The Cleveland Browns lost a little bit of the fun on Sunday in their 29-13

defeat to the Houston Texans. The Browns were looking to put together their first three-game winning streak since in four years https://www.brownsfanshop.com/JC-Tretter-Jersey , but came up short after falling behind 23-0 during a first half that was reminiscent of the Hue Jackson era. While it was a disappointing day, the loss was not necessarily a discouraging one. At the risk of sounding as if we are in search of moral victories, there are some positives to take from the game. The biggest one is how the team responded in the second half. There have been numerous times in the past where a 23-0 halftime deficit would have turned into a 43-3 final score. But against the Texans, the Browns kept plugging away, didn’t get overly desperate, the offense stopped with the turnovers, quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 351 yards, and the defense limited the Texans to just two field goals. Jarvis Landry finally had a meaningful game, surpassing 100 receiving yards for just the second time this season and the first since the Week 3 game against the New York Jets. Fellow wide receiver Antonio Callaway also had his highest receiving yard total of the year with 84 yards, along with a 76-yard touchdown reception that was negated by a penalty. (We’re trying to stay positive here, so let’s not dwell on Callaway’s fumble at the one-yard-line after a 71-yard catch-and run.)Myles Garrett had 1.5 of the Browns four sacks on the day, bringing him to 11.5 on the season Ozzie Newsome Jersey , the name number as Houston’s J.J. Watt. Those 11.5 sacks are the fourth-most in franchise history, tying him with Michael Dean Perry. Garrett now has 18.5 career sacks, tying him with Reggie Camp for the most by a Cleveland player in their first two seasons. Speaking of sacks, there was some fear heading into the game that Watt and fellow defensive end Jadeveon Clowney would have a big day against Cleveland’s starting tackle duo of Chris Hubbard and Greg Robinson. That wasn’t the case, however, as the Browns offensive line did not give up a sack for the third consecutive game — the first time that has happened since the 1988 season. Whether the line is playing better, or offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens is calling plays that limit Mayfield’s exposure, something is working and that is a very good thing.At the end of the day a loss is still a loss. The Browns clearly could have played better — the four turnovers in the first half simply cannot happen — but that doesn’t mean that Sunday’s game undid the positives from the previous few weeks. The Browns are slowly evolving into a competent NFL team, which means that a loss may simply be nothing more than a loss. Some in the national media developing an irrational and growing fear of what is going on in Cleveland." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteDawgs EDTShareTweetShareShareWhy are people scared that the Browns are now good?Ken Blaze-USA TODAY SportsThe NFL has built itself into the country’s No. 1 sport based, in part, on the believe that every team has a chance. Free agency coupled with a real salary cap, and an equitable common draft Briean Boddy-Calhoun Jersey , means that teams can’t simply outspend each other the way they do in Major League Baseball. It is a system where if you work harder and smarter than the other guy, and get a little bit of luck, you should find success. The Cleveland Browns have not been able to check off any of those boxes on a regular basis since their return to the league in 1999. In a league built on the idea of parity, the Browns have consistently found a way to mess things up.The team’s fortunes began to chance in 2016 with the launch of an actual strategic rebuilding strategy, gained momentum in the second half of last season, and went into over-drive this offseason under general manager John Dorsey. The Browns are now exciting, relevant and set up to be a winning franchise for several years. It is safe to assume that the league is happy about this, as having a winning team with a rabid fanbase like the Browns is good for business. Strangely enough, not everyone appears to be on board with what the Browns are building. It is understandable that fans in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati would be apprehensive about Cleveland’s rise, as the idea of the Browns owning the division for the next decade is not appealing to them. But what is a bit puzzling is the growing trend in the darker corners of the national media against the Browns. Bayless did not like what he saw from wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during Monday’s press conference and explained why on his Fox Sports 1 show Undisputed, according to cleveland.com:Jason Whitlock piled on in his aptly named Speak for Yourself show Joe Schobert Color Rush Jersey , according to cleveland.com:Finally, Colin Cowherd went all in on his The Herd with Colin Cowherd show on Friday, according to ohio.com:Baker Mayfield, a frequent target of Cowherd’s, took a moment to answer back on Twitter:At the end of the day, none of the outside noise really matters, or if Bayless, Whitlock and Cowherd really believe what they are saying or are just latching onto the Browns in an attempt go get people to notice them.Because as head coach Freddie Kitchens accurately put it at his introductory press conference in January: “If you don’t wear brown and orange, you don’t matter.”