The Cleveland Browns victory over the Carolina Panthers was a stressful one for fans and players. The rushing attack of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt carried the way while the defense was very good outside of a few horribly blown coverage situations.
An under-the-radar reason for the victory is on the offensive line specifically in pass protection.
Carolina only got one sack of QB Jacoby Brissett and star defensive end Brian Burns was not the one to get it. Instead, LB Damien Wilson came on a delayed blitz up the middle to get Brissett down.
Prior to the game, we found out that offensive linemen Jack Conklin and Chris Hubbard would not play in Week 1 as they recover from injuries that put them on the shelf last year. WR Michael Woods II was also ruled out due to injury with a hamstring issue that has bothered him most of the preseason.
While Conklin practiced all week with no reports of any setbacks, he still sat inactive. The team’s handling of Conklin’s injury seems to be mirroring how they handled Odell Beckham Jr. last year.
Coming off a major knee injury the previous year, Beckham was an active participant in practices leading up to Week 1 of the 2021 season but was held out against Kansas City. Cleveland didn’t put him on the field the following week against the Houston Texans either. Beckham’s debut came in Week 3 where he played in 64% of the team’s offensive snaps.
While Conklin, Hubbard and Woods practicing last week would seem to indicate they could play in Week 2, the precedent set with Beckham says otherwise. Much like this week, we will likely have to wait until inactive lists are published to know for sure but playing it safe and thinking about the long-term could be the plan.
