Cleveland Browns need to learn how to play with a lead

Leads need to be protected better by Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns made history on Sunday night when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers for their first playoff win in 26 years. This is something that should be celebrated, and very much so before any critiquing takes place. So, go ahead, let’s celebrate!

Now, as fun as the game Sunday night was, there is a trend that is starting to develop with the Browns with how they perform late in games. They seem to take their foot off of the proverbial gas pedal when they get out to big leads early on in the game.

Some of this is understandable because, of course, you are going to play your defenders back on defense and attempt to chew clock on offense. That makes sense, to an extent. But it is no use to play prevent on defense and chew clock on offense if your opponent claws back into the game in the process.

Cleveland has gotten out to huge, early leads three times so far this season: Week 4 in Dallas, Week 13 in Tennessee, and the Wild Card Round of the playoffs in Pittsburgh. In all three of those games, they ended up letting their opponent back into the game in the end.

In the Week 4 matchup against the Cowboys, the Browns had a 41-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. The game seemed to be all but over, so they started to relax their defense a bit and run the clock on offense.

Dallas preceded to score three unanswered touchdowns, all with two-point conversions to make the score 41-38. If Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t have this epic 50-yard touchdown run, the Browns could have lost that game.

In Week 13, the Browns also got a huge lead. They were up 38-7 at halftime against the Titans. Cleveland laid off the gas and the Titans outscored the Browns 28-3 in the second half. The Titans were an onside kick recovery away from having a chance to win the game.

Cleveland is seeming to cultivate a habit of losing focus when they have a big lead and it has let teams back into the game when they never should have been in the first place.

The problem of slowing down at the end of games doesn’t just stay in that game either. If you slow down in a game, it goes against the idea that you need to play your hardest on every play. That is hard to snap out of and it shows in the following games after the Browns allow their opponents back into the game.

Following the win in Dallas, the Browns’ first drive against the Indianapolis Colts slowed to a halt in the red zone ending in a field goal. The Colts responded with a touchdown leaving the Browns at a deficit at the end of the first quarter. The Browns would go on to win the game in the end but there is no denying that they did not start with the same intensity that they had at the beginning of the game just one week earlier.

The Browns also came out flat in the game following their win against Tennessee. The defense was unable to stop Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense early and allowed him to get hot. With Lamar Jackson running a smooth offense, Cleveland fell to a 14-point deficit late in the third quarter and was unable to do enough to keep up with the Ravens as they lost a heartbreaker 47-42.

This is the problem with slowing down at the end of games, it is hard to get back up to speed. This ended up costing the Browns in the games immediately following as they tend to struggle early on.

With the Browns getting another early lead only to let their opponent back in on Sunday night. It has to bring into question whether or not the Browns will come out slow in their divisional-round matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The name of the game in the playoffs is to survive and advance and that is what the Browns did last week. Scores don’t matter in the end, but they can be an indicator of something bigger that is going on.

The Browns cannot afford to come out slow and lethargic this Sunday. The Chiefs have one of the most potent offenses in NFL history and will show no mercy to the Browns if they aren’t up to speed come game time. This is a trend that has to end this week otherwise the Browns may have a long game on Sunday.