Brissett needs to be the best Jacoby Brissett can be, and the defense and punishing style of football Cleveland employs can handle the rest.

Can Jacoby Brissett keep Browns afloat?

Joe Thomas joins Colin Cowherd to discuss the expectations for the Browns while Deshaun Watson is suspended.

I’m kicking myself for being one of the many pundits who left the Browns out of their playoff pictures back in August. I spoke to an opposing NFL head coach Tuesday, and he told me the Browns are “get off the bus scary.” What’s that mean? “When they walk off the bus, they’re big, they’re strong, and they go 20 deep like that. They’ve got a team that wants to beat you up in the trenches. Never easy to play those teams.”

The Eagles of the ’90s — with Reggie White, Jerome Brown and Randall Cunningham, were “get off the bus scary.” The 49ers squads of the early 2010s, with Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, were also in that category.

Watson is coming back at some point. Maybe Week 13. Or Brissett wins enough games and has the Browns rolling, and Cleveland pushes the Watson era to 2023.

Either way, the Browns face the Jets at home on Sunday and could very well start the year 2-0. I’d expect plenty more wins than that.

They’re big, strong, well-coached and, oh yeah, they’re overlooked.

If you don’t want to “root” for the Browns, that’s fine. But they’re not going to be a bad football team.

2. Unpacking the Hackett decision

It was a head-scratcher in the moment, and a few days removed, it’s hard to justify the decision to let Brandon McManus kick the ball from 64 yards away over letting Russell Wilson try to convert a fourth-and-5. But the Monday (or Tuesday in this case) Morning QB stuff has been done already.

What I want to call out is first-year Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett’s ability to address the decision, put his hand up and say he’d do it differently next time, then take reporters through his thought process. Remember, Denver hired Hackett for his offensive wizardry, but also because he’s an ace communicator.

So, there was Hackett, 16 hours after as bad a finish we’ve seen in an NFL head coaching debut in the league’s history, and he stepped up to the microphone with a salivating local media and owned the decision.

Nathaniel Hackett acknowledges fourth-down decision

Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett said he “definitely should have gone for it” on fourth-and-5 at the end of Denver’s 17-16 loss at Seattle. Colin Cowherd applauds Hackett for admitting his mistake.

But he also explained the thinking. McManus, long one of the best kickers in the league, said he could make that kick from the left hash at the 46-yard line. As Hackett explained it, if Javonte Williams had gotten only five or eight yards, and not the exact nine that he did, the Broncos would have likely gone for it on fourth down.

McManus missed the kick, and though Hackett said he would likely do things differently next time, he took the time to explain his thinking and how he was convicted in doing what he did.

The analytics — depending on which model you employ — universally said to go for it. But it wasn’t a 99% decision. It was usually in the 55-45% range. All the elements and McManus’ big foot aside, since 1960, NFL kickers attempting a field goal of 64 or more yards have made it just 4.8% of the time (2-for-42). Last season, however, teams that went for it on exactly fourth-and-5 converted it 49% of the time (22-for-45).

So, thumbs down on the decision to kick. Fine. But thumbs up for Hackett’s Tuesday media session.

How about a massive thumbs down, though, for the self-inflicted wounds that mired the Broncos all game? 12 penalties? Two fumbles on the 1-yard line? Six points from four red-zone trips? Weird clock management in both the third and fourth quarters?

Denver didn’t lose that game on a field goal or a decision to kick one. When you put up more than 400 yards of offense, your opponent doesn’t crack 300 and you lose, there’s a lot more than a missed kick that went awry.

The Broncos have a quick turnaround and a feisty Texans team coming to town Sunday. I’d expect a far more polished team at home and hopefully, no more mea culpas the day after.

3. The lottery winner makes good

Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated rookie defensive back last week was an undrafted free agent who I’d admittedly not done much work on during last April’s draft prep.

The name Kader Kohou might not be familiar at the moment, but he was all over the field for the Dolphins in their Week 1 victory over the Patriots. After the opening slate of games, Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner ranked Kohou at No. 1 with a 91.9 grade on his list of rookie defensive performances.

Rookie cornerback Kader Kohou was all over the field in the Dolphins’ victory over the Patriots. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kohou played 18 defensive snaps, didn’t allow a single completion, had a tackle for a loss, a pass breakup and forced a key fumble.

That’s a heck of an NFL debut for a kid who was playing at Texas A&M-Commerce less than a year ago. His story is even better than that of the typical small-school kid making the squad and a difference in Year 1. Kohou was a 9-year old living in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, when his family won the lottery. Seriously. Not a figurative lottery. The actual lottery.

With the newfound money, his parents moved the family to the United States. From there, Kohou learned the sport, followed a dream, and ended up miraculously making the Dolphins’ 53-man roster after an outstanding preseason and injuries at the position.

It’s why we love the NFL.

4. Cam Akers

I’ve gotten a million texts and tweets about Cam Akers after his no-show/no-use performance for the Rams last Thursday.

Cam Akers has seen his role greatly diminish in the Rams’ running game. (Photo by Icon Sportswire)

The truth is, Akers is as healthy as he has been in years, but that it was a coach’s decision based on the game plan to go with Darrell Henderson and rookie Kyren Williams, instead, in the loss to the Bills.

That plan went out the window when Williams got injured on a first-quarter special-teams play. I’d say Akers’ three-carry, 0-yard performance was an aberration. I think he’ll get a healthy dose of action this week against Atlanta (1 p.m. ET on FOX).

5. One more thing:

The long-snapper position is often dismissed, disregarded, or altogether forgotten.

Clark Harris, the Bengals‘ 14-year veteran long snapper, went down with an injury early in Sunday’s Week 1 game. Sure enough, special teams crushed Cincinnati in the fourth quarter and overtime of a heartbreaking loss at home to the rival Steelers.

When Bengals long snapper Clark Harris left the game against the Steelers, Cincinnati’s special teams really struggled. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Harris is 38, has been in the league for 14 years, and has likely never had a jersey sold with his name on the back. But Cincinnati missed him badly Sunday.

Here’s to hoping he can get back on the field next season. Harris is going to be a free agent, and coming off a torn pec, there might not be a long line of teams looking to add him. They should. He’s a good dude and has one of the best looks in the league.

Peter Schrager is an NFL writer for FOX Sports and a host of “Good Morning Football” on NFL Network.