Cleveland Browns: 3 improvements needed Thursday night vs. Bengals

Cut out the special teams blunders

None of the three phases of the game were particularly charming for the Browns on Sunday, but the special teams unit somehow managed to be the worst. As the prepare for the Bengals, this is certainly an area of extreme improvement Thursday night.

To start, a failed fake punt led to a Baltimore touchdown, and while the call itself was not bad, the execution of the play was subpar as two missed blocks crushed any hopes. Further on in the game, kicker Austin Seibert missed an extra point and a field goal at the end of the half that led to a massive 10 point swing right before the break. Seibert, another example of why teams should not draft kickers, has since been waived and claimed by the Bengals and will be back in Cleveland Thursday.

Former Brown Cody Parkey is now back on the active roster in Cleveland and will look to improve the kicking game for the future. Fingers crossed on this endeavor as his last experience kicking was a missed field goal in the playoffs for the Chicago Bears that hit both uprights.

As if these blunders were not enough, the Browns also somehow managed to rack up a whopping three penalties on the third phase of the game. Special Teams coach Mike Priefer must get his unit into shape as the Browns surrendered far too much free yardage from special teams.