The Browns did rally to tie the game in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns but did nothing with the ball in overtime offensively of note before a Jabrill Peppers fumble of a Tampa punt in overtime that would set the game-winning field goal drive into motion.
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdowns without an interception, although he did fumble at a key time and finished with 215 passing yards, while Nick Chubb rushed for the other Cleveland touchdown to go with 80 yards rushing.
The now 2-4-1 Browns travel to the waiting and rested (off their bye) Steelers in Pittsburgh next week.
Brownie Bits
1) Ok, no I did not think the Chandler Catanzaro kick had a chance after his earlier miscues.
However, I don't blame the Buccaneers from trying it and so many were laughing about before it was good.
The weather was not a factor, the kicker had a career-long of 60 yards, If I was Dirk Koetter, I would have tried it too.
2) Baker Mayfield looks like a different guy than the guy that entered the game against the Jets.
Not in production, that will vary according to the opponent from week to week, that happens with rookie quarterbacks.
No, the guy that ran around showed so much enthusiasm looks a little beaten down already and that
is a worry.
Now that could be playing under the perpetual mess that comes with Hue Jackson and I'm sure the staff and Jackson isn't helping either, but the only time that I saw that flash from Mayfield was after the hit on him,
3) And about that hit?
For a league that has called some of the weakest, nickel and dime hits into roughness penalties, how on earth do you pick that flag up?
It looks even worse on replay than it did in live action, but Mayfield was clearly beginning his slide and gave himself up (Penalty one) and the contact was just as clearly helmet to helmet (Penalty two).
It's crap like that and others that make the Browns and Browns fans think the referees are against you.
It brings to mind the old question- "Are you ignorant or corrupt"? Neither answer is acceptable.
4) One of the things that I wondered about most with Baker Mayfield entering the draft was his speed/size.
The concern was that it's different dashing around and making plays at Oklahoma than the NFL, the speed of the game is different and could he get away with that?
The fumble at the end of the first half showed just that. Mayfield had the first down, but the strip of the football caused the ball to go backward and out of bounds, short of the first down.
There is a major difference between being elusive/quick and being fast as Ryan and I talked about during the game.
Ryan brought up the example of Aaron Rodgers, who isn't a guy that is fast enough to rip off 15 yard runs very often, yet is elusive in the pocket to avoid pass rushers.
Mayfield hopefully will learn those differences.
5) Jarvis Landry stepped up huge with a great game with several terrific catches during his ten catch afternoon, but Landry took a pounding in being targeted fifteen times.
It makes me wonder how good Landry could be with any type of threat outside of himself in the receiving corps.
6) The Browns did get production from the defensive line in sacking Jameis Winston four times and harassing him all game long, but what I really liked most from Myles Garrett (along with his two sacks) was the effort shown by Garrett.
In the overtime, you can clearly see Garrett on his knees between plays, unable to even stand, yet summoning more effort on the next play.
The Browns need to find a way to get Garrett out of the lineup on occasion to keep him fresher, but what a tremendous effort that showed a lot of heart.
7) Really, the defense played well for the most part, if you choose to overlook nine penalties called on them.
Forcing four turnovers, the aforementioned sacks and even when dog-tired in overtime, the defense pushed the Buccaneers back to what was thought to be a punting situation.
Jamie Collins has picked up his game in the absence of Joe Schobert and Emanuel Ogbah did his best Clyde Simmons (Clyde is the Browns DL coach currently) impersonation with a sack and a half along with two passes batted down.
8) Demarious Randall finished with eleven tackles and it seemed that at times he was covering the Buccaneers main threat in Mike Evans.
I like Randall much better at safety than at corner, but he played a strong game as even though Evans finished with over one hundred yards, he did not catch a touchdown and Randall even broke up a pass intended for Evans in the end zone.
9) Jabrill Peppers looked to have finally broken out as a punt returner with a late punt return of 32 yards that allowed the Browns to start a touchdown drive deep in Tampa Bay territory and I thought OK this is it, he'll finally begin to have some confidence in returning and who knows where that will lead.
Then Peppers coughed up the football on a return in overtime and it all went to Hades or Ann Arbor if you prefer.
Peppers was quite contrite about the fumble and blamed himself for the loss, so that will help a little with the fans, but after he had improved his play in the last few games, I hope that this doesn't cause his recent run to end.
10) 14 penalties.
14!
Do I need to write more?
11) And then there is Hue Jackson, who passed up a short to a medium field goal try at the end of the first half that ended in the Mayfield fumble and passed up another field goal try for a fourth-down gamble on Baker Mayfield's sneak attempt that came up short.
Jackson's post-game comments on helping the offense and coordinator Todd Haley makes me think these two questions- Doesn't Jackson have enough problems with his own job performance that he might be better suited guarding his own doghouse? And if Jackson is such a superior play caller to Haley, should we ask just who was the guy calling the plays for the two seasons/one win Browns?
Answer: The guy who proclaimed himself the head coach four times in his press conference.
That guy. The head coach.
12) Rookie Desmond Harrison had his hands full with veteran Jason Pierre-Paul, who sacked Baker Mayfield only once but seemed to be around him constantly.
Harrison might be a terrific tackle eventually, but he still has plenty to learn and facing an experienced pass rusher will often have disastrous results.
13) I mentioned that this game was almost a must win when you look at the schedule.
They didn't.
Now, comes the tough part, at Pittsburgh, who has seemed to have righted their ship and I'm sure will be motivated after their tie with the Browns, Kansas City, who seems to be way out of the Browns pay grade, Atlanta, a better version of the score a lot, give up a lot Buccaneers before the bye.
By that time, the trade deadline will have passed and what the Browns are will not change very much.
Assuming the Browns lose all three of those games and they will be underdogs in all three, that leaves the Browns at 2-7-1 at the break.
Is that finally enough for the Haslam family to realize Hue Jackson is a major problem?
I think that it is more likely than not, that is the exact decision that will have to be made.
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