Sometimes what the Cleveland Browns do can’t be described in words.
The Jacksonville Jaguars pretty much did nothing on offense the entire day, yet somehow managed to put 19 points on the board in a 19-7 win over the Browns at First Energy Stadium.
The Browns are now 0-10 on the season.
Let’s start with a crazy game plan by the “quarterback whisperer”, Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson.
The Jaguars rank #1 in the NFL in pass defense by yardage, and are 25th in rush defense. So, in a game that was pretty much a three point spread the entire game, the Browns ran the ball 18 times and threw it 32 times.
Of those 18 rushing attempts, five were by DeShone Kizer, and we remember only two were designed runs, and throw in five sacks by Jacksonville, and really, Cleveland called 37 passes and just 16 runs.
Does that make any sense at all?
If you are going to throw against the Jags, the time to do it is on first down, when they are playing a base defense.
On the Browns’ lone TD drive, they threw on first down three times, moving the ball 66 yards in five plays. The touchdown itself was on a first down throw, a 27 yard strike to Duke Johnson.
The next time the Browns got the football, they ran on first down. The following possession? Again, a run on first down. When they got the ball again, once again, they ran the football on first down.
When they threw the ball on first down again, the result was a 14 yard gain on a pass to Corey Coleman, who did catch 6 passes for 80 yards.
We aren’t advocating passing every time on first down, but if you don’t gain yardage doing it, you are playing right into the Jaguars’ plans by throwing in obvious passing situations. If you don’t gain yardage on first down, run it again on second down and see what you get.
Then you have Kizer’s performance which can basically be described as horrific.
He threw two bad interceptions, the second on a throw we aren’t sure who it was intended for, and fumbled twice as well, including the play which ended the Browns’ hopes for a win.
And that play was set up on a terrible decision after Cleveland got a first down on the Jags’ 40.
Kizer was rushed, stepped up in the pocket, and looked like he could have run for at least ten yards, keeping momentum on the drive.
Instead, he made an ill-advised heave down the field into coverage, and was lucky the ball wasn’t picked off.
You would think he would have more awareness by this point in the year.
Also, think about the countless throws behind receivers or too low for them, particularly when they could have gained yardage if the ball was thrown properly.
We aren’t saying every throw should be perfect, but the rap on Kizer coming out of Notre Dame was inaccuracy, and that hasn’t been fixed.
Other things to note. David Njoku and Seth DeValve, two players we believe can make plays, caught a total of two passes. Johnson, another playmaker, touched the ball six times.
Jabrill Peppers fumbled two punts. His confidence appears to be very shaky.
The defense performed admirably despite being on the field for 36 minutes due to the abominable offensive showing.
Despite claims by the media that they really aren’t good players, Emmanuel Ogbah and Danny Shelton look pretty good to us.
Cincinnati is the next opponent for the Browns, this one in the Queen City, and it is a winnable game.
However, the turnovers have to cease. Jackson’s team hasn’t won the turnover battle once this year and has been even just twice. You simply can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 