The shorthanded Cleveland Browns lost to the New York Jets and their playoff hopes are now in jeopardy.
Have you ever seen a boxer get hit hard early in a boxing match and not be able to fully recover? That is what happened to the Cleveland Browns Sunday as they were just unable to overcome poor play calling and botched execution in their 23-16 loss to the New York Jets.
First things first. The Browns were without quite a few players which obviously made an impact in the game. Cleveland was without Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge, and Donovan Peoples-Jones, and that was just the receiving group. The Browns also missed Jedrick Wills Jr. and Wyatt Teller on their offensive line. Defensively they missed Jacob Phillips and B.J. Goodson. For a team with a lot on the line they were sure missing quite a few pieces. What this all added up to was the talent gap between the Browns and Jets being closed and whichever team executed better coming out on top. The Jets were that team.
One would think that missing so many key pieces in the passing game that Kevin Stefanski would go with a run heavy attack. Add that in with an impromptu walkthrough was done in a parking garage with newly added receivers Derrick Willies and Ja’Marcus Bradley. Instead a pass heavy attack was the plan from the start and it obviously did not work. Baker Mayfield ended up attempting 53 passes in the game, a number which should never happen. In fact, Mayfield attempting half that many passes is starting to push it. The fact of the matter is that Mayfield is not a volume passer and his effectiveness declines when his pass attempts increase.
It is about picking your spots with Baker Mayfield as a result of building upon easier concepts. Coming out with a game plan like he is prime Peyton Manning is obviously a losing proposition and that is what happened. Even if all of the receivers were available for the Browns this would be a terrible game plan. Being down their current top four receivers just makes it that much worse.
All things do not land on the shoulders of the Kevin Stefanski and his awful offensive game plan. The defense also had a ton of issues and were not able to hold up their end of the bargain. The Jets were not even good or consistent on offense, yet they were able to score just enough to beat the Browns.
Now let’s talk about Cody Parkey. The dude has to go. Parkey is just not a reliable kicker and cannot be counted on in Week 17 much less the playoffs. Dan Katz aka Big Cat of Barstool Sports was pretty blunt about Parkey last week on Pardon My Take.
The Browns would be better off going for two every time they score a touchdown. Field goals, what are those? Go for it every time. Cleveland cannot continue rostering Parkey and it is time to go in another direction. Matt McCrane is on their practice squad and he must be given serious consideration as his replacement.
It was just a bad day all around for the Browns as they now enter a must win game against the Steelers in Week 17. This is not what they were expecting and hopefully they will get some help from Pittsburgh in the form of resting their starters. If not, their league leading playoff drought would continue and that would be a depressing end to a promising season.
