It was going to be the best play of Myles Garrett’s young career.
He caught a deflected pass and rumbled toward the end zone, breaking a tackle, and getting the defensive score the Cleveland Browns had been looking for all season, putting his team ahead, 9-6.
He fired the ball into the stands in glee.
But as things are when you are 0-14, there was a flag down. Carl Nassib lined up in the neutral zone, nullifying Garrett’s score.
And that pretty much ended today’s game. Hue Jackson’s team dropped to 0-15 on the season, 1-30 during his tenure, losing to the Chicago Bears, 20-3 at Soldiers’ Field.
Since both teams are starting rookie quarterbacks, the contrast is startling when comparing the two teams.
On a snowy, windy day, the white stuff was accumulating on the field in the first half, the Bears, now 5-10 on the year, ran the ball 31 times compared to just 20 for the Browns.
As has been the case for most of the year, Cleveland averaged more yards per running play, 3.8 to 3.1. The Browns didn’t get nearly as much out of DeShone Kizer on the ground either. He gained just 8 yards on three carries, whereas Mitchell Trubisky (Mentor native, we are obligated to say) picked up 44 yards rushing.
This means Cleveland’s running backs gained 64 yards on 17 attempts (3.8 average) compared to the Bears’ 53 yards on 24 attempts (2.2 average).
Can the national media get it out of their head that Jackson wants to run the football.
It has been clear all year long that despite averaging in the top in the league in average yards per attempt on the ground, and an offensive line with solid pieces in Joel Bitonio, Kevin Zeitler, and JC Tretter, and for part of the year, future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, that the coach doesn’t want to run it.
After the Bears’ scored their only TD in the first half, Jackson dialed up five consecutive passing plays on a day that screamed running.
The Browns best drive of that half was seven minutes long, leading into the two minute warning. They mixed six runs and have short passes to move 50 yards.
On a 2nd and 4, after a six yard run by Crowell, Kizer threw for the end zone, where the pass for picked off, the QB’s 20th of the season.
And despite it being just a 6-3 deficit at half, which turned into 10 points after the Bears first drive, but still with over 27 minutes to go, Cleveland ran just three more running plays the rest of the game, and one of them was the last play, a three yard gain by Matthew Dayes.
The lack of an attempt to establish a ground game causes the Browns to lose the time of possession battle, the Bears had the ball for 33 minutes today.
The total yards for the two teams was about even, but once again, Cleveland lost the turnover battle, 3-0. Reminder, the Browns have not won the turnover game at all this season.
They have been even three times (week 1 vs. Pittsburgh, and both Cincinnati games), and ten times have had two or more turnovers than their opponents.
The last forced turnover by the defense? Week 11, five games ago, vs. Jacksonville, when Garrett recovered a fumble caused by Christian Kirksey’s sack of Blake Bortles.
The defense did have five sacks today, the biggest output of the season.
Anyway, it’s on to Pittsburgh and one last attempt to avoid joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only 0-16 teams in NFL history. A pretty daunting task.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 