Browns

Browns season effectively over with loss to Ravens

The Cleveland Browns lost to the Baltimore Ravens 16-10 Sunday night putting them in a position where they have virtually no shot at the playoffs.

Whether it was widely accepted or not, the season was on the line for the Cleveland Browns Sunday night. Surprisingly the defense had their best performance of the season with four interceptions of Lamar Jackson, including three in about a two-minute span. The problem yet again was the offense. There was not a lot that Cleveland could do against the stout Ravens front and that proved to be a problem time and time again. Forcing four turnovers and scoring only three p0ints off of them is simply not going to get it done.

Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 36 yards on 15 carries, hardly a shock considering Baltimore is the second-fewest yards per game this season. Add in the fact the Ravens did not respect the Browns passing attack and that just made things much more difficult. Time and time again the Browns were facing eight, nine, ten guys in the box, daring Baker Mayfield to beat them through the air. Mayfield again put together a disappointing performance, completing just 18 of 37 pass attempts for 247 yards and one touchdown, a touchdown which really was not a touchdown, but the review process did Cleveland a favor.

Were there drops in the game that Mayfield defenders are quick to point out? Sure, but there are just as many throws that Mayfield did not complete or even see that are much more problematic. The latter has been a theme for a long time, not only this season, but his entire Browns tenure.

The Browns are now in 12th in the AFC with a bye week upcoming. After the bye Cleveland faces Baltimore again, Las Vegas, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. All of their final five opponents are either in the playoffs or fighting for a spot. Considering they hold zero tiebreakers currently and that there are only five games left, the season is essentially over with the bye week coming at probably the worst possible time for a team on the brink of falling apart from top to bottom.

 

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