Cleveland Browns Grades: Browns need to repeat the 10th Week
Cleveland Browns Offensive Grade: F
No NFL team is going to win very many games when they score just seven points. The Browns found that out the hard way on Sunday.
Baker Mayfield played lousy football in a game where he had a chance to continue to quiet his critics. Now, said critics will have another game to use in their assertation of Mayfield.
Mayfield finished the game 11-of-21 for 73 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Yikes. He left the game in the third quarter after taking a hit from Matt Judon. Add a knee injury to his shoulder and foot injuries. He said he will have to be “day-by-day” and “find a way to get healthy.”
If you are on Browns Twitter, you have likely seen the Mayfield Cycle. If not, it goes as follows: Plays like s—t, criticized by media, underdog mentality, beat inferior opponent, call out doubters, repeat.
Tomorrow he is certainly going to get criticized by the media and rightfully so. Luckily, next week is a game against the winless Lions. We’ll see what happens.
Baker isn’t the sole reason the offense failed today. David Njoku dropped two passes, one of which was a touchdown. That is uncharacteristic of the Chief.
A lot of the blame has to go to head coach Kevin Stefanski, who is in the midst of a sophomore slump as the coach, a year removed from winning the NFL Coach of the Year award.
His play-calling after the opening drive, which is scripted, is highly questionable, and I’m not referring to the show that used to air on ESPN.
On the opening drive, D’Ernest Johnson, who is filling in for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, rushed four times for 58 yards. He got them inside the five and did not see another carry the rest of the drive, which ended in Baker finding Austin Hooper for a fourth-down touchdown.
Johnson saw three carries the rest of the half. Instead of continuing to utilize the running game, Stefanski was drawing up five-wide shotgun sets. Why? Continue to run the football. Each week it seems as if Stefanski is abandoning the rushing attack and it’s baffling, as the Browns entered Sunday as the second-best unit in the league.
For whatever reason, it seems as if Stefanski panics if the other team scores, which the Patriots did to tie the game. Stefanski elected to turn from the running game and it didn’t work out well. The Browns receivers caught five passes for 42 yards. Jarvis Landry had four catches for 26 yards and Donovan Peoples-Jones had a catch for 16 yards.
Johnson led the team in receptions with seven and yards with 58. Not a formula for success.
After every loss this season, including on Sunday, we have heard Stefanski say “We got outcoached and outplayed.” That should not be a thing time and time again. It is starting to get to the “I have to watch the tape” days of Hue Jackson.
This team has a lot to figure out if they want to go back to the playoffs. Luckily, the AFC North all took a hit this weekend as the Ravens lost to the Dolphins, the Steelers tied the Lions, and the Bengals did not play. Cleveland is only a game-and-a-half out of the division lead and half-game behind a playoff spot.
A lot of accountability needs to be had by every member of the roster and coaching staff, but it starts at the top with Stefanski.
On to Detroit.