{"id":111588,"date":"2024-10-08T00:10:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T17:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=111588"},"modified":"2024-10-08T00:10:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T17:10:45","slug":"browns-nightmare-season-takes-another-hit-following-blowout-loss-to-commanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=111588","title":{"rendered":"Browns\u2019 nightmare season takes another hit following blowout loss to Commanders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>LANDOVER, Md. \u2014 It was fair to wonder if the <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"38\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/team\/browns\/\">Cleveland Browns<\/a> might have to rely on their defense early in the season. It was perfectly fair to expect quarterback <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"2FClGss4NbY7sgLY\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/player\/deshaun-watson-2FClGss4NbY7sgLY\/\">Deshaun Watson<\/a> and play caller Kevin Stefanski to need a few weeks to push the right buttons for several reasons, a list that certainly starts with the fact that they\u2019ve never been a stylistic match. But it doesn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland has had offensive line issues \u2014 both personnel and performance \u2014 and even good O-lines need a few games to get in sync. The Browns overhauled their offensive coaching staff in the offseason, and Watson was limited until late July while recovering from shoulder surgery. Watson\u2019s health, a shortage of offensive linemen and approaching training camp like a summer camp for overprivileged kids led to Watson not taking one preseason snap.<\/p>\n<p>I could go on, and I could further straddle the line between excuse-making and reality. But reality has now slapped the Browns in the face. This is not a slow start. This is not one slip here and one strange circumstance there changing the shape of games, and this is not the occasional miss or mistake derailing a promising drive. This is worse than I thought, and it\u2019s worse than even the most concerned citizen externally or paranoid coach internally could have imagined.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5823426\/2024\/10\/06\/cleveland-browns-deshaun-watson-commanders\/\" class=\"go-deeper\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"go-deeper\">\n<div class=\"go-deeper-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/10\/06183656\/GettyImages-2177132745-1024x683.jpg?width=128&amp;height=128&amp;fit=cover&amp;auto=webp\" class=\"go-deeper\" alt=\"go-deeper\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-label\">GO DEEPER<\/p>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-title\">Lloyd: Browns need a QB change to salvage what&#8217;s left of their season<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sunday, the <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"62\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/team\/commanders\/\">Washington<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5824635\/2024\/10\/07\/deshaun-watson-kevin-stefanski-browns-commanders\/\">Commanders<\/a> sacked Watson seven times en route to a 34-13 victory. Other times, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5823426\/2024\/10\/06\/cleveland-browns-deshaun-watson-commanders\/\">Watson missed open receivers with errant passes<\/a> and sometimes by not throwing the ball at all. He\u2019s not giving the Browns a chance on some plays, and at other times his passes are being dropped or caught behind the line with the defense waiting. It appears Cleveland wants to start with some sort of quick game and misdirection and let that open lanes farther downfield, but the result has been so bad that it\u2019s hard to even diagnose what the intent might be, not just on a down-to-down basis but week to week.<\/p>\n<p>After the Browns got run out of the stadium by the Commanders to slip to 1-4, a five-game sample is enough to fairly say the team with the highest payroll in <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> history has the league\u2019s worst offense. And though the lack of discipline in other phases has shown up in the results during this losing streak that\u2019s reached three, it\u2019s the offense\u2019s lack of production that\u2019s putting every other area of the team in a bad spot.<\/p>\n<p>At 3.8 yards per play, the Browns have the least potent offense through five games of any NFL team since the 2018 <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"34\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/team\/bills\/\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/stathead.com\/tiny\/VAfVs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">per Stathead<\/a>. It was on its way to being the worst in 25 years until backup quarterback Jameis Winston and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5777785\/2024\/09\/19\/donta-foreman-nfl-journey-browns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">D\u2019Onta Foreman<\/a> connected for 16 yards with 1:22 to go.<\/p>\n<p>That was the Browns\u2019 first and only third-down conversion of the day. They finished 1-of-13 on third down and will remain last in the league in that all-important and often telling category. They converted third downs in September at a rate of just under 21 percent.<\/p>\n<p>On the first Sunday in October, they went backward. The numbers. The offense. The whole franchise, really. The Commanders in September had the No. 30 pass defense by defense-adjusted value over average, and they ranked at or near the bottom in multiple major defensive categories. Washington had won three straight because of its offense. For what should have been a desperate Cleveland team, this was a chance to crack 20 points for the first time this season and potentially try to win at least a bit of a shootout.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns only brought rubber bullets. There was no shootout and there wasn\u2019t even a contested game, despite the Commanders punting twice as many times in the first quarter (two) as they did in Weeks 2 through 4 combined (one).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5822640\/2024\/10\/06\/browns-commanders-score-jayden-daniels-results-takeaways\/\" class=\"go-deeper\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"go-deeper\">\n<div class=\"go-deeper-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/10\/06164007\/GettyImages-2177124999-1024x699.jpg?width=128&amp;height=128&amp;fit=cover&amp;auto=webp\" class=\"go-deeper\" alt=\"go-deeper\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-label\">GO DEEPER<\/p>\n<p class=\"go-deeper-title\">Jayden Daniels shines as Commanders beat Browns 34-13: Takeaways<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the Commanders made big plays and pieced drives together. The Browns would have punted on seven straight drives in the first half had they not stumbled upon a field goal early in the second quarter after starting at Washington\u2019s 43-yard line.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns forced a fumble on the first play of the second half, and that felt like a necessary jump-start to the kind of wild rally from 24-3 down that it would take to get back in the game. But instead of getting a touchdown and building some momentum, they got to the Washington 2-yard line then had a false start, used a timeout, took a sack, saw <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"jy7PvJsPl57HQPF0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/player\/jerry-jeudy-jy7PvJsPl57HQPF0\/\">Jerry Jeudy<\/a> drop a touchdown pass, and then not only settled for a field goal but had their fourth-down attempt turn into a delay of game. The Browns didn\u2019t have the right amount of players on the field and didn\u2019t want to use a second timeout in a span of about 90 seconds with more than 27 minutes left in the game, which actually was understandable in the moment.<\/p>\n<p>But you can\u2019t take those timeouts home, or to the top five of the draft in April. The season has slipped away. Yes, it\u2019s still early October. There\u2019s nowhere to go but up. But in Watson\u2019s third season as the quarterback, Stefanski\u2019s fifth calling the plays and general manager Andrew Berry\u2019s fifth in having the final call on the roster, the Browns have cooked up a big nothing burger.<\/p>\n<p>From the drops to the lack of a run game to Watson\u2019s league-high 26 sacks taken, there\u2019s plenty of blame to go around. But there\u2019s been no fix, either, and after getting points on their first possession in each of the first four weeks, the Browns failed on downs on the opening drive Sunday. On their second possession, they threw a screen for a loss of seven, allowed an untouched edge rusher in the backfield on second down before <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"XpsXzVg2gNrAz90U\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/player\/elijah-moore-XpsXzVg2gNrAz90U\/\">Elijah Moore<\/a> dropped a pass, and Watson threw the ball away on third down. It became the first of their six three-and-outs in the game\u2019s first 40 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Numbers don\u2019t always tell a full story. The Browns being the worst early-October offense in six years definitely does tell one, just not one Stefanski will one day share with his grandchildren. But numbers can blur a full story, and they actually do here. The Browns went above 3.6 yards per play on a late, meaningless completion. They scored with 7:02 left to make it 34-13. The Commanders had already removed their quarterback by then.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns also got a garbage-time touchdown against the <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"39\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/team\/cowboys\/\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> in Week 1. Their first score versus the <a class=\"ath_autolink\" data-id=\"51\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/nfl\/team\/giants\/\">Giants<\/a> came on their first snap; a fumble had set them up at New York\u2019s 24-yard line. So for as bad as the numbers are, this offense has probably actually been <em>worse<\/em> than the numbers show. In a nutshell, the final three minutes last week in Las Vegas were this team\u2019s chance to validate everything, steal a win and at least provide a sliver of hope that this expensive and exhausting Watson experiment might still have a chance to work.<\/p>\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/css\/in-content-modules.css?1727450981\"\/>\n<div class=\"in-content-module\" data-module-type=\"book\" data-module-id=\"scoop-city-newsletter\" data-module-category=\"editorial\" data-module-type-id=\"4\">\n<div class=\"in-content-module-book\"><a class=\"in-content-module-img\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/scoop-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theathletic.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=400,height=400,fit=contain,format=auto\/app\/in-content-modules-images\/in-content-module-scoop-city-newsletter.png\" alt=\"Scoop City Newsletter\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"in-content-module-contents\">\n<div class=\"in-content-copy-container\"><a class=\"in-content-module-headline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/scoop-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scoop City Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"in-content-module-intro-copy long\">Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"in-content-module-intro-copy short\">Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"in-content-module-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/scoop-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign Up<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/icon-arrow-right.svg\" alt=\"Buy Scoop City Newsletter\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>They failed then. They were worse here in what needed to be a redemption game. Stefanski was adamant afterward that <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AkronJackson\/status\/1843025877510287502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">he\u2019s not changing quarterbacks<\/a>, and maybe he\u2019s not allowed to, given the team\u2019s investment in Watson and awkward dedication to continuing to prop him up. Maybe he\u2019ll give up the play calling to new coordinator Ken Dorsey. Maybe he\u2019ll shake up the staff instead. But the time has arrived for the Browns to not just do something differently, but do a lot of things differently.<\/p>\n<p>This is beyond a nightmare. The nightmare was dropping a home game to the previously winless Giants two weeks ago ahead of a three-game road trip. That felt like one that not only exposed some warts but one that might come back to haunt the Browns later. Instead, the haunting time has come nearly four weeks before Halloween. In many ways, this franchise was all-in on this season given Watson\u2019s contract, the money spent across the roster and the age of many of the Browns\u2019 best players. Yet, they have to see it\u2019s all gone for nothing.<\/p>\n<p>This, by the numbers, is the worst Browns offense since 2009 and only slightly ahead of the expansion-year 1999 Browns. This, by the eye test, says something resembling another expansion-era approach might be the only way this thing can go. The reality is right in front of us.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>(Photo: Patrick Smith \/ Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5823554\/2024\/10\/06\/browns-loss-commanders-deshaun-watson\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LANDOVER, Md. \u2014 It was fair to wonder if the Cleveland Browns might have to rely on their defense early in the season. It was perfectly fair to expect quarterback &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=111588\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}