Browns' Valiant Effort Falls Short in Loss to Ravens, 23-16: Game Notes
They forced turnovers, held their own in specials, but couldn't come through at the end.
Myles Garrett said Shedeur Sanders addressed the entire team in the locker room after the game. “He wanted to pin it on himself … I wouldn’t allow him to do that. It’s a team game.”
The Browns had all the vibes of an upset rolling into halftime today as they were up 16-10 on the Ravens at Huntington Bank Field but they could only muster 64 yards in the second half and went without a point as the Ravens came back to win 23-16.
The offense had an up-and-down first half where they found two drives of eight or more plays that resulted in field goals but the Browns lone touchdown on the day came from a Devin Bush 23-yard interception return. However, the story of the night was Shedeur Sanders making his NFL debut.
Sanders came in to replace Dillon Gabriel in the second half after Gabriel went down with a concussion. Gabriel did not come out with the team to start the second half at Huntington Bank Field, so the Browns turned to Sanders for the first time in the regular season early in the third quarter.
Sanders finished 4-of-16 passing for 47 yards and no touchdowns, an interception and two sacks taken. Sanders noted the inexperience did play a factor in some of the nerves and ultimate outcomes. He had yet to receive a real first team with the organization. “Playing quarterback is extremely hard, so I like knowing every detail about my receivers. But it’s different when it’s different body types out there, different ways how people get out of routes.”
Plenty for the young quarterback to learn from and plenty to discuss in the coming days. The Browns fall to 2-8 on the season as the Ravens now sit at 5-5 and making a real push for the division in the coming weeks.
These will be very abbreviated due to the late hour but here are some quick Week 11 Game Notes.
Both quarterbacks had some moments in their two quarters each. Gabriel was still maddeningly inaccurate on some throws he needs to find success with. The only way he survives in the NFL will be making all the layup throws all the time and finding consistently good ball placement he isn’ there yet. It felt like a usual Gabriel half of football where you see some plays that show a guy who might make it and then some that leave the offense stalled and frustrated. The seam shot to Tillman in the second quarter was his best of the day.
Sanders certainly showed some of those traits that concerned me in his draft profile and pieces that I think are keeping him off the field — more on that tomorrow. Overall, though, he had some moments that showed you the elements of what he found success with in those open pocket structures at Colorado. His strike to Harold Fannin Jr. on the final drive was the type of throw that wins games on Sundays.
Quinshon Judkins ran the ball 17 times and it felt like he had such a strong day but only ended with 59 yards. This offense still has too many moments where they lose yards on runs with free runners and other problems up front. Those negative plays add up. Dylan Sampson had a strong run in first quarter on pin/pull for 19 yards and then didn’t receiver another carry.
The receivers were led by Tillman’s 52 yards on three catches but he disappeared in the second half. I will have to look into why that came to happen. Jerry Jeudy had 21 yards on three catches but it was a quiet night for all pass catchers as the tight ends combined for just three catches and 33 yards.
Due to injuries to both tackles Jack Conklin and Cam Robinson, the Browns had to play KT Leveston a good amount of the game and then Teven Jenkins at tackles as well. Leveston was rough and accounted for 4 of the 11 early charted pressures. It was not a strong game for the group overall in pass protection and we will try to see how the group performed in the run game tomorrow.
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