Jacoby Brissett ‘making the plays we need,’ meeting Browns expectations

The list of mistakes Jacoby Brissett has made since he stepped under center as the Browns’ QB for the first time in Week 1 is a small one.

Aside from a few pre-snap issues and some missed deep balls in the opening game, Brissett has largely been one of the Browns’ top players the last two weeks. He’s completed 66 percent of his passes for 596 yards, four touchdowns and one interception and ranks 11th in the league with a 94.3 passer rating. He built a game-winning drive in Week 1, only had five incompletions in 27 pass attempts in Week 2 and executed a big win against a tough division rival in Week 3.

Because of Brissett, a seventh-year QB whose career has been built on finding success as a backup quarterback, the Browns are 2-1 — and should be 3-0, if not for for a frustrating late-game collapse in Week 2. He’s delivered the football to the top playmakers, efficiently commanded the offense and avoided game-costing mistakes and turnovers.

“(He’s) made some throws and made some big throws in big moments,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Thursday. “(He) battled. He’s doing a nice job.”

Asked Monday if he saw Brissett’s confidence rise at any point as the Browns mounted a win Thursday, Stefanski shook his head.

“I don’t think so. I really don’t,” he said. “I think a lot of what we see on Sundays or Thursdays is the culmination of work. Pretty simple.”

That’s been the sentiment most players have echoed about Brissett, too. No one in the locker room is surprised to see the Browns hold a winning record after three weeks, and no one is surprised at how much Brissett has done to help them get there.

WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku, the top two receiving targets, each led Browns receiving totals Sunday against the Steelers. With 101 yards, Cooper became the first Browns player to top 100 receiving yards in consecutive games since Josh Gordon in 2013, and Njoku caught a career-high nine receptions and had one of the…