CLEVELAND, Ohio – If the Browns season falls apart, it won’t be because of:
A. Baker Mayfield.
B. Odell Beckham Jr.
C. Kevin Stefanski calling or not calling the plays on offense.
All of those subjects are fun to debate and enticing to talk about. In football, offense is easier to understand and compare with what various other teams and quarterbacks are doing.
So I’ll start with the first three items before hitting the big point with two more thoughts:
A. Many of you emailed to point out Mayfield is not an “elite quarterback.” Agreed. But I go back to my original premise about the 47-42 loss to the Chargers: Mayfield and the offense is not why they lost that game.
B. Beckham Jr.: I don’t know if they should have thrown the ball to him more often. He caught two passes for 20 yards. He had a big drop on a fourth-and-2 play. But they scored 42 points without Beckham playing a big role. That’s 42 points with 522 yards of offense and zero turnovers.
C. Stefanski’s play-calling was strange and stilted near the end of the game. He didn’t seem to trust Mayfield and/or his offensive line (both tackles were injured). There were some other questionable decisions, and Stefanski admitted he was “sick” about some of his own play calls. Nonetheless, they scored 42 points.
D. A little context: They scored 42 points against a team that had not allowed more than 24 points this season. They did it on the road. They did it for the entire game without their starting left tackle (Jedrick Wills Jr.) and their best receiver (Jarvis Landry), both injured. Right tackle Jack Conklin left the game in the second half with an injury.
E. Fans should hope their offense performs like this every game.
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has bigger problems than his play-calling.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
That’s what I kept asking myself watching the defense, especially when Charger receiver Mike Williams was so wide open ... TWICE!
The first time, it was for 72 yards and a TD. It seems safety Grant Delpit and cornerback A.J. Green were clueless when it came to defending the opponent’s top big play receiver. In the fourth quarter, Williams was so wide open for a 42-yard TD pass that it’s hard to know who was supposed to defend him. Maybe John Johnson III? Ronnie Harrison Jr? A cornerback?
These plays had the same impact as Mayfield throwing two interceptions that were returned for TDs. I mention that because the defensive breakdowns were so massive, so outrageous and so embarrassing to happen to an NFL team.
In both cases, the receiver was in Los Angeles and the Browns defense was in Greenland. You can’t even find the orange helmets in the picture. That’s why the Browns lost this game.
Three times, the Chargers went for it on fourth-down. They converted all three times. That’s also why the Browns lost this game.
The officials missed two pass interference calls (one on offense, one on defense). Those hurt the Browns, but they were not why they lost this game.
Cleveland Browns cornerback Greedy Williams injured his arm on a play in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
REASON TO WORRY
The Browns need to shape up the defense, especially the secondary. Injuries have returned to guys who are often injured – Denzel Ward (neck) and Greedy Williams (shoulder). Other than saying the two players had MRIs, the Browns made no other details available.
But what are the odds of both players being available for Sunday’s game vs. Arizona? Greg Newsome II has missed the last two games with a calf injury. No word on when he returns.
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods and his staff better shape up the secondary. It’s hard missing three cornerbacks. But those two big breakdowns in coverage had zero to do with injuries and more with preparation and mental mistakes. Where were the safeties?
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney also missed the game. His cranky knee (which had surgery last year) acted up in pregame warmups.
I don’t know enough about defensive schemes to assess specific blame on the coverage mistakes. But how do you twice lose Mike Williams? He is their one big threat.
And where were the in-game adjustments? The Chargers scored 26 points in the fourth quarter. They marched for TDs in their first four possessions of the period. How about stopping them once? If that happens, the Browns win.
That’s what went wrong and what better be fixed before high-scoring Arizona comes to town Sunday.
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