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Cleveland Browns

Odell Beckham Jr. has big game as Cleveland Browns topple undermanned New York Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — John Dorsey nervously chewed his gum.

It was the third quarter. The general manager of the Cleveland Browns peered through his binoculars inside the press box at MetLife Stadium. He set them down, then patted his fists. “Let’s go,” he mouthed, audible enough to hear from a few feet away. His team was up 13 points, but the New York Jets, down to their third quarterback, were battling back. They crept up to the Browns’ 13-yard line. It was fourth down.

Cleveland’s defense clamped down. Turnover on downs. On the next play, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield flung a quick slant to receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in stride. Seconds later, it was over. Beckham jaunted 89 yards to a score that was all about redemption.

Dorsey exhaled.

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The Cleveland Browns toppled an undermanned Jets team, 23-3, Monday night to claim their first victory of the season, and the first of rookie coach Freddie Kitchens’ career. They improved to 1-1. But this was a performance marked as much by Beckham’s return to the stadium he once called home as it was about Cleveland working through its flaws.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield was not crisp. He did have the long touchdown, but aside from that, he missed on several throws. Mayfield didn’t appear to drive through the ball and often mistimed his targets. He finished the game 19 of 35 for 325 yards and a touchdown, and an interception that he forced into a tight window.

The Browns' rushing attack, aside from a well-executed 19-yard touchdown rush in the second quarter from Nick Chubb, has been inconsistent. The Browns, even as they tried to nurse a lead all game, ran for 62 yards.

Penalties, almost all of them avoidable, continued to be an issue. Cleveland was flagged nine times for 85 yards just one week after it was penalized 18 times. Defensive end Myles Garrett himself was targeted three times — two personal fouls for landing on the opposing quarterback with his body weight, and one offsides — something Kitchens called “a decision-making deal.”

There were, however, some positives that Cleveland can build on, highlighted by both scoring plays.

“Running the ball in the NFL is tough,” Browns left guard Joel Bitonio told USA TODAY Sports. “You’re going to get 1-yard gains, 2-yard gains. When you break one, those are things that keep the average up, keep you ahead of the sticks and says: ‘Hey, we can run the ball and be successful.’”

Not only that, but the run could’ve played an integral part in establishing the game-sealing Beckham score. It came on a run-pass option in which the Jets' safeties and linebackers bit on the fake, leaving Beckham in space. Bitonio said the Beckham touchdown was run out of the same scheme as Chubb’s score.

“They see that and they want to stop it,” Bitonio said. “Then you have Odell running down and he’s tough to defend, and it’s game over.”

The Browns still have plenty of young talent and are still growing as a team. With the Pittsburgh Steelers sitting at 0-2 and now trying to navigate life without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will undergo right elbow surgery and will miss the rest of the season, Cleveland has a chance to contend in the AFC North. Its main competition is the 2-0 Baltimore Ravens.

And it won’t get easier.

The Browns have a grueling stretch that includes the Rams (2-0) next Sunday night, the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers (2-0), Seattle Seahawks (2-0), a bye week, and then the New England Patriots (2-0).

But for Cleveland to begin to consider a return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season, it needs cleaner performances.

That starts with cleaning up penalties and more efficiency out of Mayfield.

“Consistency is the goal for us right now,” Mayfield said. “Completions (are) going to help the consistency and taking what they give us. That falls back on me. I think we are just scratching the surface.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.

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