CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Sunday’s 39-17 beating in Miami was quite the gut punch for the Browns.
With the team 3-6, it’s now gut check time.
“There hasn't been any bickering, anything like that, but I think it's, definitely— we got to look ourselves in the mirror as a group, and right the ship and get this thing going,” safety John Johnson III said Monday afternoon. “We're running out of time. I think we're past the midway point now, so it's time to step it up.”
Cleveland’s defense has disappointed this season, failing to pick up on the strong finish from last year.
On Sunday they got carved up for 491 yards and 195 of those coming on the ground. It was the fourth time in six games the Browns allowed over 150 yards rushing. They’ve lost all four games.
The Browns also allowed 30 or more points for the fourth time, and again, they’re 0-4 when doing so.
“I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I'm definitely disappointed,” Johnson said of the struggles. “I think on our side of the ball, we could have won a couple more games for us. But yeah, I'm not surprised. You turn on the tape and there's obvious mistakes. There's obvious not executing at a high level—I keep saying that a high level because that's what it takes in this league. It's not like guys are just stinking it up. But we need more. We got to be better. Whatever it takes, we got to get it done.”
So what has been the biggest problem? Johnson offered a theory on what’s going wrong and how they can fix it.
“When you watch the tape, I feel like it's still a little bit of hesitancy, guys being hesitant,” Johnson said. “Just cutting it loose, have fun, enjoy what you're doing. Understand why we're doing certain things and just do it at a high level. I think just don't be so uptight. We know what we’re going to get, just understand it. Have a calm presence about yourself and just cut it loose.”
Miami heat – Defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney did play Sunday. They were on the field for 44 snaps but neither made a tangible impact.
Garrett was credited with two tackles – one solo the other an assist while Clowney had just one tackle.
“In that heat, we just wanted to make sure we were rolling and rotating on the defensive line as much as you could with that heat,” Stefanski said of limiting their reps. “So that was really the plan.”
Garrett and Clowney hoped to be able to get after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa but both were essentially ineffective and barely registered in the box score. Tagovailoa completed 25 of 32 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked just once and hit on two other occasions.
“Anytime you go down and you get the result that you got and you fall short in any way, you always try to be introspective, and sit down and look and say, what could we have done differently,” Stefanski said. “I think you have to give credit to the other team. They have a game plan as well. They did a nice job, we had a couple things that we tried didn't work, then you pivot to the next thing and you've just gotta find some answers.”
Critical eye – Despite leading the team with five catches on nine targets for 99 yards, Donovan Peoples-Jones was critical of himself after watching the tape.
“I felt like personally I left some plays out there on the field,” Peoples-Jones said. “I just have to make those plays.”
Peoples-Jones lamented a fourth-and-3 from the Miami 42 that saw him unable to haul in Jacoby Brissett’s pass to keep the drive alive with the Browns trailing 10-7.
“I have to have a better route, and I have to come up with the ball,” Peoples-Jones said. “I have to make that catch.”
Stick to the script – Once again Kevin Stefanski’s opening offensive script worked like a charm. It took just four plays and two Dolphin penalties to take a 7-0 lead.
The problem is, the Browns didn’t do much after that, which has become a trend this season.
“Really once we get off that script, we really need to still perform at a high level both offense and defense,” Stefanski said.
The only quarter they’ve won is the opening quarter – 48-26. They’ve been outscored in the second 76-61, the third 44-39 and obliterated in the fourth 92-69.
“I think that game in particular was a little different in that it got to three scores there soon into that second half,” Stefanski said. “We do script into the second half, as well. That is something else that we do. First 15 [plays], I think you see around the league. You go over it at night and you walk through it so typically guys have a very good understanding of early plays. Then really the work you put in throughout the week Wednesday, Thursday and Friday should be enough to execute throughout the game.”
Incoming stampede – Up next for the Browns: a trip to Buffalo where the Bills are coming off an agonizing overtime loss at home to the Vikings. So Josh Allen and company will be in a great mood.
“They’re coming off of a loss,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have their best shot. They're a good team. It's going to be a super duper challenge, we're on the road, but like you said, they're not unbeatable. I think if we don't beat ourselves, we give ourselves a chance. So we just have to go out there and do it. Like I said, just cut it loose. Have fun. At this point there’s not really much to lose. You just got to go out there, have fun, look up at the scoreboard and see what happens.”
Injury report – Left tackle Jedrick Wills “rolled his ankle" and right guard Wyatt Teller suffered a setback with a left calf injury. “I think everybody's kind of day to day, and I expect them to get better throughout this week,” Stefanski said.