3 Plays that changed the Cleveland Browns outcome in Week 4

No. 1 – Busted Coverage

The ultimate straw that broke the camel’s back yesterday for the Cleveland Browns was the busted coverage late in the fourth quarter. After deciding to pass on a long field goal, Stefanski punted the ball which Ronnie Harrison fielded at the nine-yard line vs. letting it bounce and roll at least another five yards, but that’s a separate issue.

After giving up over 100 yards rushing the previous two drives, the Browns finally stopped the Falcons on first down and caused a second and 10. This finally forced Mariota to throw the ball, and it was all downhill after this play.

Cleveland got pressure but couldn’t tackle Mariota who did break contain to the left. He then all but heaved a ball across his body to a receiver that looked like he was fielding a punt by the time it got there. The receiver then broke a tackle and gained 42 yards to the Cleveland side of the field.  On top of that, Denzel Ward grabbed his facemask which added another 15-yards to the gain.

I’ll be honest, I expected the Falcons to score a touchdown after the busted coverage left a guy so wide open. In the initial review, it appears that Greg Newsome got caught watching the quarterback and never saw the receiver get behind him. These types of plays will happen when a quarterback breaks contain, but it happens far too often to the Browns right now.