Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Browns' Slow Start May Leave Their Coach Behind

Is Freddie Kitchens already being set up as the fall guy in Cleveland? Is Jacoby Brissett better than anyone expected? And is the only hope for Washington change at the top? All that and more in this week's 10-Point Stance.

1. Scapegoat season may not be far away in Cleveland

The Browns look awful.

At least they do at this particular time.

Their offensive line is a sieve. Quarterback Baker Mayfield looks like he's regressed. The penalty flags are flying at a historic rate. And coach Freddie Kitchens seems overmatched. He also had one of the worst play calls of the year in Sunday night's loss to the Rams.

If things don't start to look better, the hype that surrounded this team may swallow the man hired to lead it. That's what I heard from two NFC assistant coaches, who believe if the Browns flame out this year, Kitchens will be blamed.

To be clear, these coaches like Kitchens. They admit he's having a rough start and isn't blameless. Yet they also believe the Browns organization and the media dramatically overestimated the team's fortunes this year.

The coaches, and others around the league, thought it would always take at least a few years to incorporate all of the new players into the offense. They also suspect the media has exaggerated the talent of Mayfield.

"It's not all Freddie's fault," one of the coaches said, "but if this blows up, he will get all of the blame."

The Browns face a critical stretch over the next four games. It could shape their season and Kitchens' future.

This weekend, they go to Baltimore, where they will face a 2-1 Ravens team. Then, it's on to face the 49ers (3-0), back home to host Seattle (2-1) and then up to Foxborough for a meeting with the Patriots (3-0).

The Browns likely won't be favored in any of those games. If they went 2-2 in them, it would be a great achievement.

If the Browns lose all of them (a possibility), they'd be just 1-6 after Week 8. That wouldn't necessarily mean the end of Kitchens' tenure. The key during this stretch is two distinct things: Do the Browns look better prepared than they have so far, and are the games competitive?

If the Browns fight hard, play smart and lose, well, that's one thing. If they look like they did against the Rams, that is another issue entirely.

2. This Mahomes guy may have a future…

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has played 20 games in the NFL, and he's doing things no other quarterback has done in the Super Bowl era.

He has 6,576 passing yards, which is more than any other quarterback has thrown for in the Super Bowl era after 20 games, according to NFL Network.

He has 60 passing touchdowns. That's also tops. His 13 games with three or more passing scores also ranks first.

Mahomes is doing things no one has ever done before. So far, there's been no team, or defense, that's been able to stop him. I'm not sure any defense can.

3. ...and he's getting better

Through three games last year, Mahomes was 3-0, had a 66.7 percent completion rate, averaged 298.7 passing yards per game and had 13 touchdowns to zero interceptions.

This year, he is again 3-0, his completion rate has jumped to 71.9 percent, his passing yards per game have increased to 398.3 and he has 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions.

In other words, he's getting more accurate and passing for more yards. And, maybe most importantly, he's more confident now than he was last year.

Hell, why not?

4. Ground and pound

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Jordan Howard has always been one of the most underutilized and underappreciated running backs in the league. Take this past weekend. Yes, he had just 11 carries for 37 yards in the Eagles' loss to Detroit, but he also scored a touchdown and did this to a Lions defender.

Only three games into Howard's tenure in Philly, it appears as though the Eagles have fallen into the same trap the Bears did before letting Howard go. He's been handed the ball only 25 times this season, total, yet he's produced a very competent 4.0 yards per attempt.

Howard adds something to the Eagles offense that is badly needed: physical toughness. Carson Wentz's life and that of the Philly offense as a whole could be made so much easier if the Eagles ran Howard a lot more. He wears defenses out, and that would loosen what coverage there is.

Howard doesn't stun you with eye-popping runs, but he is still a force. In Philly, an underused one.

5. The Patriots' not-so-secret weapon

Billie Weiss/Getty Images

Yes, Tom Brady is the Pats' star now and forever. But this season, New England's defense deserves a co-starring credit.

Through three games, the Patriots have done something not even the best defense of all time, the 1985 Chicago Bears, did. Or the second best, the 2000 Ravens: They haven't given up a touchdown. Zero. Not one. 

It's a remarkable feat for a defense to not give up a touchdown in an era the NFL has essentially rigged so offenses dominate. This stretch will end at some point. Some team will score on the Patriots. Eventually. We think.

6. The real deal

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Jacoby Brissett finished 28-of-37 for 310 yards and two scores Sunday against the Falcons. He completed his first 16 passes. Sure, it's the Falcons, who couldn't stop your grandpa on defense, but Brissett has been impressive in leading the post-Andrew Luck Colts to a 2-1 start.

If you are a regular reader of mine (God bless you and thank the Prophets), you know that people in the league have told me they felt Brissett was far better than people thought.

When I posed the question on Twitter whether the Colts may be better off without Luck, well, hoo-daddy, did some people get bigly mad.

Is Brissett as talented as Luck? No. But is he better than people think? Hell, yes.

What Brissett brings is steadiness. In the NFL, steady and reliable are often better than exceptional and erratic. Luck was exceptional, but he was also one of the most turnover-prone quarterbacks in football. And, through no fault of his own, he was constantly injured.

The entire organization was built around Luck, so the uncertainty surrounding his ability to play each week (again not his fault—just a fact) hurt the steady progression of the Colts.

So far, at least, Brissett hasn't developed a lengthy injury history. If he keeps playing like this—and there's no reason to believe he won't—the steady, reliable play of Brissett could prove to be a better fit for the Colts than Luck's erratic greatness.

7. No one is guaranteed the future

Ralph Freso/Getty Images

This league is nasty sometimes. Things happen that shouldn't but do. Shocking things. Things no one saw coming.

Yes, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton probably will get his job back once he's healthy. But that is likely what Drew Bledsoe thought when he was hurt and a guy named Tom Brady took over for him. Have you heard of him?

With Newton still sidelined because of a foot injury, Kyle Allen will start again this week for Carolina. But what if Allen is outstanding again? And what if Newton sits another week and Allen plays great once more?

Odd things happen in this league, and the once incomprehensible can become comprehensible pretty fast.

So watch carefully.

8. There has to be a better way

If you haven't seen this laughably imprecise effort by a referee to place the ball properly after a play ended this past weekend in San Francisco, you must watch it. It highlights one of the huge flaws with officiating, with the referee left here just flat-out guessing—several times—where to mark the ball.

The NFL has resisted going to a more advanced system that uses technology like lasers. Why is anyone's guess. We're not talking lightsabers. Just simple lasers. It would make measuring more exact and leave the guesswork out of it.

Maybe the league has been reluctant to embrace technology on the field because it likes the old-school feel of a ref feeling their way toward an imaginary line of scrimmage as if he's trying to find a needle in the grass.

It's high time this billion-dollar league dispenses with this outdated system, or perhaps it just likes seeing this kind of nonsense.

9. What is Barkley facing?

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

The Giants' Saquon Barkley has a high ankle sprain. This injury is a far trickier one than people may think.

"High ankle sprains affect the syndesmosis, a fibrous joint connected together by multiple ligaments between the lower tibia and fibula," said Dr. Mindy Mar, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Foundation for Chiropractic Progress and a sports medicine provider for several athletic organizations, including USA Cricket and America's Cup racing. "These types of sprains are less common but more disabling in athletics. High ankle sprains can take four to 12 weeks to heal, depending on severity, with immobilization of the injured ankle as the initial phase of treatment along with minimizing swelling and pain.

"Severe high ankle sprains sometimes require surgery, but in Barkley's case this does not appear to be the case," Mar told B/R via email. "However, high ankle sprains can affect [an] RB's return to play given the explosive running and pivoting demands. Functional treatment and sports-specific rehab will likely follow once the acute inflammation of his injury has subsided."

In other words, Barkley will be out for a bare minimum of a month and likely much longer. Then, when he comes back, it will still take him some time to adjust to playing again.

10. Sell the team

Al Pereira/Getty Images

Just a quick note on the Washington football team: It is a mess. Again.

It is 0-3 and looks like a disaster. On Monday, it was obliterated by the Bears. In truth, that Chicago defense destroys a lot of offenses, but Washington looked particularly inept.

It's not a new story.

Owner Dan Snyder purchased the team in May 1999. Since then, the team has had five winning seasons with him calling the shots (Washington finished 1999 above .500, but Snyder took over after the draft). It's become one of the more inept franchises in the league, and the key, as always, has been Snyder.

We'll likely see another franchise reset in which the coaching staff is fired and the team starts over again. This year's mess is about more than coaches or players or the front office. This is almost solely about Snyder and his decision-making. It's not great, Bob.

If another housecleaning is in order, Snyder should also do something else. He should consider selling the team.

It's not working with him as owner.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.