The Cleveland Browns played a solid game for three quarters, but ultimately ran out of gas in London, dropping to 0-8 on the season, with a 33-16 loss to Minnesota.
Today, the Browns led after the first quarter, and actually led at the half, 13-12, and were getting the ball to start the second half.
It looked like today might be the day the Browns could get their first win of the season! And the Minnesota Vikings are a solid football team, coming into the game at 5-2 on the season.
But Isaiah Crowell fumbled on the first play of the second half, the Vikings recovered, kicked a field goal three plays later to take the lead.
Hue Jackson’s team regained the lead after a Zane Gonzalez field goal a few minutes later, but after that it was all Minnesota.
Despite leading late, the Browns’ defense was getting tired. The offense only controlled the ball only 22 minutes, and with Myles Garrett, Jason McCourty, Larry Ogunjobi, and Jabrill Peppers all inactive today, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams didn’t have enough bodies to keep his troops fresh.
And although DeShone Kizer played his first NFL game without a turnover, there were plenty of other mistakes to go around in this game.
On special teams, Gonzalez missed an extra point following the first Browns’ TD, and then missed a 35 yarder in the second half. That’s four misses in the last three games for the rookie, two of them inside the 40. You can’t miss those kicks in the pros.
It wouldn’t be a shock if there was a kicking audition during the time off.
Also, Bryce Treggs muffed a punt in the first quarter, leading to a Vikings field goal.
On offense, the use of the running game, or lack of use, we should say, continues to baffle.
The Browns averaged 5.2 yards per carry today, but Crowell and Duke Johnson had just 17 attempts. That accounts for the 22 minutes of possession, and a very tired defense in the second half.
The defense was plagued by horrible officiating. The last Vikings’ touchdown was a result of a series of penalties, and really, only one was obvious. The others could have went either way, and the first Minnesota TD after the half was also created by an interference call on a pass that Vikings’ QB Case Keenum was obviously throwing away.
Joe Schobert has an outstanding game with 11 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib deflected several passes as well.
The defense held Minnesota to 2.6 yards per carry, and that is becoming a regular occurrence.
Another questionable decision was having WR Kenny Britt active and then not playing him. If that was the plan, then why have him active? The rules say you can have 53 active players, but the Browns chose to play with 52.
This situation needs to be resolved, and the proper move is to release the veteran wideout.
And where was Kasen Williams again today?
With the bye week to follow, hopefully the front office and coaching staff can get together and determine what kind of team this should be (hint: run the ball and play defense), and who should be getting the bulk of the playing time.
Regardless of what media people think in Cleveland, the Browns have more talent than they did a year ago. However, the record is the same, and that is cause for concern going forward.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 