CLEVELAND, Ohio — For Cedric Tillman, there wasn’t much to elaborate on about the Browns offense following their 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
In the game, Cleveland’s offense failed to put points on the board — the 16 they did score came on a pick-six by linebacker Devin Bush, and three field goals by kicker Andre Szmyt.
“Yeah, it’s embarrassing,” Tillman said. “Just leave it at that. It’s embarrassing.”
The Browns wasted yet another solid defensive effort in the loss to the Ravens, failing to score in the second half and allowing Baltimore to come back.
Myles Garrett had a four-sack game, three weeks after his five-sack game on the road in New England. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger led the team with 10 tackles and also had a pick to go along with Bush’s, continuing to make his case for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Browns also recovered a muffed punt, thanks to safety Grant Delpit.
The offense, however, only got a field goal off of the punt recovery and no points on Schwesinger’s interception.
“They have a lot of great performances on defense and it’s the story of our season,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “We just haven’t done enough on offense and special teams to keep up with those guys.”
Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders made his long-awaited NFL debut in the second half, with Dillon Gabriel ruled out after a concussion check.
Sanders went 4-for-16 with 47 yards and one interception, finishing with a 13.5 rating. Gabriel was 7-for-10 with 68 yards, and threw no touchdowns or interceptions.
Sanders began to look more comfortable after coming in unexpectedly and in adverse circumstances — both of Cleveland’s starting tackles, Cam Robinson and Jack Conklin, were injured in this game. Still, he was unable to provide a spark to an offense that has sputtered more often than not this year.
For the eighth time in 10 games, the Browns scored 17-or-fewer points.
The offense had only 10 first downs, and converted on only two of 14 third-down attempts (14.3%). They had only 187 net yards, averaging 3.5 yards per play. They were 0-for-2 on red zone attempts.
But despite the offensive struggles, the Browns defenders continue to focus on what more they can do to help turn the tide on a 2-8 season that has, for all intents and purposes, slipped away.
That includes Garrett. What more does he think he could do after four sacks in this game?
“Get the ball out,” he said. “I mean, forced fumbles definitely change the game and I know they’re doing the best to protect that. I got to be even more violent in trying to take it away. I felt like there was some opportunities in which we lost contain and we could have had even more sacks, whether from me or from other guys and that’s just discipline on our part and things we can learn from. And they’re a good team.”
There was also the go-ahead touchdown that the defense gave up in the fourth quarter, as the Ravens ran a fake tush push with tight end Mark Andrews. After taking the direct snap, Andrews ran around the right side for a 35-yard touchdown.
“It’s our job to just worry about the defense, and just do what we are supposed to do,” defensive tackle Shelby Harris said. “No matter what, we had them where we wanted. It was fourth-and-1 and we have to get that stop. You can bring up the offense all you want to, but it’s defense. We have to bring a complete game – we can’t have these little lapses here and there. No matter what, my focus is always on the defense.”
But the story of the Browns season has been some really good defensive performances that are either wasted, or in which the defense is given so little help that one breakdown erases any margin for error.
“I could say on defense, like we playing our (expletive) off, man, and we doing all we can to get them back to ball,” Delpit said. “So that’s all we can do. That’s all I can say about it.”
While the Browns defensive players can continue to focus on their side of the ball, the truth remains that there’s only so much they can do.
And without more help from the offense, Tillman’s two-word verdict will continue to linger.
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