CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Maybe the Browns are right where they need to be.
Back as underdogs because as favorites they’ve largely underwhelmed.
Following Sunday’s 37-14 beating by the now 6-0 Cardinals, the Browns fell to 3-3 and are a .500 football team with an injury list a mile long starting with quarterback Baker Mayfield, who plays the underdog role better than anyone.
With his left shoulder in a sling and sitting in obvious pain, Mayfield projected defiant confidence as he fielded questions from reporters.
“Our backs are up against the wall right now, and I like our chances,” Mayfield said.
The Browns came into the 2021 season as favorites, with many predicting them to end the franchise’s division title drought that goes back to 1989 and others who believed they were a Super Bowl contender following an 11-win campaign and AFC divisional round exit in January.
Six games into the 2021 season, with the roster riddled with injuries, Mayfield remains steadfast in his belief they will live up to their potential.
“We are not panicking by any means,” Mayfield said. “We are 3-3. That is not where we wanted to be right now, but the pure genius of the NFL, we have 11 more games instead of 10 now. We have 11 more games to go show who we are, play for each other and get better as each week goes on because nobody makes the playoffs right now. You have to not let up and you have to peak at the right time. We will handle this correctly. We will do that, and I know that because of the guys we have in the locker room.
“We will get better. That is just a fact.”
Not to dispute Mayfield here, we don’t dare say things can’t get worse, because historically with the Browns, they can, and often do. But the deck is stacking up against them, starting with Mayfield.
Mayfield dislocated his left shoulder again when he was strip sacked by Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt in the third quarter. It was Mayfield’s third turnover of the day that cost them 13 points. That same shoulder, originally injured in a Week 2 win over the Texans, popped back out and back in later as well.
Mayfield is adamant he will play Thursday night against the Broncos but clearly this is not an injury that will heal with him playing through it.
“It is a huge challenge with the short week,” Mayfield said.
“Obviously, we have a lot of guys banged up right now, but it is an AFC opponent coming in, and we have to be able to bounce back and respond.”
Running back Kareem Hunt will undergo an MRI after suffering a calf injury on a non-contact play in the fourth quarter. He had to be carted to the locker room. Fellow back Nick Chubb didn’t practice last week and was inactive due to a calf injury.
Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter. He played through the pain but will get looked at Monday as well.
The Browns are also without their starting two offensive tackles – Jedrick Wills, who has been dealing with a sprained left ankle since Week 1 and right tackle Jack Conklin has a knee injury that kept him out Sunday.
“Whoever is available to us, we have to find a way,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “That is where we have to be problem solvers. Those guys battled their butts off. Thursday night, we have to get the crew ready to go. We have to get back out there, and whoever is out there, we have to go find a way.”
But injuries are only half the battle.
Th offense scored just two touchdowns for the second time in three games, with one of those coming on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half that was hauled in by Donovan Peoples-Jones.
“Baker did a nice job of buying time and put plenty of air under it, and Donovan made a nice play,” Stefanski said. “Not enough plays out there on the field. That is where we have to do a better job as coaches. We have to make sure that we are putting these guys in positions to succeed.”
The defense is a whole different catastrophe.
“Right now, we have to find ourselves,” defensive end Myles Garrett, who collected his eighth sack of the season, said. “We are not rushing like we are supposed to. We are not covering like we are supposed to. We’re not living up to who we are and the potential that we have.”
The Browns fell to 0-3 in games they’ve surrendered 30 or more points with Sunday’s loss.
They’ve been outscored in three of four quarters this season.
“We got 11 games left. A lot of time to be 14-3,” Garrett said. “So, I’m not too worried.”
Breakdowns in the secondary are leading to touchdowns – three wide open scores have been allowed in the last two games. The inexcusable mistakes that have been blamed on communication breakdowns with a unit that was completely rebuilt this offseason through free agency and the draft has defensive coordinator Joe Woods rightfully under fire.
Every level of the defense has been affected by injuries, but from Garrett to cornerback Denzel Ward, they refuse to use them or a lack of continuity as an excuse.
“We all have played together ever since camp,” Ward, who was flagged twice on the same drive that resulted in a touchdown for pass interference, said. “We had rotations and everybody was playing with each other. It is communication, and we all have to be on the same page. We have to spread the call across the field and execute our assignments.”
Taking a step back and looking at where the Browns are, it’s not looking good, but there is a lot of football left. However, with a bye week not coming until the end of November, there's no time to get healthy.
“We are a 3-3 football team, which means we are average across the board, so we all have to get better,” Stefanski said.
If they don’t, this season is going to slip away quickly.