CLEVELAND — Well there’s certainly a lot to celebrate on this Victory Monday, first and foremost being the victory, of course. I don’t see that getting old any time soon. As far as highlights, Kareem Hunt played out of his mind, we made a bunch of visiting meathead Chicago fan dudes really sad, I’m a big fan of that. And of course there’s the fact that the defense managed to sack Bears quarterback Justin Fields, wait how many times?
9 times? That’s a lot.
But Kareem Hunt and Myles Garrett get plenty of praise, and deservedly so. Not only are they phenomenal talents, they also play high profile, sexy positions that inevitably garner a lot of attention.
That’s why I’m going to devote my time here today to exclusively praising another standout performance from yesterday’s game, someone who plays a position that too often goes overlooked.
Today, I celebrate a kicker! That’s right. I’m talking to you, Browns kicker Chance McMahnon! Wait, that’s not it. What’s his name? Chase McLaughlin? Got it.
That’s right, that’s right. I’m talking to you, Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin!
McLaughlin had a terrific game in which he made all six of his kicks including two extra points and four field goals, two from beyond 50 yards. He also now holds the all time record for longest field goal by a Browns kicker in that stadium after nailing a 57 yarder. Not bad for a day’s work.
Just to give you an idea of how impressive McLaughlin was yesterday, he was even tapped to be in the post game press conference, which almost NEVER happens to kickers because no one cares what they say. And for the record he was just as electric on the mic as you would think a kicker would be.
Of course, we’re going to have to see some consistency out of this kid before we really start getting too excited.
The first thing he has to remember is that he is no Phil Dawson and never will be. Do you hear me? You will NEVER be Phil Dawson, and nothing can ever change that.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t have a meaningful and impressive career here in Cleveland if he manages to keep performing like he did yesterday.
In fact, if everything goes well perhaps he could one day find himself featured on my personal Mount Rushmore of Cleveland Browns Kickers.
While he’ll obviously never be able to displace Lou Groza, Phil Dawson, or Don Cockcroft, if he plays his cards right there IS a possibility that he could replace Scott Player, who only punted for the Browns for less than a month in 2007 before being released but who earned his spot on my Browns Kicker Rushmore simply by rocking the one bar helmet and just looking awesome in general.
But that spot is vulnerable and could be up for grabs. So there you have it, Chase McLaughlin. Now you have something to aspire to. So keep it up kid and embrace your destiny by continuing to kick like you did in that game. And who knows? One day you might just earn your spot on my totally subjective metaphorical mountain. And isn’t that what it’s really all about?
*Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.