Cleveland Browns: Too hot in this Kitchens

The Cleveland Browns fell to 2-5 in Week 8. While a loss to the defending champion Patriots isn’t the end of the world, their lack of preparation could be.

There was a lot of heat being put on Freddie Kitchens following the Cleveland Browns Week 6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie head coach had just seen his team fall to 2-4 as they were knocked off in a close 32-28 contest.

Afterward, there was a lot of blame being passed around as the Browns lost a game they very well could have won. They moved the ball well, gaining 406 yards and were incredibly balanced getting 157 on the ground and 249 through the air.

However, they were also guilty of nine penalties and had four turnovers — Seattle had more penalties but Cleveland lost more yards on theirs. Those miscues are frustrating on their own but making it worse is the fact that Cleveland has been struggling with them all season while showing no signs of correcting the problems.

That frustration was reportedly felt at the top as NFL Insider John Clayton said he was hearing talk that Kitchens could have been fired following the loss.

Apparently the powers that be decided to give the first-year coach the chance to redeem himself because he has remained on the sidelines. However, his first chance to show he can start to turn things around was a massive failure.

With two weeks to get ready for the New England Patriots, Kitchens and his team came out looking completely unprepared. They had a turnover on three of the first four possessions while also being called for 13 penalties in the game.

The worst of those flags came late in the fourth quarter when Kitchens decided to save a timeout on a fourth-and-11. Down 27-10 sitting on the New England 24, Freddie decided he wanted to go for it but apparently wasn’t ready with his call. So instead, he had KhaDarel Hodge intentionally false start on a punt so he could talk to his offense.

Not only did this move them inside New England’s 20, but it also made it fourth-and-16, which put their franchise quarterback in a terrible situation. Baker Mayfield had to drop back and wait for a play to develop, which is a terrible idea when your offensive line has been playing the way Cleveland’s has.

Unsurprisingly, Mayfield was sacked. Not only that, but it was by two defenders as Chase Winovich and Adam Butler sandwiched No. 6, who was slow to get up after the hit. So not only did he put his team in an impossible — and embarrassing — situation, but Freddie also nearly got the face of the franchise injured.

Losing to New England isn’t the worst thing that could happen. They’re six-time champions for a reason. Also, being outcoached by Bill Belichick isn’t something to hang your head about. He’s simply the best in the game right now — and maybe ever.

What is bad though, is coming off a bye week looking completely unprepared for the game. There’s no excuse for that, and if Kitchens thought things were hot following the Seattle loss, he hasn’t seen anything yet.

Whether it’s all on him or not, the heat in this Kitchens has been turned up as a season full of expectations has fallen apart in the blink of an eye.