Monday, October 3, 2022

Browns lose to Falcons 23-20

     Questionable coaching decisions and yet another late-game pass defensive breakdown cost the Cleveland Browns as the Browns lost a 23-20 verdict to the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta.

Jacoby Brissett scored a rushing touchdown and finished with 234 passing yards but didn't throw for a score and threw an interception on the game's final drive.

Nick Chubb ran for a touchdown and ran for 118 yards to lead the Cleveland offense in the disappointing defeat.

Cleveland drops to 2-2 and will host the Los Angeles Chargers in Cleveland next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) I've stated before that I am a moderate on the topic of "analytics".

I believe that there is a place for considering trends and data and while I do believe that there is something to be said for the human aspect of decision-making and talent evaluation, I believe that being a slave to one side or the other is narrow-minded thinking.

Kevin Stefanski continues to believe that sticking consistently to his numbers overrides judging by each situation and it often has cost the Browns.

2) And it cost them in this one as the Browns marched down the field on their first possession and had a third down and one that saw them hurry to the line of scrimmage as they tried to catch the Falcons out of sync.

Instead, Nick Chubb lost two yards to set up a fourth down and three from the four-yard line.

3) Analytics says go for the touchdown in this spot while old school thinking says to take the short field goal and the three points for a team that needs to take every point opportunity that they have.

One side states six is more than three and the other says three is more than zero.

Stefanski keeps the offense on the field and Jacoby Brissett's pass is thrown out of the end zone and Cleveland has nothing to show for a dominant drive.

In other words-three points were tossed aside in a game that would be lost by three points.

4) Why did I dedicate so much space to this decision?

Because it is not an anomaly with Kevin Stefanski and it's starting to have adverse effects on his football team.

The Browns under Jimmy Haslam from day one have been an organization that believes that they are smarter than everyone else even when the evidence is to the contrary and it trickles down from Paul DePodesta (and Sashi Brown in his era), Andrew Berry, and ending with Kevin Stefanski, which then appears in situations such as this and that ends with Stefanski answering bizarrely at the post-game press conference that "we had to get points there".

Then why didn't you?

5) And it wouldn't be the Browns without a catastrophic pass defensive breakdown in the fourth quarter as Marcus Mariota hit Olamide Zaccheaus for a 42-yard gain and then Denzel Ward was called for a facemask penalty to place the Falcons into position for the game-winning field goal by Younghoe Kim.

6) That completion was the only pass attempt from Marcus Mariota on the game-winning drive for Atlanta, who possessed the ball three times in the final quarter and scored on all three against the Cleveland defense on drives of 75, 73, and 64 yards.

Add them up and the Cleveland defense gave up 212 yards in the final quarter.

7) Marcus Mariota completed only seven passes and threw just nineteen but what Atlanta did was what Cleveland was supposed to do to teams- pound the rock and wear defenses down late in the game.

Atlanta rushed for 202 yards with non-household names Tyler Allegeier (84) and Caleb Huntley (56) accounting for most of the total.

8) Cleveland, on the other hand, threw 35 passes and ran the ball 35 times.

Jacoby Brissett didn't play badly but this wasn't a good effort either.

9) Some of that may have been Brissett but Kevin Stefanski's playcalling didn't help either as only four passes were thrown to Amari Cooper, completing one for only nine yards.

Cooper is the team's top playmaker and one catch for nine yards isn't going to open up the offense very often.

10) Of course, the Browns were going to miss Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney and for the most part the defensive line was decent enough until the final period.

Cleveland did receive a sack from Jordan Elliott, the Browns were shorthanded on the defensive line, and playing the depth guys will eventually cost you and it did in the fourth quarter.

I'd add more but it's getting late.

I may add more tomorrow, should I have time.


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