Browns Show Improvement In Previously Lacking Areas During 38-24 Loss To Lions

For a quarter and a half, the Cleveland Browns looked much improved. Not just improved, but fully capable of winning Sunday’s football game against the Detroit Lions. Then, like every Sunday before today during Hue Jackson’s tenure, the Browns found a way to lose.

Leading 10-0 in the first quarter showed how good Cleveland can be when they finally get everything together. Their “T’s” were crossed, their “I’s” dotted. Not only were they winning the game, they were commanding respect from the Lions. Quarterback DeShone Kizer found many ways to succeed and was having a nice first half that saw the Browns put together long drives and finish the drives with points on the board. But the end of the first half will be what’s talked about the most about Kizer’s day.

The Browns were trailing 17-10 after the defense had surrendered seventeen unanswered points to Matthew Stafford and company. Kizer moved the ball to the Detroit four-yard line and had about ten seconds to go in the half. With no timeouts left, Kizer decided to run an ill-advised quarterback sneak up the gut right into a swarm of Detroit defenders. The Lions’ defense not only stuffed Kizer’s attempt to score, they laid on him and held him up enough to have the clock run out. The Browns weren’t able to get back to the line and spike the ball and were forced to watch as their chance to tie the game heading into the break was botched. No other way to describe the end of the second quarter than puzzling.

It had been discussed deeply by analysts to the casual fans on who decided to call that play? Was Hue Jackson to blame? Or was it DeShone Kizer who decided to make that play call?

The answer: DeShone Kizer.

Seth DeValve on QB sneak: "No it wasn't (the call). That was DeShone doing his thing. He has the freedom to do that. That's what he decided to do." #Browns

— Tom Reed (@treed1919) November 12, 2017

DeValve and other members of the team revealed it was Kizer who called an audible at the line, though Kizer and Hue Jackson would decline to comment on who made the call on the half-ending play.

Though the Browns put together a good effort in the second half, it wasn’t enough to earn their first win. The Lions were able to find their rhythm and Stafford had a field day after struggling early on. The Lions finished with twenty-one points in the final two quarters and Stafford finished with 246 passing yards and three touchdowns in a superb turnaround half for Detroit. While the Cleveland defense could be the main culprit for giving away the victory, the toughest part of the game came when Kizer took a hit from Quandry Diggs on a blitz. Diggs laid the lumber on Kizer, driving him to the ground and injuring his ribs in the process. Kizer would not return until late in the fourth quarter, sending Cody Kessler into the game for most of the second half. Kessler failed to move the ball and the Browns’ offense stalled out as a result.

So where do the Browns stand now following the 38-24 loss at Ford Field?

For starters, DeShone Kizer had another excellent day for the second game in a row. Kizer finished 21-37 in the passing game with 232 passing yards, throwing one touchdown and an interception. Kizer also earned 57 rushing yards on seven carries, finding the end zone on the ground for the Browns as well. Kizer only suffered one sack on the day, showing his growth in the decision-making department. Kizer also did a good job of finding his check down receiver instead of electing to always go deep, even when the wide-out wasn’t open. Following the A.J. McCarron trade botch debacle, it was nice to see Kizer put that behind him and play a clean game for the most part. If Kizer is the guy of the future for the Browns, they certainly have something with the Notre Dame product.

Another bright spot was the fact that Kenny Britt felt the need to show up and didn’t look too bad. Though Britt only put together two receptions for 38 receiving yards, he found the end zone for the first time this season. Britt is a guy that many fans have already filed in the “Dwayne Bowe” category, meaning he was a waste of a free-agent signing and is not worth having on the field. With Josh Gordon on his way back from his lengthy suspension, it could be likely that Britt made it a point to get it going today in order to keep his spot on the depth chart safe. Whatever it may be, Britt showed signs of life and we’ll take it.

On the other side of the spectrum, the defense looked overwhelmed at points in time and that ended up catching up to them. For a team that had a lot of success stuffing the run in the first eight games, it looked as if the team on the field wasn’t that same squad. The front seven gave up big plays to Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick which set Detroit up for points inside the Browns’ territory. The passing defense wasn’t much better, as Stafford sliced and diced his way through the secondary to leave the defense hopeless for most of the game. Add a few careless penalties and the Browns really hurt themselves in a game that looked like it could’ve been the first victory of the year.

Cleveland got a huge tip of the cap from Detroit cornerback Glover Quin, who commended the Browns and their roster.

*25

Here's the full quote: "The Browns probably got better athletes than…25 out of the 32 teams in the league, probably. They got a lot of 1st-round draft picks. They got talent, they just haven’t won a bunch of games."

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 12, 2017

If the Browns can get rid of the silly mistakes and avoid allowing the big play, they should be in a good spot to find a win sooner rather than later. If not, they will continue to suffer the disappointing fate they have seen for twenty-four of Jackson’s twenty-five weeks as head coach.