4 Cleveland Browns to blame for loss to the Rams in Week 13

The Pacific coast hasn't been good to the Cleveland Browns. They continue to struggle when they visit teams on that coast and had another rough one on Sunday. This time, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 36-19.

As rough as that final score looks, the game was much closer than this for the most part. It was 20-19 in the fourth quarter and the Browns had the ball with a chance to take the lead. They fell apart from there, unfortunately, and the Rams ran away with it. Now, we look back and point out four players who had a hand in the defeat.

Cleveland Browns center, Ethan Pocic

Cleveland started hot as they scored quickly on their opening drive but they needed to convert on a third-and-14 to make that happen. The reason they were behind the sticks was due to a four-yard loss on a run from Jerome Ford, and it was Ethan Pocic who was beaten on that play. Aaron Donald pushed him out of the way and was able to end the play before it got close to the line of scrimmage.

His struggles didn't end there as Pocic was unable to hold off his defender again during a drive in the second quarter. After the Rams missed a field goal, the Browns were trying to march down the field and either tie it or take the lead. They didn't get that chance after Bobby Brown beat Pocic to take Ford down for a six-yard loss.

Joe Flacco nearly made up for it with a 13-yard completion on second-and-16 but then Kareem Hunt was shut down on third-and-three. This time, Hunt was hit for a one-yard loss, which was the third run in a row that went for no gain, or a loss of yardage.

Pocic is one of the top pass protectors in the NFL but this wasn't his best game when it comes to run blocking. With the size of the Los Angeles defensive tackles, it's hard to come down on him. And by the end of the game, things were better but the missed opportunities early when it was a close game came back to haunt them.

Cleveland Browns cornerback, Martin Emerson

Ever since being selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Martin Emerson has been a very good player for the Browns. He was one of the better rookie defensive backs in the league last year and has continued to perform well this season. Unfortunately, he didn't have his best game on Sunday.

With Denzel Ward out due to a shoulder injury, the Browns have been asking for more from Emerson and Greg Newsome. Last week, Newsome was beaten on several plays including a long pass interference call on a scoring drive. This weekend, it was Emerson who was hit with the flag that put the opponent in scoring range.

Near the end of the first quarter, Emerson was lined up across from Tutu Atwell, who isn't a great matchup for the physical Emerson. Atwell, who is 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, is an absolute burner and used that speed to get past Emerson. Mathew Stafford aired one out for him and Emerson panicked as he ran right into Atwell and tackled him before the ball arrived.

That was a 41-yard penalty and while the Rams didn't score thanks to a missed field goal, Emerson probably could have made a play on the ball. The throw was short and had Emerson turned his head, he would have been in a position to potentially take it away — or at least knock it down. Since he didn't, the Rams moved to the Cleveland 28 and could have taken a larger lead.

He made some stops from there but overall, the secondary gave up far too many plays. Puka Nacua had 105 yards and a touchdown and Cooper Kupp had 39 on six receptions with another touchdown. Again, the corners were asked to step up and again, they fell short without Ward.

Cleveland Browns punt returner, James Proche

The first half was a battle of field position as the Browns and Rams each scored quickly but then started to share punts. Eventually, Los Angeles completely took over in this department thanks to a punt that pushed Cleveland back to their own two-yard line. That never should have happened though, since the punt rolled about 20 yards after it hit the turf.

Return man James Proche was lined up to field the kick but started to waive his team away, indicating he was going to let it go. He did exactly that and the Rams downed it at the two. Typically, this is how a punt is handled inside the 10-yard line but this kick originally hit around the 22-yard line.

Instead of waiving it off, this is one Proche should have gotten under it and fielded the ball. Even a fair catch is better since it puts them in the same spot they would have been if the ball did go into the end zone. Thankfully, the defense forced a three-and-out, and this time, the ball did go into the end zone for a safety — of course, that one barely went into the end zone, making it a nervous situation as well.

Proche did end up with two returns for 30 yards, and each was a 15-yard gain. He's incredibly quick and it's easy to see why the Browns want him fielding kicks. But that one was a mistake that took a lot of momentum away from the offense, even if it didn't lead to disaster.

1. Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco

This one is tough to dive into since he played so well for the majority of the game but at the end, Joe Flacco had a costly turnover. He also missed a couple of passes that could have extended drives, or even gotten his team into the end zone. In all, his performance was encouraging, especially given the circumstances.

For the fourth time this season, the Browns had a new starting quarterback. The 38-year-old Flacco was elevated from the practice squad, got the start, and was brilliant on his opening drive. He was able to throw for 65 yards while completing four-of-five attempts, including a 22-yarder on third-and-14 to Amari Cooper. He then capped that drive off with a 24-yard touchdown to Jerome Ford.

From there, he continued to throw the ball well and even hit Elijah Moore for a 42-yard reception. However, on that one, the Browns could have had a touchdown if Flacco threw it with more accuracy but considering he's been with this team for just a couple of weeks, it was still encouraging to see he had four passes over 20 yards in the first half — including the 42-yarder. For some perspective, Cleveland had just two completions over 20 yards in Weeks 11 and 12 combined.

Flacco even threw a touchdown to Harrison Bryant in the fourth quarter making it a one-point game. But then with a chance to go down for the lead, he threw a terrible pass that was picked off by John Johnson III. He then missed two passes in a row after falling behind by eight.

After the game, Kevin Stefanski wouldn't commit to Flacco starting in Week 14. It would make sense to give him a shot at home after he had 254 yards passing and two touchdowns. But the costly interception might give them pause against the Jaguars.

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