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Just two wins.
The 2018 Cleveland Browns have a different look. a different feeling. They went into overtime four times in seven games. They held the lead or were tied in the fourth quarter in six of those games. Defensively, they started Week 7 sixth in the league at Football Outsiders in terms of DVOA (Defensive Value Adjusted to Defense), and led seven defeats to the NFL with 20 take-away races.
And yet, the Browns have won just two of those seven games after another defeat despite numerous opportunities to defeat the self-producing Buccaneers of Tampa Bay Sunday in Florida.
They may look different and feel different, but with the 26-23 overtime loss to Tampa, they are buried again in last place in AFC North. They have a talent worthy of contenders on both sides of the ball and a tremendous promise with the pick of rookie No. 1, Baker Mayfield, a quarter, but little has changed in the column of victories.
The Browns have won only three games in two and a half years. Three calendar years have passed since their last victory outside of Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
A better trained, more disciplined and more focused team with the same alignment could now be 6-1. But the Browns are not well trained and are neither disciplined nor focused, which is why changes may be on the horizon despite obvious improvements and enormous potential.
Benjamin Allbright @AllbrightNFL
Via text: "Ice under Hue [Jackson] is as thin as possible. I'm not sure he's getting bye goodbye. "
The most penalized team in the league has been ridiculed 14 times against the Bucs. One of these, offensive tackle Desmond Harrison, put the attack in a hole before playing a game to finally score three goals and more, while another, a linebacker of linebacker Genard Avery, gave the Bucs a first free run on the winning player.
In the end, seven of their 14 penalties occurred in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
It was normal, and that's what Brown's head coach Hue Jackson did, who prepared his young team at critical moments.
Daryl Ruiter @RuiterWrongFAN
#Browns have had the opportunity to win 6 games this season. They won 2. John Dorsey believes that he has built a list capable of winning. This year is about Ws and Ls. Whether this assessment comes tonight, next week, next week, goodbye or in January, the 2-4-1 does not cut it
The football gods were not on Cleveland's side when Tampa Bay kicker Chandler Catanzaro improbably scored a 59-yard field goal for the late overtime win, but that should not have happened.
The Browns were forced to catch up after failing to score in attack in the first half against a defense starting at a bad start. The D Bucs came in on Sunday after allowing 6.9 yards per offensive play, making it the lowest rate ever. modern history of the NFL– and yet, an attack led by Jackson and Todd Haley was only 2.6 yards per game in the first half.
Their first touchdown came after the Buccaneers rushed into their own 30-yard line. Their next was sanctioned by a 24-yard interference penalty at Tampa Bay, which resulted in a first goal and a goal on the 1-yard line. Their third came after a 32-meter return from Jabrill Peppers' punt that placed them in the red zone.
In this spirit, the Browns had the chance to take the Bucs in overtime. But on the other hand, how do you have so much talent, do you have luck against a lower opponent and again to lose? A Peppers fumble led to the Tampa Bay goal, but Mayfield made his first career-free start by completing a solid 23-of-34 series with two touchdowns for a score of 104.4.
And the Browns are still lost.
Jackson and the coaching staff deserve a great deal of responsibility for all the mistakes made on the pitch, just as Jackson and Haley deserve a great deal of responsibility for the offensive unfitness. As an offensive expert, Jackson said after the match – according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com – that he now felt the need to involve him further in the offense, but that this unit was not better when he was involved and that Haley was employed by a competitor. in 2016 and 2017.
At this point, you have to ask yourself how the man always has his job.
Brent Sobleski @Brentsobleski
Hue Jackson is now 11-43-1 as the NFL's head coach. Only one coach in the history of the league, Bert Bell (Eagles & Steelers, 1936-1941), counting 40 games or more, displays a lower winning percentage.
Against a collapsed and free-falling opponent who has just fired his defensive coordinator, he should not have reached a goal in overtime over long distances on Sunday. That was the Cleveland game to win.
Ditto for an overtime tie in Week 1 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, when the Browns became the fourth team this century not to win despite over-five turnovers (penalties and a lack of overtime land made them lose).
And for a loss to the New Orleans Saints in the second week, they missed an extra point which would have given them the lead with just over a minute and 18 points in the fourth quarter.
And in the loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 4, they returned the ball four times and inexplicably dropped hot running back Nick Chubb late in the game as they choked on a 28-14 lead. .
Mayfield was not perfect, but those in charge of supporting him did more harm than good. He was forced to experience growing pains during the transition to a professional-style offense, but these pains were magnified by bad decisions on and off the field.
As the future of the NFL's frightful franchise, Mayfield is generally exceeding expectations, but Jackson and the Browns have completely spoiled his encouraging rookie campaign.
Different look, different feeling. Even old Browns.
Brad Gagnon has been covering the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.
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