Cleveland Browns surprises and disappointments in 2021 season
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns Disappointment No. 1 – Inability to close games
The biggest disappointment for me in 2021 was the Cleveland Browns inability to close tight games. While there were six, they should have won, the Chargers, Raiders, and Chiefs games are the first three to come to mind.
These are three games where one more first down and the game is over. You don’t even have to give the ball back to the other team. So many times, in 2020, Nick Chubb would have gotten the ball three straight times and the defense wouldn’t have had an answer. That just didn’t happen this season for the Browns.
I get it, you can’t win them all, but the Browns didn’t win any of the 50-50 games. They had the ball with a chance to take the lead vs. the Steelers, Ravens, and Packers and completely failed.
If the team would have found a way to just win two of the six games I have mentioned above, there is a heck of a chance that they are still playing next Sunday.
The blame goes everywhere on this one. The offensive line struggled to make holes, Mayfield threw interceptions, Stefanski wasn’t creative or trusting in his quarterback, and the defense just couldn’t get off the field when they needed to a few times.
One of the biggest focuses this offseason needs to be figuring out how to close a game.