CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The beat goes on.
This year was supposed to be different. Instead, same song, different verse.
The Cleveland Browns remain the ultimate losers of the NFL after eliminating themselves from the playoffs for a 17th straight season Sunday afternoon by losing to the Baltimore Ravens 31-15.
“It is disappointing for me to lose period,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said.
Losing is a tradition – at least in the expansion era.
And Kitchens did his part this year to keep it alive and well.
The Ravens clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with the victory.
“That was probably the best team in the NFL,” receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said.
The Browns clinched a losing record for a 12th straight season.
Sports Illustrated proclaimed ‘The Browns are back’ on their NFL preview cover. Just about everyone had them pegged for a postseason berth.
“We set the bar high for ourselves,” quarterback Baker Mayfield, who completed 20 of 33 passes for 192 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in loss No. 9, said. “Our expectations were extremely high, and we didn’t meet that so that is the most disappointing thing.”
The Browns are the only franchise in the not to have a single winning season this decade and the longest playoff drought in professional football rolls along.
It also marks the 16th time in 17 years since their last playoff berth the Browns finish below .500, and the 19th time in 21 seasons since returning to the NFL as a putrid imitation of a once proud franchise.
“It is a process to turn around what this once was to where we want to go and where we should be at right now,” Mayfield said. “It is a process and there is a lot of room for improvement and progress to be made.”
The defeat to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens was the ninth of the year for Cleveland, ensuring the Browns will finish with a worse record than the 7-8-1 finish in 2018.
“Obviously, losing is something I hate, but that is just the way the chips fell,” safety Damarious Randall said. “We have to focus on what we have moving forward and get ready for next year.”
So much for all the optimism and hope.
Tis the season for despair and hopelessness, again.
Ironically the Browns got the help they needed from the New York Jets, who beat the Steelers 16-10, and the Saints, who took care of the Titans 38-28.
But Cleveland couldn’t take care of their own business and so they’ll head to Cincinnati next week to wrap up another miserable season hoping to win seven games for the second straight year. That would be a feat no accomplished since 2001-2002.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been in this situation a few too many times,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “But you have to have some pride. You have to have respect for yourself and your teammates and come out and do your job next week. It’s our job to win a football game.”
The bar, it is low in Cleveland, but another year circles the drain.
Hopefully at some point the Browns will take it upon themselves to raise it and play a 17th game in January.
