Cleveland Browns: The QB carousel continues in loss to Patriots

The Cleveland Browns dropped to 0-5 after a 33-13 loss to the New England Patriots in Tom Brady’s return from his four-game suspension.

The Cleveland Browns are notorious for featuring several quarterbacks during the course of a season. The same holds true in 2016.

Cody Kessler began Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots at quarterback, but left after an injury in the first quarter that kept him out for the remainder of the game. Before the injury, Kessler threw a nice touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins to tie the game at 7-7. It came on a nice nine-play, 75-yard drive, but he was driven into the ground on the next possession, throwing the ball back into the end zone for a safety on his final pass of the day in a 33-13 loss.

Any chance of the Browns stealing the national attention away from the returning Tom Brady went away when Kessler went back into the locker room and Charlie Whitehurst assumed the quarterbacking duties.

While Brady led three consecutive touchdown drives to give the Patriots an early 23-7 lead, Whitehurst looked like what one would expect from a career backup who was watching football on television just a few weeks ago. He finished 14 for 24 with 182 yards and a touchdown pass, but the most memorable part of his day was when he left with a leg injury in the fourth quarter, effectively leaving the Browns out of quarterbacks.

Terrelle Pryor took over at the end of the game, but the Browns need him on the field as a receiver.

We will have to wait and see on the health of Kessler and Whitehurst, but it is clear that the Browns are unable to catch any breaks this year. Whoever lines up at quarterback seems destined to be injured, evident by the fact the Browns have had five players throw passes in the first five weeks of the season.

The focus of the offense heading into the game was the running game, specifically the play of Isaiah Crowell. Well, he finished with only 22 yards on 13 carries as the Browns had to focus on the passing game due to the early deficit.

Hue Jackson cannot be blamed for the slew of injuries to his quarterbacks in the first five weeks of the season, but he is going to have to get creative on offense until Josh McCown is ready to come back. Kessler has looked solid over the past three weeks, but putting him on the field when he is injured would just be wrong. After so many young quarterbacks have had stunted career growth in Cleveland, Kessler should be allowed to remain on the sidelines until he is fully healthy and ready to return.

Sunday’s loss drops the Browns to 0-5 with a matchup against the Tennessee Titans next week. That originally seemed like a possible first victory for the Browns, but with no clear starter at quarterback, it is hard to offer any positive prediction.

Next: Week 6 college QB tracker

Tom Brady quickly destroyed any hopes of a Browns upset on Sunday, leaving fans wondering if the team will win any games this season.