By STEVE KING
Once again it was longtime Browns radio color analyst Doug Dieken who best summed up one of the team’s games.
Early in the fourth quarter on Sunday, after the host New England Patriots scored again to balloon their lead to 38-7, Dieken said, “As good as the Browns were last week, they are that bad today.
Indeed, for after walloping the Cincinnati Bengals 41-16 last Sunday, the Browns got walloped themselves to the tune of 45-7 — and it was by no means even that close.
If this nightmare were an isolated incident, then that would be one thing. Sometimes you just have a clunker. It happens to everybody. But the problem is this: The Browns have been up and down all season, good one week and bad the next. It’s why they’re 5-5 and running in place. Good teams don’t have this kind of inconsistency, which makes sense since the Browns right now are not a good team. They’re not a terrible team, though they played terribly against New England, but they are not a playoff contender, either.
I know running backs Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton were out. But D’Ernest Johnson wasn’t bad in their place. In fact, he might have been the brightest spot, if that’s possible. So, that wasn’t the issue. It was that his teammates didn’t block, they didn’t catch or throw the ball, they didn’t stop the run, they didn’t stop the pass and they seemed to make no adjustments — at least not ones that worked.
And, aside from the fact they took the opening kickoff and marched 84 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown, they did not appear to be well-prepared, Yes, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and his guys were completely outcoached by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his guys.
Other than all that, it was a great day for the Browns.
The Browns have seven games left and no room for error. If they are going to turn it around and get back on track, then it has to happen now.
With the way the Browns played against the Patriots, the still-winless Detroit Lions, probably the worst team in the NFL but with a little hope after tying the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-16, will come to FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday believing they have a real shot.
Can you blame them?
