Cleveland Browns: 5 players whose stock dropped in Ravens’ Week 17 loss
These five members of the Cleveland Browns saw their stocks take a dip during the 26-24 Week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
There was a lot on the line for the Cleveland Browns in their regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
A victory would’ve ensured Cleveland their first winning season since 2007, and just the organization’s third since returning to the NFL in 1999.
They also could’ve played spoiler, keeping the Baltimore Ravens out of the AFC playoff picture.
But in a game that felt like a postseason contest, some of the Browns weren’t at their best.
These five players, in particular, saw their stocks take a dip as the season drew to a close.
Damarious Randall
Damarious Randall wasn’t the only member of the Cleveland Browns defense to miss a tackle in Week 17, but one of his misfires was the most egregious.
Randall bounced off Willie Snead following a botched head-first tackle attempt. The play resulted in a 25-yard gain.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson isn’t known for beating teams with his arm, and it was unfortunate to see Randall give the rookie this kind of help.
Unfortunately, that missed take down wasn’t the only one, as Pro Football Focus reported Randall “missed multiple tackles throughout the game.”
It’s kind of a double-edged sword, because so many of the Browns missed tackles can be chalked up to trying to strip the ball away from ball carries. If you hit the jackpot, you create a turnover. You’re a big loser if you go for the takeaway and the man doesn’t go down.
That wasn’t the case on the Snead tackle attempt, but, for the defense as a whole, finding the right balance of taking down the runner and going for the turnover wasn’t there all night.
The regular-season finale will show a bad effort for Randall and many of the Browns’ defenders, but don’t let that take away from an overall good season for the first-year Brown.
Cleveland wisely moved him back to safety after some lean years playing corner for the Packers. Randall played safety in college and the position suited him just fine in 2018.