Cleveland Browns Show Promise in Win vs. Buccaneers, but Inconsistency Remains

If the Cleveland Browns' performance in their 31-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night was truly a dress rehearsal for what we can expect to see during the regular season, we are in for a roller-coaster ride.

Ultimately, the victory is a welcomed one, with the Browns doing important things right on offense, defense and special teams. But there were signs of inconsistency as well, inconsistency that may be unavoidable for this team during the 2015 season. If that inconsistency does lead to wins, as it did on Saturday, the Browns will gladly take it. But it would be even better if they could clean up some of the missteps we saw against Tampa.

Things started out as well as possible for Cleveland. The Browns set the Buccaneers offense packing with a three-and-out on its opening possession, which included a sack of Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston by Desmond Bryant and Paul Kruger. The ensuing punt led to Browns returner Travis Benjamin running it back for a 53-yard score. And then Browns quarterback Josh McCown led the offense on a nine-minute touchdown drive, with receiver Brian Hartline making the impressive scoring grab.

	Browns	Buccaneers
Yards	300	177
Yards/Play	4.8	3.3
Pass Yards	181	104
Yards/Pass	6.2	3.1
Rush Yards	119	73
Yards/Rush	3.5	3.7
Sacks	6	1
Completion %	75.0	42.9
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Conversions	5-of-13	4-of-15

On the Buccaneers' next drive, Winston was picked off by reserve rookie cornerback Charles Gaines, who was playing in place of the injured Justin Gilbert and K'Waun Williams. The turnover led to a Browns field goal and a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

But the offense faltered until the second half of the game. The Browns punted on their remaining first-half offensive possessions, possessions which saw McCown under increasing pressure by Tampa's defense. The run game struggled, as well, putting up only 46 first-half yards on 14 rushing attempts.

Though it did improve to 119 yards on 34 carries when the night was through, the Browns' starters should have been more productive than that.

Cleveland's defense also softened at times in the first half, giving up big gains in both the running and passing games, including a 26-yard pass from Winston to receiver Vincent Jackson that then set up a 19-yard Doug Martin rushing touchdown. But it should be noted that those were the only points the Buccaneers managed to score on the night. Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal also detailed the Bucs scoring drive:

And credit to the Browns, the roller-coaster rolled back upward in the second half. McCown was given one final series to boost his confidence, and it worked—he completed a pass to a wide-open Travis Benjamin. Then, a handoff to Terrance West that went for 17 yards led to an and-goal situation for the Browns. McCown hit tight end Gary Barnidge with the seven-yard strike to score, and McCown's night was over on a high note.

His performance was certainly better than it was last week against the Buffalo Bills. McCown ended with 17 completions on 23 attempts, for 117 yards, one sack taken and two touchdowns thrown, with no turnovers.

But it was also indicative of McCown's quarterback identity. The two good series don't wipe away the myriad punts that capped off McCown's other drives. The Browns would far prefer more of the former and less of the latter once the regular season begins.

But, every phase of the Browns' game showed improvement on Saturday night, which is the most that can be asked for in a preseason contest. The defense gave up just 73 rushing yards on 20 Buccaneers attempts, a victory for a defense that routinely allowed over 140 per game on average last year. The Browns consistently won the war in the trenches and also came away with six sacks, four of them on Winston. Northeast Ohio Media Group's Tom Reed noted Cleveland's dominance in this matchup:

It wasn't flawless football—and it won't be come the regular season. It was inconsistent, and that's something to be expected out of this team this year. But if that inconsistency goes hand-in-hand with more wins than losses, the Browns will be doing quite well for themselves as they continue to find their footing.