Cleveland Browns get blown out at home to fall to 0-4 in 2017
The Cleveland Browns got embarrassed at home against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that was never competitive, falling to 0-4 on the year.
The Cleveland Browns played competitive football in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it has all been downhill since then.
The Browns fall to 0-4 after a 31-7 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that didn’t see the Browns score until late in garbage time of the supposed rivalry game.
DeShone Kizer had another rough day, but he has nothing to work with on offense. His one interception came deep in Bengals territory when a ball hit off Kenny Britt‘s chest and bounced into the air, providing a familiar sight for Browns fans in 2017.
The defense had its worst game of the season as well. The group was without Jamie Collins, Danny Shelton and Myles Garrett, but Andy Dalton looked like a superstar after having an average start to the season.
The fact both teams were 0-3 entering today shows how far away the Browns are from being a contender. With the way the Bengals destroyed them, it is hard to imagine the two teams being on a similar level in any sense.
The same problems popped up again this afternoon, as the offense failed to capitalize early and the defense caved in after a nice first quarter to begin the game. Isaiah Crowell finished with seven carries for 20 yards, while Duke Johnson had four carries for 13 yards.
Establishing any sort of running game seems to be out of the question for this team. Trailing early and often leads to more passing, but that hasn’t worked out too well in four weeks. At least trying to pound the ball on the ground could potentially lead to something different. It’s worth a shot.
The running game is nonexistent, the receivers are terrible and the quarterback is a 21-year-old rookie with no playmakers around him. It is not an impossible situation in which to succeed, but Kizer is facing an insanely uphill battle.
Add in the defense not having a dominant game yet and things are looking more and more like 2016 with each passing week.
The best thing to do after watching this game is to forget it happened. Burn the game tape and focus on the New York Jets. Trying to take any positives from the performance would just be contrived at this point.
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I don’t believe this team will go 0-16 this year, but I see why some people may think that. Football is such a random sport where the Browns could surprise us and put together one or two great games, but nothing they have done so far would inspire any confidence.