The Cleveland Browns have a long way to go as a football team this season. With a young team like the Browns have, there's little room for error if you want to win games on Sundays. Unfortunately, Cleveland made mistake after mistake, and they lost to the New York Jets on a soggy Sunday in New York, 17-12.
The ugly weather led to some ugly football on both sides. In the end, Cleveland's miscues were too much to overcome. Many Browns fans were hoping their team would be able to get a fourth win in a row. Now it's back to the drawing board.
Before they get to their next home game against the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday, let's break down the grades for each position group in Week 5.
Cleveland's defense did enough to win, but the offense and special teams couldn't hold up
Quarterback
It wasn't the worst performance by Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, but it wasn't very good, either. Watson made a few nice plays. He connected on a beautiful 29-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston in the fourth quarter that gave the Browns a 12-10 lead with 6:15 remaining.
Watson and the offense had a chance to run out the clock on their ensuing possession following a Jets fumble, but they never gained another first down for the remainder of the game. On that drive, Watson had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage and the Browns had to punt the ball away.
That led to a special teams blunder by Cleveland as Browns punter Corey Bojorquez couldn't handle a high snap. The ball sailed through his hands and ended with the Jets recovering deep in Browns territory.
Watson had two more opportunities to make another fourth-quarter comeback but failed on both attempts. On a final fourth-down play, he got sacked for the eighth time in the game and fumbled.
Watson finished 15 for 33 for 155 yards passing. He did have one nice run of 20 yards, finishing with 40 yards for the game.
Grade: C
Running backs
This unit is the biggest concern for the Browns. The run game was nonexistent in this one and for that matter, has been that way all season.
Lead back Quinshon Judkins had another rough game. There have been questions about Judkins' production so far this season and who's at fault for the poor numbers.
I believe Judkins is at fault for most of his bad play. He can't find the holes in the line and often doesn't follow his blockers. He dances too much in the backfield before making a move forward.
When the game was on the line late, the Browns had a golden opportunity to put it away when they had a 12-10 lead. There were just over four minutes left, and the Jets would need to use their timeouts — or so it seemed.
Instead, on first down, Judkins ran the ball to the right and then out of bounds, stopping the clock. It wasn't a smart football play. A few plays later, the Browns botched the snap on a punt and the Jets took the lead.
Judkins finished with 44 yards rushing and 3.1 yards a carry, right in line with his averages on the season. It hasn't been good enough.
Grade: F
Wide receivers/Tight ends
It wasn't a good day for this group, either. If Denzel Boston hadn't caught a touchdown pass from Watson late in this game, the grade would have been lower.
It didn't help that rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion was injured early in the game with a concussion.
The lead receiver was Isaiah Bond, who had three catches for 74 yards. However, he was targeted by Watson seven times and dropped four passes that would have changed the outcome of the game. Bond had a chance to convert a lengthy 2nd-and-19 late but dropped the pass in the rainy conditions.
Tight end Harold Fannin was a non-factor in this game after starting out hot this season. He only caught one pass for 4 yards.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
The offensive line unit was bad on Sunday, giving up eight sacks. The Browns' run game also played poorly.
Was it all the offensive line's fault? Probably not, because their running back wasn't finding the holes that the unit was helping create.
However, this unit didn't do enough to help the Browns win this game. The Browns' offense was stuck in the mud for most of the game. Just in the second half, Cleveland's offense had five three-and-outs.
The Browns never got going offensively.
Grade: D-
Defensive line
This unit got three sacks on the day and created pressure early, but it didn't impact Jets quarterback Geno Smith enough as the game progressed.
Jets running back Braelon Allen had a career day, rushing the ball for 116 yards and the game-winning touchdown, which saw him run 22 yards untouched for the score.
Grade: C
Linebackers
The best Browns group continues to be the linebackers. Carson Schwesinger and Quincy Williams were everywhere on the football field.
Williams forced three fumbles, and the team recovered one of them deep in their own territory. Schwesinger stripped Jets quarterback Geno Smith late in the game to give the offense a chance to close out the game.
The two linebackers combined for 20 tackles and a sack.
Grade: A
Defensive backs
This unit did some good things in the game and defended well, but had stretches that weren't good enough.
The Browns allowed Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson to catch seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Wilson did the majority of that damage on the game's opening drive.
Grade: C
Special teams
The one unit on the team that had been really good all season had a number of blunders that made it a game to forget.
The biggest mistake took place late in the fourth quarter when Bojorquez wasn't able to handle a high snap on a punt. The play set the Jets up to win the game.
Browns kicker Andre Szmyt was also having problems. He missed a crucial extra point after the Browns had taken a 12-10 lead.
Grade: D
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