Browns: Team defense fails time and time again as Cleveland falls

The Cleveland Browns got manhandled by the Raiders on Sunday, watching Las Vegas control the time of possession and handle the defense with ease.

The Browns need to make changes and big ones after the Las Vegas Raiders decimated Cleveland defensively for a majority of the game. Coming into the game the Raiders were known as a pass-heavy offense, that would use its wide formations to help set up the run. That was the inverse on Sunday, as the Raiders used its running game and short passing plays to rip the Browns defense time and time again.

To start the second quarter and through the rest of the game, the Raiders refused to leave the field when on offense. The Raiders had drives of seven minutes and 52 seconds, eight minutes and 18 seconds, eight minutes and 54 seconds, and 8 minutes and 47 seconds. That’s well over 30 minutes of game time just on those four drives alone. It’s no wonder the Raiders nearly doubled the Browns in time of possession with a time of 37:43 to 22:17. Of that 22:17, nearly 14 minutes of it was across two separate drives. The Raiders put a foot on the Browns back and never let them up, acting more like bullies in a schoolyard game of basketball than anything else.

The Browns offensively looked good despite the discrepancy in time. The Browns moved the ball with ease but a fumble by Harrison Bryant and five dropped passes by key Browns players ruined any and all momentum on the day. While the likes of Collin Cowherd will point out the final day stats, everyone paying attention knew that he had several first downs, one or two big plays, and a touchdown taken away from him by his receiver’s inability to catch.

It’s fair to say the talk of Mayfield not being the guy has died down for the rest of the year. Also, it’s wise to remember that despite this awful showing, the Browns are 5-3 and in the playoff race for the first time since 2002. So it’s best not to throw the whole team out after today’s game. That said, Andrew Berry has been cutting costs from the defense all year and replacing key players with backups and bargain contracts. If he doesn’t make an investment in the defense at the deadline, it’s time to rethink some things.