Cleveland Browns: Grades from loss vs. Dolphins

Special Teams: F

Cody Parkey missed three field goals. End of discussion. No, but seriously, the special teams unit cost the Browns the game for the second week in a row. Most notably, nine points were squandered due to the field goal unit, as Parkey missed his first, and his final two attempts.

As time expired in regulation, Parkey pulled the kick too far to the left, causing overtime instead of a Browns victory. Actually, Parkey pulled all three kicks wide left, likely meaning that he is swinging his leg and making contact with the ball too soon. Regardless of whether this is fixed or not, Browns fans hope to see their normal kicker back next week.

As for the other aspects of special teams, including punt and kick returns, not much went right or horribly wrong for the Browns. Due to an uneventful game in this respect, other plays made the difference.

Punter Britton Colquitt had the right idea punting for the majority of the game, driving the Dolphins back and toward the sidelines. But his final punt was a very bad one, setting up the Dolphins in Browns’ territory on the possession which eventually ended the game.

Special teams is such a difficult aspect of the game, and it always seems unfair to criticize players for mistakes on very few plays. But in reality, these few plays often cost teams games as was the case on Sunday. Fair or not, a true assessment of the game is not complete without bringing up the topic of special teams and discussing their flaws. In Sunday’s game, these areas of imperfection cost the team the game, automatically failing the special teams unit.