The Cleveland Browns received a stellar day from Jameis Winston in his return to New Orleans but a defensive inability to control the Saints Taysom Hill led to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 35-14 New Orleans win at the Superdome.
Winston finished with 395 yards passing and two touchdowns without an interception and Jerry Jeudy grabbed six passes for 142 receiving yards including an eighty-nine-yard touchdown.
Cleveland drops to 2-8 on the season and will have a quick return to action with a Thursday night game against the visiting first-place Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brownie Bits
1) I may be way off on this but whether the house cleaning is now or in January, this loss feels like the turning point when the fans and maybe even the Haslams see no more hope.
The Haslams may have silently decided to clean house after such a loss as I'm not sure that that anyone can feel like this can be turned around with the current people in charge.
2) The defensive breakdown in the fourth quarter from the supposed strength of the squad is another item that I just cannot grasp.
Poor tackling, players in the wrong places, and in a few cases, indifferent effort have been part of the franchise for years and often has been the tip-off that it's time for yet another regine change.
3) One thing that I have seen far too often over the last few games is Juan Thornhill getting lost with his assignments and then pointing out another player for fault.
The Saints (and others) get the ball to someone in the open field, the player cruises in for a score as my jaw drops open as in how did that guy get so open, and then the camera scans to Thornhill pointing to someone and jawing back and forth.
Thornhill was signed as a costly free agent before the 2023 season and played in eleven of seventeen games in that season and five of the ten thus far in 2024.
Thornhill's been a huge disappointment and I would wager that he will be a major candidate for a cap casualty in the off-season.
4) And there was Taysom Hill, the Victorinox of New Orleans, who seemed to become Nile Kinnick before the Brown eyes with three rushing touchdowns (including one of seventy-five yards), rushed for 138 yards, caught eight passes for another fifty yards, completed a pass for eighteen yards, and returned a kickoff for forty-two yards.
And Hill could have been better as he lost a fumble inside the Cleveland ten-yard line!
5) The Browns seemed astonished by Hill and his usage and what made that even worse was New Orleans interim head coach Darren Rizzi's interview at the half with Jen Hale (one of the better sideline reporters).
Hale asked Rizzi if he thought the Saints were using Hill too much in the game as the fumble occurred late in the half.
Rizzi's answer was that he didn't think they had used him enough and thought they would use him more in the second half!
Yet, no one either saw this or sent the message to the coaching staff and Hill just destroyed the Browns in a game that won't be forgotten for quite a while.
6) Dustin Hopkins was reliable last season and received a three-year contract extension from the Browns.
It appears 2023 was the aberration as Hopkins missed two field goals, one of them a twenty-seven-yard chip shot that he was given a second chance by a Saints penalty after missing from thirty-three yards.
Hopkins is currently fourteen of twenty this season and has missed two extra points.
7) The extension that Dustin Hopkins signed showed the issues with extending kickers as only the very best booters are elite every season.
Kickers are very much like relief pitchers in baseball- it's very hard to rely on them being consistent every season and one season's standout often is the next's disappointment and Hopkins is another example of not only that rule but how Andrew Berry has needlessly spent this team into cap problems.
8) Jameis Winston's numbers were good and didn't throw an interception, although the Saints did drop a few possible picks but where he was the most impressive was where he continued to improve the Browns receivers, who look closer to league average with Winston in the pocket.
Winston is still erratic but the Browns have a chance to win with him while I don't think the same should the Browns start Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
9) What I can do without are the interviews with Winston, where he rambles incessantly about the Almighty.
Now I'm more than fine with crediting the Lord and discussing his beliefs but couldn't Winston answer the questions that are asked as well?
It's clear that his teammates love Winston and he's got charisma to burn but you can at least speak a little on what you are asked before kicking into Benny Hinn mode.
10) The Browns suffered a big loss as left tackle Dawand Jones broke his ankle when Wyatt Teller rolled over Jones, snapping his ankle with an injury that will end Jones's season.
Germain Ifedi finished the game and might play against the Steelers but it could mean the eventual return of the noted "businessman" Jedrick Wills to the lineup for the following game against Denver.
11) David Njoku caught all nine passes thrown to him for eighty-one yards and is the reliable short man for Jameis Winston's checkdowns.
Njoku is going to have a ten-plus, one hundred-yard-plus with scores game before this season ends, he's sitting on it, it's just a matter of time.
12) Denzel Ward intercepted a Derek Carr pass in the game, which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal but when you consider that the Browns had intercepted a whopping one pass after nine games.
13) The Browns are out of control and the fourth-quarter meltdown against the supposed strength of the team showed that this team is close to giving up and turning this season into a wreck for the ages.
Should Pittsburgh dominate the Browns on Thursday on national television, the Haslams could make a move if not THE move.
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