All of the problems the Cleveland Browns had this year showed up again in yesterday’s playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Yes, the Browns had the NFL’s best defense statistically, but there was a big difference in the way they played at home and away from Cleveland Browns Stadium.
At home, they were simply dominant, but the five worst games the defense had in terms of points allowed came on the road. Indianapolis scored 38, Los Angeles put up 36, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Denver were next.
The defense didn’t give up all 45 points Saturday, two pick sixes added 14 points, but they allowed 31, and there were big plays aplenty. The Texans ran just 44 plays, as Houston scored on offensive plays of 76 and 37 yards, and got some big chunk plays as well as they rolled up 356 total yards, which is 8.1 per play. That’s a huge number.
And the Browns’ defense didn’t get any turnovers nor any sacks. Bet no one thought that would happen. Houston stayed away from Denzel Ward and controlled Myles Garrett, picking on Greg Newsome, who struggled trying to keep up with Nico Collins.
Another issue that reared its head was not taking care of the football. The Browns amazingly made the playoffs despite leading the NFL in turning the ball over, and two interceptions for touchdowns basically ended the game.
Cleveland was trailing 24-14 at the half, but was driving in the third quarter, when QB Joe Flacco apparently trying to throw the ball away, was picked off by Steven Nelson, who returned it 82 yards for a TD.
Then on the next possession, on a 4th down play, Flacco was intercepted again by Christian Harris, who went 36 yards the other way, and suddenly a game within reach was over for all intends and purposes.
The Browns couldn’t run the ball, something that has been a problem since Nick Chubb got hurt in week two. They gained just 56 yards on 20 attempts and their longest two runs were a 14-yard run by Kareem Hunt in garbage time and an 8-yard scramble by Flacco.
That’s not to say all of the Browns had bad games. On defense, we have to point out Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was all over the field, with 8 tackles, several behind the line of scrimmage. He has been getting better and better each week.
David Njoku was a standout as usual, catching seven balls for 93 yards and he and Harrison Bryant were big factors in the first half. And David Bell had a strong game too, catching 8 passes, several in traffic.
As coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, the Browns simply picked a bad day to have a bad day. After an early field goal, the Browns scored to take leads of 7-3 and 14-10, but defensively they just couldn’t stop Houston.
And as usual, the officiating didn’t help the Browns, a very questionable pass interference call on Ronnie Hickman (especially after a no call against Njoku earlier) gave Houston a first down on a third down play and would have forced a punt.
The Texans scored two plays later to make it 24-14. The NFL has an officiating problem that they care to ignore.
No question this will be a different team when training camp starts in July because of salary cap issues, but the core will remain, players like Garrett, Ward, Owusu-Koramoah, and of course, QB Deshaun Watson will be healthy.
Let’s hope the organization continues to build on this season and the attitude they adopted during this year, winning no matter what is thrown at them, continues in 2024.
It was a bitter loss because we thought this team had a chance to go deeper into the post-season. Still, it was a fun ride.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 