- Myles Garrett received a big roar from Browns fans as he ran through the tunnel as a member of Cleveland's starting defensive unit.
He elicited an even bigger cheer just a few minutes later.
Ultimately, Garrett didn't start, but his impact was felt with immediacy. On his first NFL snap, a third-and-5, Garrett blew through the line and sacked Josh McCown to force a punt.
"One of my teammates said that's something out of a book or movie script. First play, first sack," Garrett said. "To me, I'm just trying to make an impact for my team and give them the best chance to win."
Garrett wasn't done.
Later in the half, Garrett brought down McCown again for a second sack. He became the first Browns player in nearly 30 years to record multiple sacks in his NFL debut.
Garrett provided those highlights in a limited capacity for a Browns defense that registered one of its best performances of the season. Garrett, who missed the first four games of the season with a high ankle sprain, remained on a "pitch count," working in a rotation with Carl Nassib and Nate Orchard. He didn't see the field much at all in the second half until Nassib left in the fourth quarter because of an injury.
Garrett admitted afterward his ankle was sore but vowed it would get better with time.
"I always want more," Garrett said. "I always want to make more plays and have more effect on the outcome of the game, but whatever they give me, I will take and just try to do my best."
- Zane Gonzalez had a day he'd like to forget, and that's what he vowed to do after missing two field goals in Sunday's first half.
Gonzalez, the seventh-round rookie, missed kicks from 52 and 39 yards. He's missed three in a row dating back to last week and is 2-of-5 on the season.
"You try to forget it. Everybody has a day that you just want to forget and you don't want to think about it. That is today, obviously," Gonzalez said. "A loss by three points, which sucks extra bad. Like I said, my teammates have all the faith in the world in me. Go back to practice next week and get ready for Houston."
- Hue Jackson said Gonzalez's first-half misses played a part in his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 inside the 5-yard line during Sunday's fourth quarter, but it wasn't the biggest factor.
"I felt good about what we were doing on offense that we could knock them off the ball there. Obviously, I was wrong," Jackson said. "You look at it. I made that choice and it didn't work, so here we are."
Instead of kicking to tie the score, 10-10, the Browns attempted an Isaiah Crowell run in hopes of picking up a first down. Crowell took the handoff but had little room to run. He tried to push behind one of his linemen but it wasn't enough.
"I just feel like they have some good players. They stood up well and we didn't really know where to run to," Crowell said. "I just tried to get behind the linemen and just push, but we didn't get enough yardage."
