Browns defense executed plan that came at Kirk Cousins from all sides

And the winner of Zimmer-Stefanski Bowl I was …

Joe Woods!

Oh yeah, did we fail to mention prominently enough in all the pregame hype that Cleveland was coming into U.S. Bank Stadium with another former longtime Vikings assistant calling plays on Sunday?

Our bad, Joe. And congrats on your dominant defensive game plan and a 14-7 victory that made Vegas look silly for putting the over/under at 51 ½ points.

"The defense was good enough for us to win when I'm playing quarterback like that," said Cleveland's Baker Mayfield, who also used some salty language to accurately admit he was gawdawful while throwing more incompletions (18) than completions (15).

While all the attention was on Vikings coach Mike Zimmer's defense facing off against Browns coach and former Zimmer offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski's offense, it was Woods, the Vikings defensive backs coach from 2006 to '13, who ended up calling the gem game of the day as Browns defensive coordinator.

Stefanski showed no outward emotion about beating his former team — "No, just happy to get the win," he said — but had a grand grin while describing the game Woods and his defense had.

"The way they defended the pass," Stefanski said. "Kirk Cousins, who is outstanding, was 6-for-6 on that first drive and 14 of 32 the rest of the way. The rush and coverage was outstanding."

The run defense wasn't too shabby either. The Vikings mustered only 65 yards on 23 carries (2.8) to go with Cousins' 203 yards passing.

"I think we showed up like we were supposed to," said Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett, who had four pressures and one-half sack.

Yes, the Browns showed up defensively. They were just a tad tardy.

The Vikings took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in 14 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Cousins went 6-for-6 for 59 yards and a 12-yard touchdown to Justin Jefferson on third-and-goal.

"I think we were kind of playing a little bit tight," Garrett said. "We really didn't know what to expect. That's the toughest part of the first 15 [scripted plays]. Once they got out of that, we were able to be aggressive and attack them."

After racking up 75 yards, five first downs and going 2-for-3 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down, the Vikings spent the next 11 possessions mustering only 180 yards and 11 first downs while going 3-for-13 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.

Why?

Look no further than the difference between how the Browns pressured Cousins on the first drive and the rest of the game.

Cousins completed his first six passes with no pressure whatsoever on him. The only time he was pressured on that drive came when he crossed the line of scrimmage and threw an illegal forward pass.

"They kept us off-balance with the run and pass that first drive," Stefanski said. "I think we then settled down a bit. Joe made some adjustments and the communication was great."

Stefanski was aggressive early, going for it twice on fourth down in the red zone because he assumed the Vikings would score close to their 29-point average. It never happened because Woods jump-started the pass rush starting with the Vikings' second possession.

Cousins was pressured on his next three passes. One came up the middle from tackle Malik Jackson, but the next two came on a blitz from safety John Johnson III and the other came from a blindside blitz from cornerback Denzel Ward. After that, the front four woke up and acted like a defensive line that includes Garrett, Jackson, Jadeveon Clowney, Malik McDowell and situational rusher Takkarist McKinley as a backup.

This press box eye determined that Cousins was pressured 18 times after that opening stroll down the field. That includes plays negated by penalties. That's a lot of heat for a guy who doesn't handle pressure that well.

"That's a great quarterback," Stefanski said of Cousins. "We had to make him uncomfortable. If you make him comfortable in the pocket, he's going to make all the throws."