NFL Week 1 Review - 8 Points & Plays Everyone Is Talking About

Sticking in Pittsburgh, the Browns traveled to the rain soaked city in search of making coach Hue Jackson’s record a little less dismal. How a coach with a record of 1-31 in his 32 games with the Browns still has a job is almost a miracle, but being fresh off the HBO TV series ‘Hard Knocks’ has given the ‘Dawg Pound’ a fresh lease of life.

The Browns did not lose. They also did not win. The Cleveland Browns managed to tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers; Hue Jackson's record now reads 1-1-31 in 33 games.

Never has a draw seemed more like a win. The underdogs have not lost, and shown a vast improvement from their frankly pathetic attempts last season. There were plenty of positives to take from the game, including intercepting big Ben Rothlisberger three times. Denzel Ward was accountable for two of the interceptions, and for a player on defence, is pretty much the perfect NFL debut. Ward has a huge future in the NFL, and has warranted being taken 4th overall in the 2018 draft. Josh Gordon also made an explosive return with a pin point red zone touchdown catch. This is a sight for sore eyes with the talented receiver coming back from personal problems.

The game fell clocked over into overtime tied at 21-21 – it was like no other. As both teams had fruitless drives that ended in punts, deadlock rules applied, and both teams had a chance to win with field goals. The Pittsburgh kick should have won the game but agonisingly missed the upright by a few inches - the torrential rain is most likely to be blamed. The Browns unbelievably had another chance. The field goal was within distance and the win seemingly in Hue Jackson’s hands. The ball was tipped and blocked. The crowd were left gobsmacked.

With all the positives aside, this was still not a win. Hue Jackson is clearly on the hot chair this season and needs to start showing the progress with some wins. The next piece in the puzzle will surely be the introduction of Baker Mayfield at quarterback.