Pat Shurmur: 2011 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals
The Cleveland Browns got off to an exciting, albeit losing, debut under head coach Pat Shurmur in a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns fell behind 13-0 only to rally back to take a one-point lead at the half after a pair of Colt McCoy touchdown passes. Cleveland pushed the lead to 17-13 on a Phil Dawson field goal in the third quarter before the fun began.
In the fourth quarter the Browns defense had the Bengals on the ropes, facing a third-and-11 situation with Bruce Gradkowski in a quarterback for the injured Andy Dalton. But the defense fell asleep in the huddle as Gradkowski quick-snapped the ball and hit A. J. Green for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Bengals the lead with a little more than four minutes remaining.
The Browns still had a chance to win, but managed just a lone first down on their next two possessions, allowing Cincinnati to put the game away on Cedric Benson’s 39-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes remaining.
Rob Chudzinski: 2013 vs. the Miami Dolphins
The Browns opened Rob Chudzinski’s one year in charge with a forgettable 23-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Cleveland scored its lone touchdown of the day on a touchdown pass from Brandon Weeden to Jordan Cameron just before halftime to take a 7-6 lead. That was despite five offensive penalties and three interceptions in the first half.
Despite holding the Dolphins to just 20 rushing yards, the Browns defense had no answer for Ryan Tannehill, who threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline in the third quarter, and completed six passes for 78 yards on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive.
Weeden was sacked six times and running back Trent Richardson managed just 47 rushing yards — none in the fourth quarter.
Mike Pettine: 2014 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers
It may have ended in predictable fashion, but for 60 minutes the Browns gave as good as they got in dropping a 30-27 decision to the Steelers.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer rallied the Browns to 24 second-half points to tie the score, only to see Pittsburgh kicker Shaun Suisham hit a 41-yard field goal at the gun to give Pittsburgh the win. Prior to Suisham’s game-winning kick, the Browns had the ball with a chance to win the game, but mismanaged the drive and were forced to punt.
Hoyer passed for 222 yards and a touchdown, Terrance West rushed for 100 yards and Isaian Crowell added a pair of rushing touchdowns, but it was not enough as the defense allowed 503 yards of total offense.
Next: Q&A with Inside the Iggles
While Jackson’s tenure won’t be defined by what happens on Sunday against the Eagles, a win would be a nice way to kick things off — especially given what has occurred over the past two decades.
“Our whole organization has something to prove. We all have a chip on our shoulder, you know. We’ve been the brunt of jokes over several years, and deservedly so, [because] we haven’t played very good football,” Jackson recently told NFL.com. “So, I get it and I understand it, and I’m a part of it now. And at the end of the day … I don’t like being a part of jokes. So, we’re gonna do everything we can here to win, and that’s the message that I give to our football team and our organization every single day.”