CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Good news is Joe Flacco still has something left in the tank, or in his case, his arm.
The bad news: a litany of fourth quarter mistakes – penalties, an interception, a missed PAT and finally a safety capped a 36-19 loss in Los Angeles to drop the Cleveland Browns to 7-5 on the season.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from the west coast.
Flacco can still sling it. He threw it 44 times Sunday, but untimely penalties and the lack of a consistent run game forced Kevin Stefanski to lean on his arm. Flacco started fast completing five of his first six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown to cap the opening drive. Someone forgot to cover running back Jerome Ford coming out of the backfield and Flacco found him for a 24-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 10:18 to play in the opening quarter. Earlier in the drive Flacco threaded a beautiful 22-yard throw to Amari Cooper and Kareem Hunt converted a third-and-2 with a six-yard run. It was Flacco’s first TD toss since he threw the game-winner against the Browns in Week 2 of 2022. Flacco connected with tight end Harrison Bryant in the fourth quarter for an eight-yard score to pull Cleveland within one at 20-19. Flacco’s lone mistake of the afternoon also came in the fourth and it was a big one. A deep ball was short and intercepted by former Browns safety john Johnson III and returned it 42 yards to the 24, which set up Cooper Kupp’s three-yard TD catch for a 27-19 Rams lead. In all, Flacco completed 23 of 44 passes for 254 yards with two TDs and the interception. His rating was 75.4.
Not even Flacco could end the plague of dropped footballs that seems to have striken the Browns offense in recent weeks.
Aaron Donald’s safety with 39 ticks remaining was the icing on the cake for the Rams, who won their third straight to get back to .500 at 6-6. It was the second sack in as many plays for L.A. to end the game – the only two times they were able to get to Flacco and bring him down.
For the second time in as many weeks, center Ethan Pocic was called for moving the ball forward prior to a snap in the fourth quarter. It was a critical penalty that took a third-and-inches just shy of their own 35 and made it third-and-six from their own 30 with 2:37 remaining. Flacco was unable to connect on his next two passes, essentially ending the game.
With two timeouts plus the two-minute warning, Stefanski opted not to punt and instead went for it on fourth-and-5 from their own 30. Rams safety Russ Yeast broke up the throw intended for tight end David Njoku. L.A. needed five plays before Kyren Williams punched it in to put the game out of reach with 1:56 remaining. It was an odd decision, but Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford carving up the secondary all afternoon likely was a factor.
Cleveland’s No. 1 ranked pas defense gave up big plays all afternoon, including a 70-yard catch and run by rookie receiver Puca Nacua that put the Rams in front 10-7 with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. Nucua, who racked up 105 yards on four catches plus 34 more on two runs, surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in just 12 games making him the third rookie receiver since 2000 to accomplish the feat.
Stafford finished 22 of 37 for 279 yards with a pair of touchdowns in the win for the Rams.
Myles Garrett, playing with an injured left shoulder, was ineffective Sunday. The only time Garrett’s name was called was when his helmet came off after his facemask got tangled with Rams left tackle Jackson Alaric’s.
Loosing Cooper to concussion protocol took a valuable target away from Flacco. Cooper departed early in the second quarter when he took a hit from a pair of Rams defenders after he dropped a third down pass.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins has been reliable this season, but he missed his second PAT of the season at the worst time in the fourth quarter that would’ve tied the game at 20. Hopkins made two more field goals – 40 and 24 yards.
The second straight loss for the Browns dropped them to 7-5 and created a logjam in the AFC Wild Card race. The Steelers, Colts and Texans are also 7-5. Cleveland split with Pittsburgh, beat Indianapolis and they have a trip to Houston in three weeks on Christmas Eve. The Bills and Broncos are 6-6.