Cleveland Browns after further review: What we learned from Divisional Round

Looking at the Cleveland Browns loss after the dust has settled

While it felt for a minute that the Cleveland Browns luck was finally turning and they were going to come away with a Divisional Round win in Kansas City, there just wasn’t enough fortune and the 2020 season comes to an end.

While winning would have been amazing, there is a lot to be proud of for this team, and many great things to come as they have found a few crucial pieces to the long-term puzzle.

On Sunday evening and even Monday morning, it was tough to not be bitter on a few things that didn’t go the Browns way, but now that the dust has settled let’s go over three important takeaways from the Brown’s last game of the season.

Don’t blame Higgins or the Refs

Perhaps the biggest play of the game was the fumble before the half that went through the endzone and became a touchback. Rashard Higgins made an outstanding effort on a pass from Baker Mayfield, but the Chiefs defender hit him just before the goal line jarring the ball loose.

There are two things that had fans fired up that I would like to address. First, don’t blame Higgins for this. Many people were saying he should have just gone down and let the clock run so Kansas City wouldn’t score again. While that’s correct, I can’t fault a guy for scoring. There’s no guarantee the touchdown would have come either. They could have easily run it three times and had to kick a field goal.

Second, don’t blame the refs. They clearly missed a head-to-head penalty, but on that play, there were so many things to watch and it’s impossible to get them all right. I get it, this was a 10-point swing as the Chiefs ended up kicking a field goal before the half, but that’s on the defense.

The whole event was a huge misfortune, but don’t put yourself in a situation where a single play can cost you a game. If you want to blame anyone for the loss, blame the defense that looked like swiss cheese for much of the game.