Browns, fans enjoy a much-needed victory

That was a much-neeeded win. Not so much for the Cleveland Browns – the outlook for the remainder of this season remains bleak – but for the fans. In Sunday's shockingly dominant 31-6 win over the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland's football team gave its supporters something to savor. It was wet and windy at Huntington Bank Field. It's been a bad season for the Browns, and the negativity surrounding the franchise appeared to reach a new intensity after last week's listless loss at Pittsburgh. And yet, after Tyson Campbell intercepted Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's pass and returned it to the end zone on the first play of the second half, a weight was lifted. The touchdown put the Browns up, 24-6. Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's unit was dominating. Browns running back Quinshon Judkins looked like a Rookie of the Year candidate (he scored three touchdowns). Cleveland was winning, and winning handily over Miami. The Dolphins, quite honestly, looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. But after the way this season has gone, it was actually kind of nice to see a Browns opponent look like that. The CBS television cameras found Browns fans in the stands. They were smiling. They were celebrating. The season? Probably a lost cause. But Sunday? Everyone in brown and orange had reason to smile. Yes, fans desperately want the Browns to be great; to be a Super Bowl contender. But being a Browns fan is really about something else. It's about being able to enjoy your Sunday afternoon. The Browns allowed fans to do that against the Dolphins. So, a win over a fellow 1-win football team may not seem like much. But it was important. It was needed. PLAYER OF THE GAME: Finally, some competition for this. Judkins ran for 84 yards, including a beautiful 46-yard touchdown run. Campbell – in just his second game since being acquired from the Jaguars-- had the pick-six and a terrific pass breakup in the end zone. But the Player of The Game goes to safety Grant Delpit. Delpit had a sack, forced a fumble, and his dash toward Tagovailoa on the QB's end-zone drop back led directly to a Rayshawn Jenkins interception and – a play later – another Judkins touchdown. With the Browns, there's not a lot to count on. But you can count on Delpit, a fifth-year standout from LSU, one of GM Andrew Berry's best draft picks. NEXT WEEK: The Browns travel to New England to face a Patriots team that is led by coach Mike Vrabel. Vrabel, an Akron native who starred at Ohio State as a linebacker before becoming a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots, is in his first season as New England's coach. Vrabel was the Titans head coach – leading them to the AFC championship game in 2019 – and was a consultant with the Browns last year. In some games, he could be seen on the sidelines coaching. It was enough to make some wonder if Vrabel was auditioning for his next head coaching job, and whether that next head coaching shot would be with the Browns. That didn't happen. But Vrabel has led the Patriots – 4-13 a year ago – to a 5-2 record. Vrabel is doing well enough that I have sometimes wondered what this season might have been for the Browns had they let Stefanski go and hired the old Buckeye. Drafting quarterback Drake Maye – which the Patriots did – would have helped, too. MY PICK: Patriots 30, Browns 17.