It’s a victory Monday for the Cleveland Browns coming out of Week 1, something none of us are used to.

Cleveland won just their second game in Week 1 at home since 2004 in a big way against the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland protected its home field with a 24-3 win over the visiting Bengals.

The defense had their coming out party and the offense ran the ball well and scored points. Throughout the nasty weather, Cleveland got the job done to move to 1-0.

Here are a few takeaways coming out of Week 1.

Perhaps more Nick Chubb?

Coming into the season with Kareem Hunt off of the roster, the thought was that Chubb would be a bigger part of the offense. That’s right, perhaps the best running back in the NFL would get even more touches. It looked like that very well could be the case in one part of the game specifically.

I was impressed with Chubb bringing in all four of his targets for a catch. Cleveland’s No. 1 running back only had 21 yards on the four catches but he’s due to break one when he’s being targeted consistently in the passing game. Last season, Chubb had more than four catches just once in the season, which was the final game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The weather paid a part yesterday and that could play into the short dump-offs to Chubb, though I’m not looking at it that way. I believe Chubb will be a bigger part of the receiving game, as Deshaun Watson is comfortable getting the ball to him and that’s shown.

Dawand Jones is going to be fine at right tackle

In Week 1 it sucked to see right tackle Jack Conklin go down with what is believed to be a significant injury that could cause him to miss the rest of the season. On the bright side, Cleveland’s rookie tackle stepped in and looked exceptional.

When the rookie Jones entered the game, the Browns offense did not miss a beat and he did more than hold his own against Bengals’ Sam Hubbard. In Week 2, it’ll be a tough matchup for Jones as he will likely see T.J. Watt at times. Cleveland will do some chips and whatnot to help him. If Jones goes out there and holds his own, watch out.

Jim Schwartz’s effect is being felt

Cleveland’s new-look defense could not have looked better in Schwartz’s defensive coordinator debut for Cleveland.

Joe Burrow was laying on his back often due to the pressure that the Browns were generating. Cleveland came away with two sacks but was generating pressure for much of the game. The Bengals won just 30 percent of their pass-blocking sets against the Browns, per Next Gen Stats.

Bengals had the worst pass block win rate (30%) of any team today through the late afternoon window.

(ESPN / NFL Next Gen Stats)

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 11, 2023

The secondary stepped up in a big way and was a nice compliment to the defensive line, it’s exactly what you want. Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., Greg Newsome, and Grant Delpit had noticeably terrific games. I believe that was potentially the best game of Delpit’s career, he was playing at a Pro Bowl level.

In each game, Cleveland wants to get after the quarterback and force him into bad throws that the secondary can take advantage of. Cleveland didn’t intercept Burrow, but they did force him to have possibly the worst game of his career. Burrow completed just 14-of-31 attempts for a whopping 82 yards. That’s a testament to this defense and Schwartz’s system. 

Quick Hits: Browns blow doors off of Bengals in Week 1

Cleveland Browns showed up in a big way in Week 1.

Featured image via Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports.