They say that there are no moral victories in sports. While the Cleveland Browns suffered another loss to their hated turnpike rivals from the Steel City, one cannot help but be impressed with rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer and his performance on Sunday.
Kizer, a wide-eyed 21-year-old rookie out of Notre Dame, drafted 52nd overall in the 2017 NFL Draft completed 22-of-30 passes for 220 yards, one passing and rushing touchdown against what has always been one of the NFL’s most stout defenses.
Yes. There are growing pains such as holding the ball too long, as he would get sacked seven times, but other than that, Kizer showed that he isn’t afraid to push the ball downfield and challenge a defense.
Kizer looked like someone growing into his role as a possible franchise savior in how he showed a sense of fearlessness and confidence, despite playing in his first-ever NFL game for his boyhood favorite team.
Cleveland NEEDS a quarterback, someone who can take the mantle of being THE guy, and after the previous 26 have failed, hopefully the Browns may have found something in QB No.27 in Kizer.
What I liked the most about Kizer is his unshakeable sense of confidence in taking chances, instead of checking it down on short routes that lead to nowhere. As a Browns fan, I cannot begin to tell you how many times that the Browns would call a four-yard route on a third and six.
Like what the heck!
Kizer pushes the ball PAST the sticks, instead of throwing just short of them.
It’s nice to see that he has some great chemistry with second-year wideout, Corey Coleman, and that tight end Seth DeValve is quickly earning his trust as a safety valve as well. What Kizer needs to improve upon—and I’m sure that head coach Hue Jackson will get with him on—is learning to either throw the ball away if no one is open, or hit your checkdowns, if nothing deep or intermediate is there.
Aside from his physical attributes, Kizer just may be the guy that Cleveland has been searching for since 1999. Yes, it’s only one game. Yes, it’s another loss to the Steelers, in a game that many expected to be another blowout, but this 2017 Browns team doesn’t appear to be the same ol’ Browns, as the may have finally stumbled upon something special in the kid from Toledo.