Browns make it four losses in a row, lose to Bengals 31-10
It would have been pretty easy for the Cleveland Browns to just kind of pack it in this week. The final score makes it look like they did, but the Browns had a bit of fight in them. A short week after a brutal game against the Arizona Cardinals, with a bunch of starters missing, when you’re an 11 point underdog on the road, with a horrendous record, is about as bad as it gets heading into a Thursday night NFL matchup. The Browns trailed by seven heading into the fourth quarter before finally succumbing in the final period to a much more talented team. The Bengals took the first in this year’s Battle of Ohio 31 to 10.
A little bit of credit1 to the Browns and their coaches for stepping up and doing their best to meet the challenge of an undefeated Cincinnati Bengals team, at least for three quarters. The Browns ultimately fell to the Bengals, and it was embarrassing to see the Browns fail to get a first down in the second half until there were just over three minutes left in the game, but it could have been worse. That’s what we’ve been reduced to, I guess, but that’s how I felt about it. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2015 Cleveland Browns!
Johnny Manziel played pretty well in relief of an injured Josh McCown. Manziel led a 92-yard touchdown drive, which was the longest since 2013. Eat your heart out Brian Hoyer. On the day, Manziel was 15-33 for 168 yards and a touchdown. Ho hum. He also ran for 31 yards on four attempts.
Overall the defense played alright. They might have played well, except they were once again subject to the big play. Marvin Jones gashed them multiple times and Mohamed Sanu took a double-reverse 25 yards with Andy Dalton blocking in front for a touchdown. The Browns got some pressure on Andy Dalton including a Paul Kruger sighting. Ultimately, the defensive mistakes were just too much, starting with free agent acquisition Randy Starks.
Randy Starks made his presence felt in all the wrong ways. He made a great play stopping a run cold for no gain and then picked up a personal foul for taunting as he stood over Gio Bernard. That was bad enough because it kept the drive going, but after the Browns held on third down, the Bengals decided to go for it and Starks messed up worse. The Bengals audibled out of a run, threw to the flats and Andy Dalton skipped it to his receiver. Browns hold! Browns ball! Nope. Flag. Randy Starks was lined up offside. Free first down, Bengals score, 14-3 instead of 7-3 and Browns ball.
The Bengals really got energized in the fourth quarter and took a 24-10 lead before sacking Johnny Manziel on back-to-back plays. At a certain point in the NFL the better, deeper, more talented team will impose their will on the overachieving team and that’s what it felt like for the Browns. The Browns were 11 point underdogs and they had no business competing in the game. Cincinnati finally overtook the scrappy Browns and it was sadly unsurprising.
The biggest frustration of the day for me was probably seeing Duke Johnson do some nice things in the first half, including a touchdown reception from Johnny Manziel, and then disappear completely in the second half for a second straight game. I don’t know if it’s the Browns failing to continue things that worked for them, or if it’s an adjustment by the Bengals to take away what was working. Also, by the time that I stopped caring with about seven minutes left in the game and with the Browns trailing 31-10, the Browns had run the ball once in the second half. They’d run it twice if you count a Johnny Manziel scramble for 12 yards, which I do not. The Browns weren’t going crazy running the ball in the first half, but Crowell had some decent gains and had gone for 38 yards. Certainly not so bad that you should abandon it entirely.
That’s what happened though. The Browns lost their way and they lost yet another game. That’s four losses in a row and the Browns have a little extra time before they face the Steelers and then head into their bye week. That means that the Browns could be 2-8 heading into their bye week. It’s a record that’s bad enough that even home matchups against the Ravens and 49ers might not be games where the Browns are favored by much at all.
Jimmy Haslam will be tested this year. He probably thinks he needs to stick this thing out, but whether he can bring himself to do it or not remains to be seen. This is officially an awful season and it will be tough for any owner to find enough reasons to hold firm and stand pat, I would think.
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