It was a heartbreaking loss for sure on Monday night. The Browns missing more than half their starters because of the latest COVID-19 breakout, took the lead in the fourth quarter, but then lost at the gun to the Raiders, 16-14.
The loss means the Browns likely have to win their three remaining games on the slate, starting with the tough task of going to Lambeau Field on Christmas Day to play Green Bay, who has already clinched the NFC North, but is playing for a first round bye.
On paper, it says Kevin Stefanski’s crew doesn’t have much of a chance to win the next game, but did anyone have the Lions beating the Cardinals last weekend?
Look, the results have been disappointing this season, because we all thought the Browns 2021 season was going to look much like the ’20 campaign, and the team would go 11-6 or better and cruise into the playoffs for a second straight year.
However, things don’t always work out as planned, right?
We can think of only one game all season long where both sides of the football played well, and that’s the 41-16 triumph at Cincinnati. Cleveland had both the running and passing game going offensively, and the defense held the Bengals to under 100 yards rushing and forced three turnovers.
You can make a case for the win over the Bears as well, when the Browns had their third highest yardage total for the year (behind Kansas City and the LA Chargers’ games) and the defense allowed one yard passing because of all the sacks on Justin Fields.
Most of the league is in the same boat as Cleveland though.
Even within games, the performance of the team fluctuates. For example, Donovan Peoples-Jones made two real good catches in the drive which gave the Browns the lead against the Raiders. But he dropped (or allowed the defender to knock the ball out of his hands) a key pass in the first quarter.
It’s the nature of the NFL that many games are decided on one play or one series. A mistake or failure to execute in those situations costs you a game. We also believe in the Bill Parcells adage of you are what your record says you are.
Let’s say the defense closes out the KC and LA games. Let’s say the offense doesn’t turn it over against Pittsburgh in the 4th quarter. If just one of those things happens, Stefanski’s bunch are in first place in the AFC North at 8-6.
And yes, we can play the same game the other way too.
Cleveland has been smoked twice this season, against Arizona and New England. Conversely, they have only three wins by more than 10 points (Houston, Chicago, and Cincinnati), meaning they’ve been on the edge the entire season.
When you play this many close games, one play where the execution isn’t perfect, or a dropped pass, or a mix up in coverage, comes back to haunt you.
It doesn’t mean the Browns are poorly coached or do not have talent. It does mean they need to eliminate mistakes, and some of those occur because they are human.
We understand people want others to say they have to get “tougher” or “smarter” and mistakes won’t be tolerated. No one plays a perfect game.
Some of this will happen because of experience.
Maybe, the coaches and team will unlock this the rest of the season. Three wins will get them into the post-season. More likely, this is a blip on the radar, and the Cleveland Browns will be better next season.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 