I’m not going to blame head coach Kevin Stefanski for the Browns’ incredibly frustrating 23-20 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Stefanski eschewed a chip-shot field goal on the Browns’ first drive and went for it on fourth-and-goal from the Atlanta 4. It backfired when the Browns failed to convert.

Sure, those three points would’ve looked pretty good considering the final score, but that’s not what caused the Browns to lose the game.

I’m not going to blame tight end David Njoku for fumbling after a pass reception deep in Cleveland territory in the fourth quarter. The Falcons recovered and quickly converted it into a touchdown.

Sure, that turnover really hurt, but that’s not what caused the Browns to lose the game.

I’m not going to blame the offense for going three-and-out on its first two possessions of the second half.

Sure, some points off of those drives would have really helped, but that’s not what caused the Browns to lose the game.

I’m not going to blame the defense for allowing the Falcons to score 13 points in the fourth quarter on their last three possessions.

Sure, that was a killer, but it’s not what caused the Browns to lose the game.

And I’m not going to blame the offensive line for allowing a sack in the final seconds on the final possession after the Browns had driven into Atlanta territory.

Sure, it, in effect, ended their hopes, but it’s not what caused the Browns to lose the game.

Rather, I’m going to blame All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, the best player on the team
— and the Browns’ top people — for the loss to a really bad Falcons team.

Garrett wasn’t able to play because he was banged up. And he was banged up because he drove his car way too fast and lost control, causing the vehicle to roll over a number of times. He was driving like that because he is irresponsible, ignorant and selfish, not caring at all about the team.

He has been caught speeding more times than he has sacks. And he was able to do these misdeeds because the Browns’ top people were either unaware of the problem, or did know about it and allowed him to keep doing it
again, again and again. Either way, it’s a dereliction of duty.

If Garrett had played, then he might have made the difference in the game. The Browns needed to make one big defensive play to stop any of Atlanta’s three fourth-quarter scoring drives, but the guy being paid tons of money to do those things wasn’t available.

Nice job, everyone.

Steve King