The Opening Drive 9/29: The Browns Must Stop Beating Themselves
The Browns ability to beat the Browns was on display again in their 34-10 loss to the Lions.
On another frustrating Sunday for Cleveland, the Browns made it painfully clear that when they lose, it’s often because they have beaten themselves. This trend continued on Sunday, against a Super Bowl-caliber team in Detroit, as the Browns’ self-inflicted wounds included an inability to play complementary football, avoid critical turnovers, and stop making unforced errors such as dropped passes.
Cleveland surrendered three turnovers to Detroit, which remains the leading cause of their losses. Those turnovers resulted in 17 points for the Lions. Joe Flacco threw two interceptions, including one that appeared to be a misread, with no receiver anywhere in the vicinity. Detroit’s strip sack led to another change of possession deep in the Browns’ territory.
When you turn the ball over backed up in the opponent’s end or at a pivotal moment in the game, you not only miss an opportunity to score but also give the opponent momentum and an advantageous field position against your defense.
The Browns’ special teams contributed to another momentum-crushing play, just as they did in the Ravens game. After Jerry Jeudy dropped a pass that could have resulted in a touchdown for the Browns, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown. Missed tackles, breakdowns in assignment, and poor placement all contributed to another special team’s failure.
Below you’ll find the latest in the BFB catalog for supporters to dig into. Click the link to become a supporter if you haven’t already, and enjoy all the latest from Browns Film Breakdown.
What’s Going On at Browns Film Breakdown
Latest Podcasts:
Latest Film Rooms:
Latest Articles:
Browns’ Turnovers and Specials Hand Lions 34-10 Victory: Game Notes
GameDay Opening Drive 9/28: Week 4, Challenge Awaits in the Motor City
Opening Drive 9/27: Lions’ CB Shake-Up Creates Potential for Browns’ Offense
To their credit, the Browns’ defense did show some fight, causing a turnover and making some stops on fourth down. They did their job as usual, creating pressure around Jared Goff and getting off the field when given decent field position to defend. However, simply slowing down Detroit is insufficient when the offense struggles to this degree.
Joe Flacco and the Browns started with an impressive 88-yard, 13-play touchdown drive that demonstrated their ability to move the ball and reach the end zone. However, they were unable to sustain that offensive success. Instead, the defense had to watch as the offense and special teams aided the Lions with timely turnovers and dropped passes in critical situations.
The Bigger Picture: A Pattern, Not a Fluke
This is not a one-week anomaly. The Browns’ season has been heavily impacted by self-inflicted penalties that stop drives or disrupt their rhythm, turnovers in unfavorable situations that put the opponent in scoring position, and mistakes by special teams that lead to detrimental shifts in momentum.
All those issues returned to haunt them in Detroit. When you combine giveaways, explosive returns, and poor situational ball control, you end up with the result we saw on Sunday.
To turn things around, the Browns must play a game closer to what we saw against the Green Bay Packers. The offense needs to stop committing turnovers, and special teams must improve across the board. Playing complementary football is crucial to the team’s success, but that cannot be achieved if their special teams continue to make mistakes every week.
Quarterback
The calls for Dillon Gabriel to replace Flacco at quarterback are getting louder with each week that the offense struggles. While Flacco is not playing his best football, he also isn’t getting much help. The Browns tackle situation is in shambles, and for some reason, left Cornelius Lucas alone to block one of Detroit’s EDGE players multiple times. The Browns have to have a better plan to help Lucas in pass protection. Flacco was under siege all day, and when he did make a good pass, his receivers often let him down by dropping the ball or falling down.
Isaiah Bond and Quinshon Judkins were bright spots on the offensive side of the ball. Judkins is going to be a very effective back in the NFL and has already found a way to impact the Browns’ offense. Bond made a good play of a jump ball downfield, showing off his athleticism and speed. We continue to see good things from this rookie class every week.
The Browns must win one of the next two games, which would bring them to 2-4 through the most challenging part of their schedule, with a few softer transition spots available, if they are looking to make a change at quarterback.
If you’re not subscribed over there, rectify that—the Opening Drive remains free, but there’s more content coming from the Week 4 loss to fully understand the issues at hand. If you’re not with us in a supporter capacity, you’ll want to rectify that as well so you don’t miss any of the key content coming this week. Also, tell a Browns fan in your life about the miracles happening at Browns Film Breakdown. We appreciate all of you.
Browns Film Breakdown will return later today with some fresh All-22.
