Browns are to blame - Browns Daily Dose

BROWNS ARE TO BLAME FOR LOSS

By STEVE KING

Look, I get it. I totally and truly get it.

The Browns had all kinds of players missing due to COVID -19, and the calamity happened too late for them to be able to do much about it in terms of their preparation for Sunday’s game against the host New York Jets.

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So, the fact that they lost 23-16 to a Jets team that is miserably bad seems to indicate that the Browns’ missing players was the reason for that happening. At least, that’s what you will read and hear everywhere.

But that is too easy. That is grabbing the low-hanging fruit and using that as an excuse. The Browns are to blame.

The real reason the Browns lost is that they simply didn’t make enough plays when they were there to be made. The game was totally winnable, but the Browns fumbled and stumbled and bumbled their way, especially on offense, to keep that win, and the AFC playoff berth it would have clinched, from their grasp.

That their quarterback, Baker Mayfield, fumbled the ball away on the Browns’ last offensive play at the New York 16, is disappointing. No matter what else is going on, it is the quarterback’s job to win the game, and he didn’t do that today. He’s got to find a way to work through every problem, and make plays. He did not.

So, the Browns squander a great opportunity and now they have to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday and hope for some help. And they have no one to blame but themselves.

What are the Cleveland Browns' playoff odds after loss to Jets?https://t.co/FY39QCdcKQ pic.twitter.com/562KwtClS9
— WKYC 3News (@wkyc) December 28, 2020

Post Game Notes

RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the only pair of RB teammates in the league this season with at least 800 rushing yards (through 1 p.m. ET games). They’re also the only pair of RBs on the same team with at least 10 scrimmage touchdowns (each have 11).

The Browns now have three blocked kicks this season, second most in the NFL.

The three blocked kicks are the second most by the team in a season since 2000.

The team blocked two kicks (both DT Sheldon Richardson) in a game for the first time since Week 4 of 2009 versus Cincinnati and third time since 2000.