Five Reasons the Cleveland Browns Lost to the Chiefs

There are probably closer to a million reasons as to why the Cleveland Browns lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. You could also take most of the issues the team had in the loss to the Buccaneers and stick them right in here as well. Nevertheless, here are five major reasons as to how the Browns took a big ‘ol dump on their season this past Sunday:

1) Since quarterback Jake Delhomme was out with an ankle injury, we figured we probably wouldn’t have to worry about debilitating interceptions or anything…oh wait. Seneca Wallace’s interception in the second quarter by Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers was returned for a touchdown – the only Chiefs touchdown on the day. You can’t always expect the defense to bail you out, but it once again played well enough for a win and the offense let it down, making that interception an extremely costly one.

2) Now head  coach Eric Mangini admits that the Browns should have used the Wildcat formation more. Seriously? How are the coaches not noticing this stuff ahead of time? Every fan in the world knew that when Wallace was starting, it opened up the possibility for more wildcat plays, more bootlegs, and anything else that could open up the playbook. Instead, the play-calling was just as conservative as it was in the Tampa game, which leads me to believe the coaching staff took the week off and just used the same game plan from Week 1.

3) This leads to the inevitable discussion about in-game adjustments. With the Browns, they just don’t happen. Either that or their halftime adjustments are to look as offensively-challenged as possible. If that’s the case, the Browns are amazing. To not score a single point against the Chiefs in the second half is bad, but to only cross midfield once, gain only three first downs (one by penalty), and complete only one pass to a wide receiver is a disgrace.

4) Josh Cribbs is the Browns’ dynamic, Pro Bowl, do-it-all player, right? Why is he not being utilized almost all the time, even just as a decoy? Sure, he had a 65-yard touchdown catch, but only one rush for one yard?

5) The Chiefs’ defense bottled up running back Jerome Harrison to the tune of 33 yards on 16 carries after he steamrolled them for a team-record 286 yards last season. He also lost a fumble, capping off another turnover-filled game that has led Mangini to give players the option of stopping the turnovers and penalties or risk getting benched.

More to come on this debacle, including actual reasons to be optimistic about the rest of the season!