Who is to blame for Cleveland Browns recent struggles?

The Cleveland Browns suffered a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend but they have looked out of sync for a while. Who is to blame for this?

There’s been no shortage of finger-pointing over the past couple of weeks as the Cleveland Browns have been struggling — and it reached a fever pitch this weekend when they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Heading into the Week 8 game, it seemed Browns fans were beyond confident. It made little sense considering how out of sync they have looked this season but there were endless jokes being thrown out by everyone making fun of Ben Roethlisberger and his team.

But then, Big Ben got the last laugh as they knocked off the Browns at home. Aftward, the pitchforks were out as everyone is getting hit with the blame.

There are fingers pointed at Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham, and Kevin Stefanski. But who is at fault for this recent stretch of futility?

Who is to blame for the Cleveland Browns struggles?

The answer to this question isn’t an easy one — because there is no one person to point to. There are faults all over the roster and while everyone is mad at the above-mentioned names, there is a legitimate reason for each one of those complaints.

First is the quarterback, Baker Mayfield. On Sunday, he was solid and made a lot of great throws where his wideouts let him down. But he also missed some easy ones and it seems to be a weekly occurrence where he has receivers running open and he simply doesn’t see them.

In addition to that, Mayfield is often high on his passes and has had several chances to win a game at the end with one drive — and he continues to be on the losing side. Whatever excuses you can make for him, the elite quarterbacks find ways to win these games.

Considering he’s in his fourth NFL season, these are issues we shouldn’t be seeing anymore. So while he wasn’t at fault for Week 8 entirely, there is a lot of blame that deserves to fall on his shoulders for their 4-4 start.

What about the wideouts?

Are the receivers a problem? Yes, absolutely.

Ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, I was pushing hard for a game-changing wideout such as Rashod Bateman. It wasn’t a knock on Greg Newsome who is a solid player but this receiving corps just lacked a game-changer and we were fooling ourselves to think Odell Beckham would just turn back the clock despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Beckham has been completely non-existent and he and Mayfield may never get on the same page. Mary Kay Cabot even thinks No. 13 should be asking to be traded at the deadline this week.

As for Jarvis Landry, he started showing signs of decline last season. No one wanted to admit it because he’s a fan favorite but his tough style of play is catching up to him. Not only can he not stay healthy anymore but he’s struggling to make the routine plays. Sunday was bad, but it was also not just a blip.

How about the coaching?

Kevin Stefanski’s honeymoon seems to be over. The second-year head coach is feeling the heat from the fans following another game with some questionable play calls.

Stefanski has lost some favor for his continued failures on fourth down but the real issue is his reluctance to open the offense up. Every play seems to be a short pass or a run — and the runs on second-and-10 are beyond infuriating.

However, some of this could be on the roster. He’s likely avoiding these calls because of the issues mentioned above. As long as he struggles to trust this offense, he’s not going to open things up.

So to summarize, there are several people who deserve blame. The season is far from over but until they work out all of these issues, the Browns will continue to have a roller-coaster season.