Browns Fold in the Second Half, Lose in Baltimore 41-17: Game Notes
The defense did all they could but the other two phases remind us of last year.
We felt like last week was a familiar place—well, we found another one this week. The Browns hung tough through the first 40 minutes of this game before the floodgates opened. Two turnovers later, they went from trailing 10-3 at halftime to down 34-10 early in the final quarter. This team has to win on the margins—I wrote about it earlier this offseason—and they still haven’t figured out how to do that. They’re losing the turnover battle, the special teams battle, and failing to make the winning plays you need each week to survive in the NFL against the odds.
There will be plenty of room for analysis of the game—one that looked far closer during most of the contest than it did at the end—but ultimately, you are what the scoreboard and your record say you are. The Browns eventually lost 41-17, falling to 3-16 since the start of the 2024 season. It’s a pattern they have to break, but the challenges ahead won’t make it easy.
As usual, it wasn’t all bad. The rookies had some strong performances, and Dillon Gabriel came in late and flashed some of the traits that make you excited about what he could become down the line. But those bright spots don’t change the reality: the Browns have to play better in the small details. If they fail to do so, this season could be longer than any of us imagined. But we don’t have to go down that path just yet.
Pick up the scraps and learn from it. Let’s dive into the Week 2 Game Notes.
Obviously I don’t have all the data but I think it felt like the motion, both pre-snap and at-the-snap, was be severely decreased. This is the sort of thing that can happen on the road in hostile environments, but they have to find a way to get more of it even when the situation is tough with noise.
It was a challenging day for Joe Flacco to say the least. Immediate pressure felt consistent, and the Ravens did a nice job of working pre-snap looks that went into post-snap blitzes away from the pre-snap overloads. I will break more of this down in detail but the protection felt off all day with where they were sliding.
Flacco ended the game 25-45 for 199 yards and a touchdown and interception. But it felt much worse. The pocket movement was slow, the ball was held too long at times, too many throws into bracket coverage, and he made a crucial mistake with his second half interception. I don’t think his teammates helped him very much, and we will break that down, but Flacco didn’t feel sharp in this one.
Nice to see Gabriel get some real snaps in this one. Even with backups largely on the field. He still managed things well and delivered a nice strike for a touchdown layering a running back corner route over the down corner for a touchdown. His time will come, but hopefully they can wait until Week 6.
The run game was better than last week, that much is for certain. We all thought things could start slow for Quinshon Judkins but he was far more involved than I anticipated. He was patient in his run game opportunities and did well when going out for some routes during pass situations. The third-down role will have to be solved soon because right now it is Sampson in there and he just cannot fit those blitz looks against bigger rushers. Roquan Smith put him in a bind several times today forcing Flacco out of the pocket. Sampson had a quiet day rushing the ball and didn’t have much of a pass catching role either.
Rough day for the wide receiver group. Jerry Jeudy ended as the leader with four receptions for 51 yards but he had multiple drops again this week and is failing to execute catches he shouldn’t have an issue making. It felt like Cedric Tillman struggled to create space downfield after he did well in Week 1. We will study this one closely. There was not a meaningful third
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