Can the Browns get their season back on track after losing to the undermanned Raiders?

LAS VEGAS – There is no last call in Las Vegas, where the Cleveland Browns played for the first time on Sunday.

But it’s getting late early for the 1-3 Browns. The most expensive roster in NFL history brought back its core and promised a revamped and explosive offense. But Cleveland faltered in the fourth quarter – again – and the Raiders escaped with a 20-16 victory after the Browns scored the first 10 points of the game.

The Browns struggle to score and are drowning in penalties. But for the second year in a row they were able to snatch a win after playing poorly. They had the ball with 3:17 left, the season was potentially on the line and they had a chance to escape September with at least a decent spirit.

However, the mood is not good. Neither is the crime. And in the two middle quarters there was no defense that likes to call itself the best in the league but suddenly has problems with the attack. How did the Browns get the final drive inside the Raiders’ 10-yard line but fail on fourth down? What was supposed to happen in this piece?

When Kevin Stefanski was asked after the game where Deshaun Watson ideally would have gone with the ball on 4th-and-3 from the Raiders’ 9-yard line, the coach said he had to go back and look at the play he would give a good answer.

Stefanski calls the pieces. Either he was protecting one or more players, or perhaps there are no good answers. You just can’t lose to the New York Giants and Raiders in consecutive weeks. But the Browns did so, and in a particularly disappointing and extremely disappointing way.

“We just didn’t execute it,” Watson said.

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It is an accurate representation of things. The offense has scored 58 points in four games. That’s 14.5 points per game. Even though the defense scored in both road games, Cleveland has yet to reach the 20-point mark this season. On Sunday they lost to a Raiders team that started the game 1-2 and was without arguably its two best players, wide receiver Davante Adams and edge rusher Maxx Crosby, due to injuries.

What’s perhaps just as insane as Watson’s sack on the final play is the fact that the Browns couldn’t simply kick a field goal to tie the game and try to send the game into overtime. They trailed by four points because kicker Dustin Hopkins missed the point-after attempt on a Rodney McLeod fumble return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

The Browns appeared devastated before McLeod’s game-winning play following a forced fumble by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. But a potentially season-changing (or saving) drive in the final three minutes came after an errant snap on first down, a batted pass on second down and then the sacking of Watson on fourth down after a third-down completion to Amari Cooper that appeared to be failed, lopsided Calm the offense and give Cleveland a chance to convert after a timeout.

Watson probably played his best game of the season. That says a lot about the state of things considering he only threw for 176 yards. He had a ball thrown perfectly to Cooper in the third quarter that flew out of the receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig. Then, in the fourth quarter, Watson thought he had hit Cooper with an impromptu 82-yard touchdown pass. That play was called back because backup center Nick Harris was blamed for holding up Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins while Watson bought time.

TOP DRILLS FOR T’MO‼️#CLEvsLV | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/8F6XR8F5EX

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 29, 2024

Cooper was a highly reliable target for Watson and the Browns’ other quarterbacks in his first two seasons in Cleveland. He had a two-touchdown game last week, but otherwise he was somewhere between poor and inconsistent – and it’s by no means an exaggeration to say that his failure on Sunday cost the Browns a chance to take the lead in the third quarter and perhaps to achieve a different course for this day and chaos of a young season.

When the locker room opened to reporters after the game, Cooper was already gone. As with Stefanski and the discussion of the last play, there was no answer.

Before Cooper’s drop and interception, the Browns had picked up two first downs to advance to the Las Vegas 49-yard line. But instead of sustaining the drive and getting another first down inside the Raiders’ 30, Las Vegas capitalized on a turnover near midfield to take a 20-10 lead in six plays. This lead felt insurmountable. And that was it.

TURN US UP, DJ 🔊#CLEvsLV | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/GZIPKgHSYL

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) September 29, 2024

Could the Browns have stolen this game late? Absolutely, because the defense got stronger and made their big play. Cooper crossed the goal line but saw the ball wipe out the score. But the Browns were 3 of 10 on third down and didn’t score an offensive point in the final 45 minutes. So while they were late because their defense stepped up and Jerome Ford escaped traffic with a 35-yard run and Jerome Ford sparked the game-winning drive, the offense failed again.

Against the Giants in Week 3, the Browns had five possessions in the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown and otherwise punted, lost a fumble, turnover on downs, turnover on downs. On three fourth-quarter possessions against the Raiders, they went punt, punt and turnover on downs after failing to even get a pass out of Watson’s hand in the closing seconds on fourth down.

If veterans like Hopkins and Cooper let the Browns down the way they did, they’re likely only going to win games if they get big contributions from other – and less likely – corners of the roster. But even with the defensive touchdown, Cleveland just couldn’t get enough of those other contributions. The Raiders rushed for 152 yards in large part because the Browns tackled poorly, and both of the Raiders’ touchdowns came on the end of round runs to wide receivers.

There is a plan in place to attack the Browns’ over-aggressive defense, and the tackling issues occurred for the second week in a row. For the second straight game, an opponent the Browns were determined to beat left the door open for Cleveland to return the favor and pick up a fourth-quarter victory.

Instead, the Browns have to complain not only about the missed fourth-quarter opportunities and missed PAT kick, but also right tackle Dawand Jones’ botched call on a third-down play late in the second quarter that could potentially be another Watson’s touchdown would have been he had more time to throw. Although Hopkins made a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter, Stefanski opted to punt rather than have his kicker attempt a 57- or 58-yard field goal on third down after that miss.

The pieces just don’t fit together. The opportunities don’t lead to conversions. The Browns had plenty of chances, but again they allowed more than a few chances. This team is too experienced and supposedly too talented not to score more goals and capitalize.

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After the Giants’ loss, the Browns had a tumultuous week. Watson responded to criticism of a missed shot in the fourth quarter last week by telling reporters that an open tight end was “bait” for that particular play. Cooper responded to a question about the same “Who’s Open?” discussion by saying the players are always under the microscope and telling the group of gathered media, “Some of you don’t ask the best questions, but hey “You won’t hear me criticize.” It’s just the nature of the business. We are under more scrutiny than you are.”

However, it wasn’t really one of these two quotes that stuck with me the most. The strongest words from the locker room last week came from safety Grant Delpit, who called this trip to Las Vegas a “must-win game” and then reiterated that the Browns would handle the workweek appropriately beforehand there is a competitive game. Winning situation.

They didn’t win. They failed in too many big ways. The defense appears vulnerable, the offense is borderline broken, and a three-game road trip started with a mistake-filled loss to the Raiders. If you don’t win the games you need to win and you don’t beat the Giants or Raiders, how do you fix or recover from that?

It may only be September, but it’s fair to wonder if this version of the Browns can actually bounce back.

(Photo: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)