In a season where success isn’t necessarily going to be measured by wins and losses, I’ll take Sunday’s 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium in the Browns’ home opener.
It doesn’t mean that I like it or that Browns fans should give it their stamp of approval. That’s hardly the case. But if we’re looking for improvement from one week to the next — and we are, more than anything — we got that.
The Ravens are a whole heckuva lot better than the Philadelphia Eagles, who ground down Cleveland in a 29-10 win in the season opener last week. So the fact the Browns played Baltimore much tougher than they did Philadelphia is a definite step in the right direction.
The Browns were lights out in the first quarter, bolting to a 20-0 lead.
Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman played like the first-round NFL Draft pick that he is by catching a team-high five passes for a game-best 104 yards and his first two professional touchdowns.
Cornerback Joe Haden, after a very mediocre performance against the Eagles, flashed his Pro Bowl form by getting two interceptions.
Isaiah Crowell rushed for 115 yards in the first half alone, including a dazzling 85-yarder for a touchdown.
The defense played its hearts out, as did quarterback Josh McCown, who was thoroughly battered, especially in his left shoulder, causing him to go to the locker room for a time.
And the game was exciting. It went right down to the end.
That’s the good stuff.
But there was way too much bad stuff, especially in the last three quarters when the Browns somehow found a way to blow a three-touchdown lead and didn’t score again the rest of the way.
There was a blocked extra point returned for two points. taking all the air out of the roaring start. That the Browns special teams were terrible once again is hardly a surprise. That has, once again, been a constant theme in special teams coordinator Chris Tabor’s five seasons on the job.
There were silly personal foul calls against the Browns in crucial situations, particularly right at the end of the game. Was it a bad call? It doesn’t matter. It was called. The Browns have to control their emotions better than that. This isn’t high school.
There was McCown, who, despite throwing for two touchdowns, played just poorly enough for his team to lose. He also had two interceptions. That’s his career in a nutshell. It’s just another reason to be more resolved to find the quarterback as soon as possible. Nothing good happens until that happens. It is everything.
The Browns went into the season knowing they had a long way to go. That journey, though still incredibly long, is a tiny bit closer after Sunday.
I’ll take that — but only if the improvement continues next Sunday at Miami, and the bad stuff isn’t as prevalent. No ifs, ands or buts around it.
