The Cleveland Browns improved to 2-5 on this season with a 31-6 domination of the Miami Dolphins in rainy Cleveland conditions. Here are five things we learned from the victory.
1. Kevin Stefanski Still Has the Locker Room
With the current state of the Dolphins as a franchise, had the Browns shown up and lost, things could have gotten very ugly. Correct or not, Kevin Stefanski's head would have been called for, and the patience that the organization has preached over the past five years would have been tested. Browns fans are very used to the feeling of when a coach is about to be fired during the season, and unfortunately, with the way that the offense has been playing, a loss to Miami would have conjured up similar emotions.
Thankfully, that was not the case, and there is a more positive feeling around the team, at least for now. Facing lots of pressure and dissatisfaction, the team came out and played hard, showing plenty of effort and pulling off what was basically a wire-to-wire win against a team that the Browns are better than.
We don't know what kind of discussions happened internally this offseason, or what exactly Cleveland told Myles Garrett about its plans for the quarterback position and what they felt their contention window would be. We can, however, gauge how committed the team is to its coach and whether or not they are checked out based on performances like this. Had the Browns come out flat and lifeless, essentially rolling over and leaning into the difficulty of the first half of the campaign, there would have been legitimate questions about whether or not the players still respected Stefanski's leadership and believed in him as their head coach.
At least for now, the two-time Coach of the Year winner seems to be still be in control of the locker room and his players' hearts, which is not a trivial task considering all of the turmoil, frustration, and disappointment of the past four years. It's still likely to be a tough rest of the year, but that is at least a reason for hope.