The Cleveland Browns are now 1-4 after losing to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, so head coach Kevin Stefanski has been on the receiving end of criticism. However, Stefanski has a ton of defenders who are quick to remind critics that he is a two-time Coach of the Year, and will quickly be hired if Cleveland let him go. While that may all be true, Stefanski‘s hands aren’t clean.
As head coach, everything falls back on him, but there is one thing, specifically, that really highlights how Stefanski has struggled. Through five weeks of the season, Cleveland is the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored at least 20 points in a single game. As an offensive head coach, and the Browns’ offensive play caller, Stefanski has to answer for that.
Browns are the only team who haven’t scored 20 points in a single game this season
Sure, the quarterback position can be faulted, and so can the offensive line and the group of weapons. However, Cleveland isn’t unique in those struggles. There are quite a few teams with bad offenses, and question marks across their lineups, that still found a way to get 20 points on the board. The Browns don’t even have the worst offense based on yards per game, and they’re tied for the lowest points per game, but they are alone as the only team who hasn’t scored 20 or more points.
Teams like the Tennessee Titans, who have been shut out this season, have scored 20 twice. Even the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals, whose quarterbacks can’t stop giving the ball away, have scored more than twenty twice, and Vegas scored exactly 20 in a third game.
Simply put, even bad offenses can stumble into 20 points every now and then, but not the Browns. This problem also goes back beyond this season. Cleveland hasn’t scored 20 or more points in its last 10 games, including the final five games from last season. That’s not a good look, especially with an offensive head coach calling the plays.
Coaches are typically expected to be separators; individuals who can overcome challenges and create advantages for their teams. Stefanski hasn’t been doing that as of late. Anytime that’s brought up, people are quick to bring up what he did in the past, or how his circumstances are holding him back. But if he can’t even get his offense to score 20 points with suboptimal conditions, what has he really done recently that he can he hang his hat on?