After taking a back seat in the series premiere of the in-season edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers were the focal point of the second episode. With two episodes in the books, the context of the series appears to be all about providing insight at the macro level on a week-to-week basis for each team.
There has been no behind-the-scenes, front office looks into the bigger questions facing the teams as the season winds down. Everything has centered around the players and coaches in the meeting rooms, practice fields, and glimpses into their home lives.
The episode picked up where the first left off, in Denver, capturing game footage from the loss to the Broncos. The most interesting clip came from Kevin Stefanski communicating on the headset to presumably offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. The cameras captured the Browns head coach emphasizing the need to put the game in the hands of quarterback Jameis Winston, who was on his way to over 400 yards passing.
Immediately after the vote of confidence from Stefanski, the crews captured the crucial game-clinching interception from the Broncos’ defense to seal the game. From there, the episode went on to highlight Winston’s performance after replacing Deshaun Watson. They recapped his career to date and even captured some candid footage at home with his family in Cleveland.
The meat of the episode was all about the divisional matchup from Sunday, highlighting the rivalry and preparations before the game. A major storyline was that of Joey Porter Jr. and his father in the lead-up to the game, but the show did a nice job of building anticipation for the contest.
The show would go on to provide insights from the game, the biggest of which was that Myles Garrett appeared to be playing while battling an illness. We all know what happened during the game and the show ended that story with Winston’s final interception leading to Stefanski shaking his head on the sideline while saying “Man. Oh man. Oh man.” into his head set.
The episode finished by zooming into the Bengals matchup against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Unlike last week's Monday night game for the Browns, they were able to complete the storyline in full and capture the Bengals’ win.
Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase may have outdone his performance on the field by the effort he put in off of it in the days prior to the game. It was a rare look at an athlete using the pedestal he has been placed upon for the good of others and I have to admit that it altered my view of who he truly is as a person and player.
After their big win over the Cowboys, the show emphasized that the season isn’t over for the Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens had very little attention this week as they were on their bye-week. Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh dismissed the team and told them to come back ready for an eight game season to compete for the Super Bowl.
The cameras will continue to roll this week as the Browns prepare for the reigning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. I am hoping to get a glimpse of Jim Schwartz preparing to face Patrick Mahomes. and Travis Kelce, although the defensive coordinator hasn’t appeared in any scenes over the first two episodes.
I’m curious to hear what you guys think of the first two episodes. Did anything else stand out to you in episode two? Let us know in the comments below.