Cleveland Browns: 6 Studs and Duds from heartbreaking Divisional Round loss

Dud: The refs

The officiating is not why the Browns lost. They had opportunities to win the game, but they didn’t take advantage of them. That said, the referees were atrocious, and definitely had a significant impact, which is never a good thing.

In addition to a phantom offensive pass interference call on Donovan Peoples-Jones, the gift completion to Robinson, and plenty of missed holds, the refs were responsible for an absolutely devastating 10-point swing at the end of the first half that would have completely demoralized most teams.

Down 16-3, the Browns were driving deep into Kansas City territory with the clock winding down. Mayfield hit Rashard Higgins for a big gain and Higgins turned upfield to dive for the pylon in an attempt to score. Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen jarred the ball loose and it rolled out of the end zone before David Njoku could get to it. The play resulted in a touchback and the Chiefs drove downfield for a field goal to make it 19-3 going into halftime.

The problem is that Sorenson led with the crown of his helmet directly into the side of Higgins’ helmet, and made no effort to tackle the ballcarrier whatsoever. Pure helmet-to-helmet contact, and of course it wasn’t called.

Cleveland ended up scratching and clawing their way back into the game, but that point swing ultimately proved to be the difference. If only the crew had done their jobs…