Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

Browns v. New York Jets

Thursday, 8:20 p.m., in FirstEnergy Stadium

Record: 1-1.

Last game: Lost, 20-12, to the Miami Dolphins in south Florida.

Coach: Todd Bowles, 23-30, fourth year.

Series record: Browns lead, 13-12 (counting postseason).

Last meeting: Jets won, 17-14, Oct. 8, 2017, in Cleveland.

League rankings: Offense is 18th overall (16th rushing, 15th passing), defense is fifth overall (11th rushing, eighth passing), and turnover differential is plus-2.

Things I think

1. It didn’t take long for rookie quarterback Sam Darnold to become the Toast of New York. A win in his NFL debut over Detroit made Darnold, 21, the youngest winning quarterback since the 1970 league merger. Then in a losing cause against Miami, Darnold became the youngest QB in NFL history to post a 300-yard passing game. All of which is making life a little more difficult for Pat Shurmur and the 0-2 Giants, who will always rule the Big Apple football market but are absorbing some media body blows for passing on Darnold and taking Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Above a story criticizing the Giants for that move was the New York Daily News headline: “April fools!”

2. The Jets were stunned when the Browns passed on Darnold with the No. 1 pick and chose Baker Mayfield. The Jets would have made Darnold the top pick in the draft and were flabbergasted to get him at No. 3. If the Browns had taken Darnold, the Jets were split on Mayfield and Josh Rosen. Mayfield said in one of his documentaries that he expected to go to the Jets at No. 3.

3. Like the Browns, the Jets have done a good job of surrounding their franchise quarterback hopeful with a solid support system. They resigned Josh McCown, 39, to be Darnold’s personal mentor. Wherever McCown goes in the Jets facility, Darnold is an arm’s length away. Media refer to McCown as a $10 million quarterback coach. “Money well spent,” Jets chairman Christopher Johnson has said.

4. Darnold’s early success is partly attributable to coordinator Jeremy Bates’ offensive system. He runs the Mike and Kyle Shanahan version of the West Coast offense, which means lots of bootleg and rollout throws, and the “moving picket fence” outside-zone stretch runs. The Jets thought Mayfield would be perfect in that system.

Did you know …?

1. The Jets are not exactly barren at wide receiver – their top four are Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and Terrelle Pryor – but they did express some interest in Josh Gordon. It is not known whether they made the Browns a trade offer for him, however.

2. One player the Jets aggressively coveted was pass rusher Khalil Mack. They came up short and the Raiders traded Mack to the Bears. A dominant pass rusher is a whole in the Jets’ aggressive defense. They’ve built the back end and now need someone to join end Leonard Williams as a game-changer up front. Otherwise, the Jets should be a big player for offensive linemen in free agency and the draft in the spring.

3. Ex-Browns Josh McCown, Isaiah Crowell and Terrelle Pryor all have made favorable early impressions on the Jets this season. McCown is Darnold’s mentor. Crowell is averaging 6.2 yards a rush and has two touchdowns. And Pryor is second with seven receptions for a 19.0-yard average. Another ex-Brown, cornerback Buster Skrine, leads the Jets with 14 tackles.

Small world: Todd Bowles was Browns defensive backs coach under Butch Davis 2001-04 … Former Browns on the Jets include quarterback Josh McCown (2015-16), running back Isaiah Crowell (2014-17), receiver Terrelle Pryor (2015-16) and cornerback Buster Skrine (2011-14) … Assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell was a third-round pick of the Browns in 1993 and played for them through 1995 … Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer played for the Browns 2001-03 … Defensive line coach Robert Nunn had the same role with the Browns in 2016.