BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns fell to 0-3 when their defense surrenders 30 or more points with a 37-14 loss Sunday to the Cardinals.
They allowed Arizona to score on seven of their 10 offensive series – four touchdowns and three field goals – drawing a fresh round of criticism for defensive coordinator Joe Woods from fans and media.
Another miscommunication in the secondary resulted in Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins being left alone in the end zone to catch a touchdown. After the score he made a sleeping gesture as he celebrated, mocking the Browns defense, who fell asleep.
It’s the third time in two weeks this has happened and the breakdowns continue to be blamed on communication, or lack of.
“Each week, we try to make sure the communication is on point really in the meeting rooms,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “At practice, we place a huge premium on it. It ultimately has to be better across the board, and that is really for the team when it comes to communication because often times, some of those mistakes you see are the product of miscommunication so we will keep working very hard at that.”
Yet here we are another week later without it being corrected.
Credit safety John Johnson III with a candid assessment of what is going wrong on Monday.
“It is kind of like the same thing,” Johnson said. “A lot of times it is split-safety coverages. I do not think it is communication. I think it just like trusting your technique and trusting what you see, but it is easy fixes. We can’t keep doing that moving forward in the season.”
Cleveland surrendered seven plays that went for 15 or more yards – and four of those came on third downs.
Unfortunately, time is not on their side to correct whatever needs fixed, and there appears to be a lot, by Thursday night when they host the Denver Broncos.
“Short weeks are very tough,” Johnson said. “On a regular week, it is tough preparing for a team and having a couple of days to get ready. I think we have pretty much today and tomorrow and I imagine Wednesday will be super light so we really have like two days, and today is coming immediately after the game so it is really tough on the body but also mentally. I think we have the right guys in the building to get ready for a game. Luckily, it is at home so that is a big help. We just have to get ready and prepare for it.”
Fourth and failure – Stefanski and the Browns continue to go for it on fourth down, and they continue to fail.
Sunday saw them go 0-2 bringing the season total of failure on fourth downs to nine. They’re 6-of-15, including four sacks and a pair of Odell Beckham Jr. dropped passes.
“I really believe we have to call better plays and we have to execute better,” Stefanski said. “In those moments when we are going for it, I have to make sure I give the guys something they can execute and something that we can get the ball out of our hands on time and those type of things.
That is where I need to be better. Each game is different.
“I have said it before, we are not being aggressive just for the sake of being aggressive. We are trying to be smart in what we are doing.
We have to be better. That is pretty obvious.”
Instead of kicking a 30-yard field goal to pull within 7-3, Stefanski went for it and Mayfield was sacked. The Cardinals marched right down the field and took a 14-0 lead. Game essentially over.
“Every game is different. Every matchup is different. We look at that when planning out those type of decisions,” Stefanski said. “It was early in the game. It was a call that we liked and did not come through. Again, that is where I need to make sure I am giving these guys plays that they can execute and convert because we have to be better – that is no secret.”
Keeping the faith – At 3-3, the Browns find themselves at a crossroads entering Thursday night’s game.
Sunday evening Baker Mayfield said no one’s panicking, even though their backs are against the wall, but he likes their chances.
Monday afternoon, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. expressed similar confidence.
“Nobody’s flinching right now,” Walker said. “We understand what we have in our locker room, the men that we have in our locker room, the leadership from coach Stefanski. We understand that nobody’s going to flinch in our locker room.”
Even with all the injuries, a third straight loss could be devastating to their chances to live up to expectations prompting Johnson to refer to it as a “turning point” and a “must win.”
On hold – The good news coming off a blowout loss is the Browns play Thursday night, so there isn’t much time to dwell on it.
The bad, they also don’t have much time to recover which makes life difficult on Stefanski to plan for practice, and a game.
“We are still devising that game plan, and I think that is what we have to do,” Stefanski said. “We have to be fluid in what we do. The truth is we may not know who is available to us for another 24-48 hours, if you will. That is what we have to do. That is no different than everybody in the NFL right now. You have guys who may make it to the game and may not, and that is just life in the big city.”
Monday’s injury report was an estimate since the Browns didn’t practice, but 20 players were listed – 10 would not have practiced including both starting offensive tackles, both running backs, a star receiver and of course starting quarterback.
Injury report – DNP: RB Nick Chubb (calf), WR Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder), RT Jack Conklin (knee), CB A.J. Green (shoulder, groin), RB Kareem Hunt (calf), QB Baker Mayfield (shoulder), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (ankle), LB Malcolm Smith (abdomen), C J.C. Tretter (knee), LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle); LIMITED: DE Jadeveon Clowney (ankle, chest, knee), DE Malik Jackson (knee), DE Takkarist McKinley (ankle), TE David Njoku (knee), LB Mack Wilson (calf); FULL: DE Myles Garrett (knee, ankle), Malik McDowell (elbow, foot), CB Greg Newsome II (calf), CB Denzel Ward (neck), CB Greedy Williams (knee)
Up next – Practice Tuesday.