Browns Lost On Blocked Field Goal With No Time Left
By Joe Russo
Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns kicker Travis Coons (6) attempts to kick the game winning field goal in the second half against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Rapid Reaction: Second Half
McCown wasn’t able to make it through the entire game. He took a shot from defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and tried to play through it. Two plays after Baltimore drove down the field for a Justin Tucker field goal, McCown couldn’t throw anymore and signaled to the training staff to get him out of the game. He finished with 212 yards on 21-38 passing and a touchdown. It was Austin Davis, not Manziel, that came in for McCown.
Aside from Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby‘s pick six, the pass defense was terrible once again. It was made worse when corner back Justin Gilbert was concussed by a kicker on a return in the second half. Yet, for a defense facing Schaub and a Ravens offense missing wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., running back Justin Forsett, and multiple other starters, it’s hard to stomach the numbers given up.
232 yards and two scores from Schaub and a 11.6 yards per reception mark left a lot to be desired. This is on the same night where the Browns run defense actually played well, as they gave up only 104 yards. That amount is actually great compared to their 138.8 per game average.
How important are turnovers? Well, the Dansby interception that was returned for a touchdown kept the Browns in the game in the second half. Then it was Williams intercepting Schaub again with only 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter at the Baltimore 46.
For a team that doesn’t generate much of a pass rush, forcing turnovers was needed. The pass coverage wasn’t great, as we mentioned before, but the type of big plays that we saw from the likes of Williams and Dansby have been missing all year.
However, in the most Browns way possible, Coons lined up for a potential game winning field goal from 51 yards out. Coons, who was perfect all season, had his kick blocked and was returned by Baltimore corner back Will Hill for a touchdown as time expired. We have heard of “Clemsoning” but now “Brownsing” might become the new thing.
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