CLEVELAND — It goes to the Eagles in preseason game No. 2 by a point, 21-20 the final score.
The story coming into Game 2 of the preseason for the Browns: Who are you comfortable with as your backup quarterback? They're both named Josh, but would it be Dobbs or would it be Rosen?
Josh Dobbs got the start, played into the second half, and just like he did the week before in Jacksonville, he played very, very well.
He moved the team, and he did it with his own athletic prowess. He ran well, four times for 47 yards and a touchdown. He threw the ball well for 140 yards in the game. He was accurate, his decisions were good, and it was really a carbon copy of what he had done last week.
That's two good weeks in a row for Josh Dobbs, and he makes a strong case for himself for the Browns to be comfortable with him as their backup quarterback, with Jacoby Brissett being the one who will start this season (and play a lot of it) after the Deshaun Watson suspension.
Now, Josh Rosen was a different story. He didn't play much in Jacksonville, but played a little bit more in this game. He was accurate at the start of his outing on this Sunday afternoon, but as the game wore on, it was either him getting a little bit wild throwing the football or the young Browns receivers maybe not running the right routes.
But the wheels came off late in the game. After all, the Browns were down by a point and really had three possessions late in the game to drive down the field. They got into Eagles territory, but each time they got there, they couldn't move the ball even close enough to attempt a field goal. And remember, they have a guy that can connect from a long way away in that department.
So Rosen really had kind of a strange game, not a great game for him to put in front of the Browns coaches and say, "I'm good enough to be the backup quarterback for this team."
Experience-wise, he's got much more than Josh Dobbs, but you can see that Dobbs is much more comfortable with the Browns' receivers and in the Browns' offense. Why is that? Well, he's been here all spring. He was there for OTAs, mandatory minicamp, in training camp, and now he's paying dividends with all of that experience.
Dobbs is fitting well inside the Browns' offense, and the Kevin Stefanski offense really fits him well: short, timing throws, allowing him to roll out. He's very, very athletic, and he can keep the ball and get first downs with his own legs.
Dobbs looks very good, but it's still a very tricky question: With Jacoby Brissett as your starter, and a team that is expected to be very competitive in the division and in the AFC, is Dobbs good enough to be a backup quarterback?
In other words, remember, like every starting quarterback, you're only one hit away from having to go to the backup. Are you comfortable putting Dobbs in there to play a number of weeks if Brissett went down injured?
What about Rosen, who hasn't had much success since being the 10th overall pick coming out of UCLA going to Arizona? He's been with six teams in his NFL career already.
Or, do the Browns continue to look out on the landscape and see who's available at QB? That's to be decided.
Now to the other areas. The kicking game is very strong. The rookie from LSU Cade York went 2 for 3, and his miss was from 55 yards.
It was not short; he banged it off the right upright, and almost took the upright down. That's how powerful this kid's leg is, and he'll become a very big weapon in tight games for the Browns, probably the most important rookie in their class. Games might be decided on his leg and foot, and that's fine with the way he's handling things so far.
The running game is sensational. The Browns are loaded at running back, and if they want to make a trade to try and get another wide receiver or perhaps a backup quarterback, they would have to look inside that running back room and say, "We've got too much talent here than we can really use."
I mean, you have Chubb and you have Hunt, D'Ernest Johnson played very well, John Kelly ran for 66 yards and a touchdown in the game, and then you have the rookie Jerome Ford, who was as good Sunday as he was last week in Jacksonville. They really have too much talent there and could make a move, and I'm surprised teams aren't calling them and saying, "Hey, how about trading for one of your running backs?"
Now, I wouldn't worry too much about the Browns' defense, because there wasn't a starter near the field on Sunday. All of those third-down conversions by the Philadelphia Eagles? Consider who was out there.
It's a big week coming up because it's the final preseason game, but it's also Jacoby Brissett week. With the Chicago Bears coming into town next Saturday night, Brissett will finally play. He is at that point where he's getting all of the practice reps with the No. 1 team, and that's important now, because he is the starter for the long-term.
How much he will play, how long he will play, who will play with him? That's to be decided as the week goes along.
So sure, they lose by one point, but no problem, though. One more dress rehearsal coming up, and then Baker Mayfield and the Panthers to open the season.