Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos: 7 takeaways from the loss

Oct 18, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Robert Turbin (27) stiff arms Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris (25) during the first half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

For the second consecutive week the Cleveland Browns unexpectedly took an opponent into overtime, but unfortunately the guys in Orange and Brown came out on the wrong side of the score against the Denver Broncos.

Brandon McManus’ 34-yard field goal with 4:56 remaining kept the Broncos as one of the NFL’s undefeated teams and dropped the Browns to 2-4 on the season.

Here are seven takeaways – one for each time the Browns have lost to Denver quarterback Peyton Manning over the years – from what was, ultimately, a disappointing day on the lakefront.

That man Gary Barnidge

The Broncos came into the game with the NFL’s top-ranked defense, one that had only given up one passing touchdown through the season’s first five games.

So, of course, Cleveland quarterback Josh McCown found tight end Gary Barnidge with a pair of second-half touchdown passes, an 11-yarder in the third quarter and a 14-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Barnidge has now caught a touchdown pass in four consecutive games and leads the Browns with five touchdown receptions on the season. Ozzie Newsome and Jordan Cameron are the only tight ends in franchise history to have more than five touchdown receptions in franchise history, so Barnidge is in some interesting company.

That run defense – again

The Broncos came into the game as the league’s 30th-ranked rushing offense, averaging just 71.6 yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry.

“To be on the brink of a heck of win and to not be able to finish it, it is a tough deal.” – Head coach Mike Pettine

On Sunday the Browns allowed Denver to run for 152 yards and 4.6 yards per carry, the fifth time in six games that the defense has allowed 150 or more rushing yards in a game.

The Broncos also ran nine times on their game-winning 13-play drive as the Browns could not get Denver off the field and give the offense one last chance to pull out the win.

It’s not getting any better, people.

The pass defense did it’s job, however

The Browns intercepted Denver quarterback Peyton Manning three times – including what should have been a game-clinching interception by Barkevious Mingo in overtime.

The defense also extended Denver’s streak of offensive series without scoring a touchdown to 27, until Manning broke that streak by hitting Emmanuel Sanders for a 75-yard touchdown pass just one play after the Browns had taken a fourth-quarter lead.

But the defense, overall, did enough to put the Browns in position to win the game, which leads us to our next point.

Josh McCown won’t be player of the week this week

Yes, the Browns were playing the league’s top-ranked defense, but McCown still made too many mistakes and the offense subsequently struggled.

“They just made plays. We were just pressing, trying to get off the field, and they just made more plays than we did.” – linebacker Karlos Dansby

The Browns only had 298 yards of total offense and were just six-of-15 on third down. More importantly, McCown threw two interceptions – including one at the end of regulation when the Browns were trying to get into field goal range, lost a fumble on a sack when he (probably) should have known a Denver defender, and took two horrible sacks in overtime after Mingo’s interception handed the offense the ball at Denver’s 39-yard line.

The running game was no help, either, as the Browns averaged just 3.3. yards per carry. Duke Johson led the effort with nine carries for 38 yards, but Isaiah Crowell (11 rushes, 32 yards) and Robert Turbin (10 rushes, 27 yards) didn’t do much to help out the cause.

Looking at the offensive numbers, maybe the defense played a lot better than we’re giving them credit for.

A Pick-6 Daily Double

As bad as McCown’s interception was at the end of regulation, his one in the second quarter was worse because it ended up with Denver cornerback Aqib Talib bringing it back 63 yards for a touchdown – the eighth Pick-6 in Talib’s career.

The Browns matched it, though, when linebacker Karlos Dansby picked off Manning for the second time in the game and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown – his fifth career Pick-6. The score gave the Browns a lead with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game and seemed, at the time, like a game-changing play.

When the Browns are going to get a score from its defense, they need to find a way to pull out the win.

Travis Benjamin continues to make plays

“We’re going to get back to work on Monday and try to win the next game.” – Left tackle Joe Thomas

Even though he did not find the end zone, wide receiver Travis Benjamin still had a career-high nine receptions and posted his second 100-yard receiving game of the year.

Benjamin, who leads the Browns with 528 receiving yards, is on pace for 1,408 yards this season – which would be the second-highest total in franchise history.

Regrets? The Browns have a few

Despite all the things the Browns didn’t do on Sunday, they still were just a play away on multiple occasions from taking down one of the NFL’s unbeaten teams.

This team doesn’t quit – no one who’s being objective can argue otherwise after the past three weeks – but they also can’t make that one play to turn defeat into victory.

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Today’s game, just like the game against the San Diego Chargers from two weeks ago (and, possibly, the Oakland Raiders game as well) is going to haunt the Browns once the season is over as they were all games that were there for the taking.

With the AFC being filled with a jumble of flawed teams, the Browns at 4-2 (rather than 2-4) would be set up to make something happen this season.

Now, however, it’s just another week of talking about how they are going to bounce back, be resilient, and give it another shot next Sunday.

“That is obviously a good team,” linebacker Paul Kruger said after the game. “They clearly made more plays than we did to win the game, but I truly in my heart feel like we are the ones that beat ourselves, more so than the Broncos beating us.”

Next: Browns fall to Broncos in OT