A loss is a loss is a loss
By STEVE KING
When the Browns played ugly but still managed to defeat the Detroit Lions earlier this season, I pointed out that style points don’t count for anything in the NFL, and that a win is a win is a win.
Remember that?
It makes a lot of sense. It is truer than true. It is a fact.
And as such, likewise the same goes for losses in which a team plays well, or at least does something good with its play.
The Browns played their hearts out against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday evening at FirstEnergy Stadium. With all kinds of key players missing due to COVID-19 protocols, they played about as well as could be expected.
Give them a pat on the back for that. Good effort. No, make that great effort.
And so on and so forth. Blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
But the fact of the matter — the much more important part of it — is that the Browns didn’t win. They lost 16-14 on a rocket-shot last-play field goal.
A loss is a loss is a loss.
That’s what counts. All they ask after the game — this game, that game, any game — is, “Did you win or lose?”
And, as mentioned, the Browns lost.
They lost because — let’s be honest here — they were depleted by the coronavirus.
They lost because their defense, despite having a pair of ends named Myles Garrett and Jadaveon Clowney, let down at the end, permitting the Raiders drive into position to hit the field goal.
They lost because they don’t have a fast, deep-threat wide receiver to chase those safeties out of the box, thus opening up holes in the running game.
They lost because they haven’t yet made FirstEnergy Stadium a horrible place for visiting teams.
And they lost because … well, they don’t know how to win yet.
The 75 Greatest Browns drafted by Ray Yannucci, Mike McLain, Steve Doerschuk and Steve King.
Browns place 5 players in 2022 Pro Bowl – provided by the Browns media center
The Browns have their most Pro Bowl representatives since 2014
By Anthony Poisal, ClevelandBrowns.com Staff Writer
Five Browns players have earned a roster spot for the NFL’s 2022 Pro Bowl.
G Joel Bitonio, DE Myles Garrett, RB Nick Chubb, G Wyatt Teller and CB Denzel Ward were all selected to represent Cleveland at the NFL’s annual top-talent showcase, which unveiled the Browns’ selections Monday before their Week 15 kickoff against the Raiders.
The Browns’ five Pro Bowlers are the most they’ve sent to the game since the 2013 season, when they had six.
Additionally, DE Jadeveon Clowney, FB Andy Janovich, C JC Tretter and T Jedrick Wills Jr. were selected as alternates.
Bitonio and Garrett were each selected to be starters for the second consecutive season.
Bitonio, the longest-tenured Browns player and leading vote-getter of all NFL guards, was named to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and is the first Browns guard to be named to four consecutive Pro Bowls since Pro Football Hall of Famer Gene Hickerson made six straight from 1966-71. At 30 years old and in his eighth NFL season, Bitonio has been a huge piece in helping the Browns maintain a top-five run game in the league despite the offense occasionally missing key pieces in the trenches and in the backfield. He also hasn’t missed a snap since 2016. Bitonio (four) only trails Gene Hickerson (six) and Jimmy Ray Smith (five) for most Pro Bowl selections by a Browns guard.
Garrett, the leading vote-getter in the AFC for defensive ends, has been among the league leaders in sacks all season and enters Week 15 with 15, which is the Browns’ single-season record. He also set a franchise record in Week 3 when he recorded 4.5 sacks against the Bears, the most a Browns player had ever totaled in a game. Garrett has sacks in 12 of the Browns’ 14 games this season and has been a consummate leader for a defense that ranks fifth in the NFL in total defense. He’s the first Browns DE to make three Pro Bowls since Bill Glass (1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968) made four.
Chubb has been able to hang around near the top of the league’s rushing leaders race despite missing three games. He’s fifth in the NFL with 926 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, which leads all Browns players, and is 74 yards away from his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. His hard-nosed run style has been once again arguably the biggest weapon on offense and has helped him total four games with 100 or more rushing yards this season. Chubb joins Jim Brown (1958-66) and Leroy Kelly (1967-72) as the only Browns RBs to make three consecutive Pro Bowls.
Teller will earn his first Pro Bowl nomination since he entered the league in 2018. He’s posted weekly displays of punishing pancake blocks and has been a tremendous asset in the interior, and he’s also been on the field for 100 percent of the offensive snaps this season. Teller and Bitonio being elected to the Pro Bowl also marks the fifth time in team history that two guards made the Pro Bowl and first since 1967 when Gene Hickerson and John Wooten were selected. It’s also the first time two Browns offensive linemen made the Pro Bowl since T Joe Thomas and C Alex Mack in 2013.
Ward’s Pro Bowl nomination, his second, comes after one of the best months of his career. He recorded three interceptions in November, which tied his career-high and includes a 99-yard pick-six in Week 9, and leads the Browns with eight passes defensed. Ward’s leadership and consistency in the secondary has been one of the biggest reasons why the Browns have established one of the league’s best defenses in the second half of the season. He’s the first Browns CB to make two Pro Bowls since Joe Haden in 2014-15.
The 2022 Pro Bowl presented by Verizon will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 6, at 3:00 PM ET and will be televised on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and simulcast on ABC.
Roster selections for the Pro Bowl are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players. The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its All-Star teams.
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