Cleveland Browns instant reactions: Freddie Kitchens seals fate in ugly loss to Ravens

Freddie Kitchens still seems confused

Freddie Kitchens continues to make questionable calls. One example was a 3rd-and-2 in the second quarter where Freddie decided to go with an empty set and throw the ball despite having the best running back in football.

Nick Chubb, who entered the game as the leading rusher in the league was watching as Baker Mayfield threw a pass to tight end Demetrius Harris, who had room to run. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pull it in and the Browns were unable to convert.

They did make up for it and ended up scoring on the drive but that was thanks to penalties by Baltimore rather than Cleveland making the plays they needed to.

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Kitchens was also indecisive in that drive, going back and forth with the decision to kick it, or go for it on 4th-and-1 from the Ravens 23. He was bailed out by the refs bringing in the chains for review, otherwise, they likely would have wasted a timeout due to his waffling.

If these were his only mistakes, they could be forgiven. But they weren’t.

Kitchens started the game out by taking the ball rather than deferring. That was an effort to set the tone but all it did was allow them to get a single first down before punting. Their defense held so it seemed as though it wasn’t a major issue, until the final two minutes.

Up 6-0, the Browns had some questionable play calls as they were throwing the ball and not killing the clock. With 1:50 left to play, Baltimore scored on just two plays — the second being a 39-yard touchdown to Mark Andrews.

Cleveland then got the ball back and Kitchens called three consecutive passing plays, all of which were incomplete. Baltimore had no timeouts and there was just over one minute to play but the Browns killed only 16 seconds.

Unsurprisingly, Baltimore again capitalized as Andrews hauled in a 14-yard touchdown with just nine seconds remaining. The best part for the road team, they were also getting the ball after the break. And that’s what really put it away. Already up 14-6, the Ravens got another touchdown following a long drive to start the third quarter — as yet another decision by Kitchens haunted this team.