The Cleveland Browns had their first blowout of the season Sunday. The Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-10, the team's first game this season decided by more than three points either way.
Browns fantasy football recap: Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell run wild
Cleveland barely threw the ball Sunday, letting the running backs do the work. We break down the fantasy implications.
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The Browns have now won back-to-back games to get to 3-2. They had plenty to offer fantasy owners Sunday:
The quarterback didn’t put up huge numbers against the Steelers, with only 12 fantasy points. He completed only 8 of 17 pass attempts, a low number because the Browns took the lead so early. But Hoyer still offered 217 yards and a touchdown in the game, with no turnovers, and now sits at seven touchdowns against only one interception on the season. Hoyer isn’t a QB1, but he’s a perfectly reasonable QB2 going forward.
Tate continued his strong return from injury, rushing for 78 yards Sunday on 25 carries, scoring twice. It was the first time Tate scored as a Brown, and he now has 31 fantasy points in his last two games after missing most of the season up to that point with injury. It’s always dicey expecting Tate to stay healthy for the long term, but as long as he’s on the field he’s a clear must-start.
The rookie running back has fully supplanted Terrance West in the team's pecking order -- West was a healthy scratch Sunday and Crowell had a big day. Crowell ran for 77 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown in the game, the Browns' first touchdown of four. After being the Browns' third running back -- behind Tate and West -- to start the year, Crowell now has three double-digit fantasy days out of five, and is solidly the handcuff to Tate. He needs to be owned in all leagues, and West is fully droppable.
The Browns' wide receivers were basically non-factors in Sunday's game, as the team had the win wrapped up early and didn't pass much. Austin was the only wide receiver to catch more than a single pass, and no receiver had more than 31 yards. Andrew Hawkins, a PPR monster the first few weeks, was a complete no-show, with no catches on two targets. You can't use any Browns receiver going forward unless they show more.
And none of that is to say that no Browns player caught passes Sunday, when tight end Jordan Cameron had easily his biggest game of the season. Cameron caught three passes for 102 yards in the game, including a 51-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter. After only nine fantasy points and a game missed due to injury entering Sunday, a big game from Cameron (16 fantasy points) was nice to see. He's still a must-start tight end.
